This is the bit I agree with most. <<while mass amateurisation brings chaos and noise, it also unleashes creativity on a scale previously impossible.>>
<<relying on unproven, micro-scale vendors carries risk>> So does relying on large scale vendors Gary. I could bore you with countless examples of so call large quality vendors (in differen verticals) that lack agility, and dont deliver what they say .. at all.
Good point, Dan. It's easy to forget that elephants don't always make the best dancers.
Clearly, the efficiencies that could be conferred on developers are also available to large players, so it will be interesting to see how large brands deal with countless new, no-brand players, and I wonder how much could be learned from how large broadcast media organisations have responded to YouTube and swathes of indie podcasts, and what the parallel could be for established brands and players in software?
Love this article. Given the above, what’s your thoughts on how to compete against increasingly fragmented competition in a vertical?
You’ve talked to brand. What’s your thinking around (and arguably factors that all contribute to a brand’s promise to users) service; good taste in design and UX; community; distribution; and other factors that can’t be easily mimicked. What are the moats in this new normal?
Thanks, Rob. Great question: Ultimately, the market will decide. Most large media organisations recognised that YouTube and podcasts were important spaces to bring their brands and content, so I wonder if there's a similar parallel where established software brands pop up in new, niche spaces or categories in the same way. A hyper-niche, low-cost product brought to you by a large trusted brand? Who knows.
Regardless of how easy it becomes to launch and bring new products to market, as we've seen before, I think the quality of the end-to-end customer experience, incorporating all the disciplines you outline, will still determine who wins and who loses.
Oh my lord, it's like when everyone was a DJ, or a producer. And then everyone was a writer... just because you can, it doesn't mean you should. Love this article, Gary.
This is the bit I agree with most. <<while mass amateurisation brings chaos and noise, it also unleashes creativity on a scale previously impossible.>>
<<relying on unproven, micro-scale vendors carries risk>> So does relying on large scale vendors Gary. I could bore you with countless examples of so call large quality vendors (in differen verticals) that lack agility, and dont deliver what they say .. at all.
Great picece BTW.
Good point, Dan. It's easy to forget that elephants don't always make the best dancers.
Clearly, the efficiencies that could be conferred on developers are also available to large players, so it will be interesting to see how large brands deal with countless new, no-brand players, and I wonder how much could be learned from how large broadcast media organisations have responded to YouTube and swathes of indie podcasts, and what the parallel could be for established brands and players in software?
Love this article. Given the above, what’s your thoughts on how to compete against increasingly fragmented competition in a vertical?
You’ve talked to brand. What’s your thinking around (and arguably factors that all contribute to a brand’s promise to users) service; good taste in design and UX; community; distribution; and other factors that can’t be easily mimicked. What are the moats in this new normal?
Thanks, Rob. Great question: Ultimately, the market will decide. Most large media organisations recognised that YouTube and podcasts were important spaces to bring their brands and content, so I wonder if there's a similar parallel where established software brands pop up in new, niche spaces or categories in the same way. A hyper-niche, low-cost product brought to you by a large trusted brand? Who knows.
Regardless of how easy it becomes to launch and bring new products to market, as we've seen before, I think the quality of the end-to-end customer experience, incorporating all the disciplines you outline, will still determine who wins and who loses.
Oh my lord, it's like when everyone was a DJ, or a producer. And then everyone was a writer... just because you can, it doesn't mean you should. Love this article, Gary.