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Lee Bryant
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3 weeks ago
in “Features” has now become a useless concept when evaluating IT projects on Core Edges
Hi Julien,
I think this is a very good point, very well made.
Right now, most IT departments have only the feature comparison spreadsheet matrix (if anything at all!) to judge competing products, and I completely agree with you about ROA, usability, etc., and of course the point that obody has to train you how to use Facebook.
Good to see you blogging more - you really are very good value ;-)
I think this is a very good point, very well made.
Right now, most IT departments have only the feature comparison spreadsheet matrix (if anything at all!) to judge competing products, and I completely agree with you about ROA, usability, etc., and of course the point that obody has to train you how to use Facebook.
Good to see you blogging more - you really are very good value ;-)
1 reply
4 months ago
in Eat Your Vegetables! on Above and Beyond KM
This reminds me of a Charlie and Lola book: http://www.best-childrens-books.com/never-eat-a...
1 reply
VMaryAbraham
Lee -
That's a fantastic book! I'd never heard of it before. Thanks for passing it along.
- Mary
That's a fantastic book! I'd never heard of it before. Thanks for passing it along.
- Mary
6 months ago
in Pilots are not for profit-making. And we’re not playing games. on Core Edges
Interesting perspective, and I can understand where you are coming from. I think the main danger here is that you end up with product vendors, who can cash in on licenses for little or no up-front cost, rather than solution providers, who might have higher up-front costs but greater long term value. In fact it may be worse than that - this logic is probably what leads many IT departments to sleep walk towards Sharepoint rather than work with partners to create something better. The problem is, not all larger companies are as interested as you in working with smaller vendors, so the risk is often very lop-sided.
It is great that you share your thinking like this. I wish more IT-side people would do it, as I think both they and the vendors have to much to gain from a productive and honest conversation. Well done!
Right now, I think the value in the vendor space is mostly with best-of-breed tools like Socialtext, Confluence, Newsgator, Jive, etc. The problem is that none offers a full E2.0 solution like IBM Connections, and of course there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. Each enterprise case is quite different.
I expect a lot of innovation and consolidation in 2009 around these issues, and I am hopeful that cost-cutting in a recession will finally be the motivation IT departments need to think beyond their current ways of working.
It is great that you share your thinking like this. I wish more IT-side people would do it, as I think both they and the vendors have to much to gain from a productive and honest conversation. Well done!
Right now, I think the value in the vendor space is mostly with best-of-breed tools like Socialtext, Confluence, Newsgator, Jive, etc. The problem is that none offers a full E2.0 solution like IBM Connections, and of course there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. Each enterprise case is quite different.
I expect a lot of innovation and consolidation in 2009 around these issues, and I am hopeful that cost-cutting in a recession will finally be the motivation IT departments need to think beyond their current ways of working.
1 reply
Julien Le Nestour
Hi Lee -
Thanks for commenting. I'm coming from the strategy side and still new to IT: the value of being open about my expectations and openly discussing where we see value hugely outweigh any (if any...) drawbacks.
Regarding solution providers, the same logic can be applied with the trio clients / vendors / solution providers (SP). SP could work with vendors along the logic outlined in the post, and agree beforehand how they will handle pilots. It should be easy to obtain pilot licenses for free from the vendors.
SPs would then provide the solution to their own clients, for some of the costs associated to building the solution. For clients, if the pricing is done well, there should not be a major difference between offsetting the costs of vendors and those of the SP.
Of course, solutions will vary along the fully custom / "productized" axis, with costs varying accordingly. But this should also be for SP an investment. As outlined in the post, once large companies embark on a pilot, it's usually to make it work, not merely to taste the waters. So SP and its client should be well aligned in making the pilot a success and turning it into a full deployment.
I believe solutions providers have in fact a very important brokerage role to play. I'll go deeper on that aspect in another point, with Sharepoint considerations. I agree with the dynamics you observe, but for me they stem mainly from an immature pricing and segmentation strategy from vendors.
Thanks again for your comments!
Thanks for commenting. I'm coming from the strategy side and still new to IT: the value of being open about my expectations and openly discussing where we see value hugely outweigh any (if any...) drawbacks.
Regarding solution providers, the same logic can be applied with the trio clients / vendors / solution providers (SP). SP could work with vendors along the logic outlined in the post, and agree beforehand how they will handle pilots. It should be easy to obtain pilot licenses for free from the vendors.
