Markets, Mobility, MSFT and Nokia: Too Much Focus on “Wow,” Not Enough on “How”

This week’s mobility market buzz is almost overwhelming in “wow” potential:

Apple is mere days away from thrilling us all yet again with a “new” iPhone and/or/maybe a smaller iPad (no pressure, there)
Speaking of which, Amazon is going to wow us with the next Kindle. Soon. They said so.
Google is this week trying to “wow” us with new Moto Razrs, albeit without the most capable version of Android installed.
And Microsoft’s Finnish telephony contractor, Nokia, rolled out the latest Lumia models (btw, what should be the plural of “Lumia:” “Lumiae?” “Lumiati?” “Lumiatidae?”) .

The Lumiae reception got the most media notice, mainly because Nokia’s share prices dropped as analysts expressed a lack of “wow” factor. Apparently, the new phones are nothing more than colorful, functionally-capable communications devices with improved OS, apps software, camera, and more. There are only about 100,000 apps available. Massive disappointment ensued.

Sarcasm aside, what truly fed analysts’ disappointment with the Lumiati and its parent firms was the business basics, i.e., no rollout timetable, no pricing, no Win8 demo, and what really came across in the calls I attended as an ongoing disconnect between MSFT and Nokia in terms of information sharing. They come across as one not really knowing what the other is going to say, and there is a tendency for one to rely on the other to fill in important blanks, leaving leaders on both sides to deliver disappointing “we’ll get to that” statements. That seeming lack of business competency/vision is what really drove investors to push prices down – but every blog post and media report leads with “disappointment” in the phones’ “Wow” factor.

The episode reinforces a bad feeling that I started to get with the MSFT “Surface” rollout. Basically, with the Surface tablets and the new Lumiatidae phones, MSFT has lost some of its critical marketing panache and ability. To over-simplify, they are putting colorful-yet-partially-empty boxes up in the store window, placing them under spotlights, and telling us how cool they are or will be.

Google/Moto is doing similar types of things, rolling out a set of sexy devices and pushing for “wow” but leaving out the biggest potential “wow” factor – the Jellybean OS version that would drive larger masses of developers toward their devices. The phones are functional, stylish, capable, yet lacking in the biggest thing that would wow the marketplace.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with bringing to market devices that work well, that are stylish, and that may only be incremental advancements/improvements over previous models. That is progress. And as I have complained/explained before, today’s hot-tech media focus too much on the “next big thing” while ignoring important and beneficial improvements.

Unfortunately, it appears that when it comes to mobility and associated markets, Master Brands like MSFT and Google are pursuing positive press and analyst coverage, and therefore potential share price improvements, by focusing on potential and promised “wow,” rather than traditional “how,” i.e., “how” the device/OS/ecosystem improves the user experience and ability to do business. The craving for media and analyst attention, however fleeting, is disabling these former marketing giants’ abilities to drive and influence markets by forcing them to build or chase the latest shiny object – which pushes them to deliver more shiny objects of their own, which increasingly shortens development and improvement cycles to the point where they focus on colors and packaging rather than real IT utility and benefit. The accepted/expected pace of innovation is outstripping the realities of development and marketing for too many providers (1003RA, IT Innovation: New Models and Methods, 28Dec2012).

As we regularly explain to our clients, and as will be presented in detail at our Nov. 14 Cloud Business Summit, the pursuit of the “next big thing” is a vendor/media-driven hype monster that distracts from “real” IT value and cost propositions, and complicates IT and Finance executives’ ability to effectively manage their domains (1080CLS, Change, and Change Again: The Shape of IT Orgs to Come, 08June2012). We don’t advocate ignoring the “next big thing” by any means; we advocate making sure that we know what it is, where it’s coming from, and what to do with it.

Most research firms can explain what happened; some can explain what is happening. Saugatuck Technology excels at understanding both in order to explain what else is likely to occur, and to guide its clients toward the actions that deliver them the greatest business value while enabling the safest business path.
To accomplish this, and to continually improve the value of Saugatuck’s work to clients in a Cloud-obscured marketplace, Saugatuck SVP and Head of Research Bruce Guptill pushes his team to continually re-examine and re-invent the company’s research programs to focus more on the costs, benefits, effects, and value of an ever-changing mix of technologies and providers in different markets.
Guptill’s own technology and business background laid a solid foundation for such a flexible, yet stable, approach to IT research value for clients. His technology research work includes mobility, collaborative IT, telecom, data networking, web commerce, and electronic marketplaces; his research work for enterprise IT and business clients includes return on IT investment, total cost of IT ownership, and business planning for IT. His research and guidance on vendor channel management, market identification and development, and buyer behavior analysis has enabled hundreds of established and startup IT providers to find, enter, and profit from new and traditional markets, while helping to guide user enterprise leaders toward optimal IT procurement and vendor management.
Guptill’s research background includes several years as a VP and research director with Gartner, senior positions with TeleChoice and Robert Frances Group, and editorial work within the IDG companies, including four years as a writer and editor with NetworkWorld. His marketing business focus was honed as VP of marketing for firms ranging from custom development providers to non-IT firms in aviation and other industries. His sales and channel experience started by traveling with a sample bag, then working for IT VARs, then advising telecom and wireless carriers on partner choices, to developing partner programs for traditional and Cloud-based software development firms and ISVs.
Guptill holds an MBA in marketing and finance, and a BA in the psychology and business of mass media communication. He is licensed to fly airplanes, drive boats, and sell houses; he is also a certified baseball coach, serves on the boards of regional civic groups, and is a serial home renovator. Married with three children, Guptill resides on Cape Cod in southeastern Massachusetts, and is a lifelong fan of the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and the University of Connecticut Huskies.

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