The New World of Business....

Based upon a graphic from the book "Blue Ocean Strategy" I've created the following representation of the direction of technology companies in this new brave world of Web 2.0 and the 'Me' internet.



You'll need to click on the graphic to actually read the text - but at the center is the customer and our job as business people is to create "value" (and that's really what the customer is buying). So what does that mean....

It means innovation - not in one area, but in all areas of the product or service.

• Technology Innovation means creating multi-tenant solutions, virtualizing the infrastructure, developing on-demand services, network enabling our products & services
• Delivery Innovation means whenever/where ever products & services, software as a service, customer support on demand (think Voice over IP or voice enabled web pages), Pay-for Use utility services which can be turned on or off as needed
• Channel Innovation means utilizing indirect sales channels, working with your competitors, entering new markets by sharing revenue, leveraging your sales partners for innovation
• Revenue Innovation means advertising supported products & services, self-service ordering, subscription pricing (daily, monthly, yearly), "try before you buy" lock-in, selling excess capacity through wholesalers
  

All these are being used today within the technology business market. Software, hardware, service companies are utilizing various innovative ways to get closer to the customer, and give them a voice in all areas of the business. So next time you see something new, start looking at how they using some of the above in their business - innovation can be in your face or subtle - but it's there.