SPs would then provide the solution to their own clients, for some of the costs associated to building the solution. For clients, if the pricing is done well, there should not be a major difference between offsetting the costs of vendors and those of the SP.
Of course, solutions will vary along the fully custom / "productized" axis, with costs varying accordingly. But this should also be for SP an investment. As outlined in the post, once large companies embark on a pilot, it's usually to make it work, not merely to taste the waters. So SP and its client should be well aligned in making the pilot a success and turning it into a full deployment.
I believe solutions providers have in fact a very important brokerage role to play. I'll go deeper on that aspect in another point, with Sharepoint considerations. I agree with the dynamics you observe, but for me they stem mainly from an immature pricing and segmentation strategy from vendors.
Thanks again for your comments!
6 months ago
in Should Michael Arrington Be Invited Back At LeWeb Next Year? on Loic Le Meur
well done Loic for braver post than usual. Sometimes you can be too nice ;-) I am sure most Americans feel embarrassed and ashamed about Arrington. At first I thought his Le Web post was a joke, parodying the archetypal stupid American in Paris, but then I realised he was for real. OMG!
TechCrunch is not journalism and whilst Arrington has a good position as a self-appointed kingmaker, he adds very little value. He is a product of a previous era and sounds more and more like a 1980s Wall Street douchebag every week. 'It's all about winning' as I am sure Lehman and AIG execs told themselves every day when they felt the dark emptiness of their lives. The current reification of startups and exhortations to work 24hrs a day and destroy their competition is a pre-crash culture, and of all the US A-listers it is Tim O'Reilly, with his idea of creating more value than you consume, who is closer to the mark than Arrington.
Americans are of course most welcome at European events, but we are not such backward tribes that their appearance alone is enough to make us cheer. Very few US celeb speakers at Le Web were challenged to give an actual talk with actual ideas (except Chris Anderson, who was great an Marissa who was professional and respectful). I found some of the fireside chats at Le Web obsequious and banal. That is one aspect of the event I think you really need to think about. We want ideas, insights and new thinking, not happy clappy "aren't you rich/cool!" chats with your friends.
You have a natural role as a European leader in this space, Loic, so please do not get too caught up with the seedier side of US business culture. We are witnessing a new era when the ideas behind the social web will really start to come to the fore of mainstream culture in Obama's US and elsewhere. The future belongs to us, not Arrington ;-)
TechCrunch is not journalism and whilst Arrington has a good position as a self-appointed kingmaker, he adds very little value. He is a product of a previous era and sounds more and more like a 1980s Wall Street douchebag every week. 'It's all about winning' as I am sure Lehman and AIG execs told themselves every day when they felt the dark emptiness of their lives. The current reification of startups and exhortations to work 24hrs a day and destroy their competition is a pre-crash culture, and of all the US A-listers it is Tim O'Reilly, with his idea of creating more value than you consume, who is closer to the mark than Arrington.
Americans are of course most welcome at European events, but we are not such backward tribes that their appearance alone is enough to make us cheer. Very few US celeb speakers at Le Web were challenged to give an actual talk with actual ideas (except Chris Anderson, who was great an Marissa who was professional and respectful). I found some of the fireside chats at Le Web obsequious and banal. That is one aspect of the event I think you really need to think about. We want ideas, insights and new thinking, not happy clappy "aren't you rich/cool!" chats with your friends.
You have a natural role as a European leader in this space, Loic, so please do not get too caught up with the seedier side of US business culture. We are witnessing a new era when the ideas behind the social web will really start to come to the fore of mainstream culture in Obama's US and elsewhere. The future belongs to us, not Arrington ;-)
2 replies
dahowlett
+1 v-spot on Lee
PJ Brunet
"I am sure most Americans feel embarrassed and ashamed about Arrington." Maybe, but Silicon Valley is just one tiny part of California. Most Americans have never visited California, most Californians have never visited Silicon Valley.
Only a few years ago TechCrunch, Web 2.0, Techmeme, none of that existed yet, although we started using the web in the early 90s. They are a very vocal group but very small when you look at the big picture.
Only a few years ago TechCrunch, Web 2.0, Techmeme, none of that existed yet, although we started using the web in the early 90s. They are a very vocal group but very small when you look at the big picture.
Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by here ;)
IT departments have a long way to go before using ROA...