It's a sign of the times that a rumour that Microsoft is planning a preview of Windows 9 in end September is being met with a huge yawn. Remember when Windows itself came after DOS. And the launch of Windows 95 ? Each of them was a landmark event in the history of computing. Now, of course, technology has moved on and Microsoft has been left standing still. Who cares about Windows now anyway ?
Actually a lot care. Windows is now largely a corporate product - almost every company uses Windows as the operating system for the millions of computers its employees use. And every upgrade of the Windows operating system, is hugely expensive. Coupled with Office, Microsoft is omnipresent in the corporate world. There every such new version is met with fear and dread by the IT folks - for , a huge bill is coming. This is also why Microsoft remains a highly profitable company.
The rate of change in the tech industry is so fast that it seems almost impossible to create and nurture a brand in the way you can do in other industries. The sole exception to this is Apple, but even there, all that is happening is that the rate of fade is slower than that of the others. Brands get commoditised extremely fast. Do you now care what brand of smartphone you own - Other than a few members of the Apple Fan Club, nobody cares. Just pick the phone that is fancy at the moment and at the cheapest price. Full stop. Are you really going to get excited about the coming iPhone 6 ???
This is actually a surprise. In other fast changing industries, (OK; maybe not as fast changing as tech), brands survive beautifully. Show me a man who doesn't lust after a BMW. Or wouldn't mind a Rolex. Or wouldn't fly Singapore Airlines. And yet, it seems very few have cracked the marketing puzzle in tech. There are great products in the tech world. But a great product does not automatically make a great brand. How much ever new products come in the iwatch space, the aspirational brand will still be Rolex. Maybe its simply because the tech world is full of geeks - there are very few marketeers there.
So what of Windows 9 ? If its even remotely as painful as Windows 8, then it will be met with every curse in the land. Microsoft really is pig headed in absolutely not listening to its consumers. Refusing to reinstate the Start button and hiding behind gobbledygook is a marketing disaster on part with New Coke. And yet, I am sure Windows 9 will deliver all sorts of great tech possibilities while exasperating the consumer. After all it was Bill Gates' mother, in the early days of Windows who told him what fool would make a consumer click the start button to close down the computer.
So if you are a geek, and reading this piece, go out and talk to your granny. She is really your customer. Or you prefer, meet the gorgeous (but intellectually challenged) blonde serving you in the pub. Get her to use your new product without a tutorial. Figure out what makes her tick (imagine the wonderful ancillary benefits of this study). Maybe you can then ditch those glasses and transform from a nerd to a marketing whiz kid. It is then that the great brands of the tech world will arise.
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7 comments:
welcome back! long time no see! We just had an expensive (tax payer funded) Windows upgrade across the health sector (50K Users) and now I dread to think of what would happen next. It was a 2 year programme providing general employment to a programme director, several programme managers, project managers, solution architects, Biz Analysts and coordinators. All this was for W7 upgrade! The ministry of employment will kick in soon for the 8 and then a 9 upgrade. Is there any one who can justify changing the lane markings, asphalt top, street lights, shoulder width because you buy a new car?
@Kiwi - Its a bummer. Much of Bill Gates' wealth (which he is thankfully giving away) was made in this way. Upgrades you don't need but can't avoid.
So, it took Windows 9 to "reboot" Ramesh so that he would blog ;)
Let us see if any of the female readers, in particular, throw rotten eggs at you, Ramesh, for the "granny" and "the gorgeous (but intellectually challenged) blonde" and "what makes her tick" ...
A note to the young male geeks who make a mistake of reading Ramesh's blog: avoid the usages like the ones I highlighted and, like a miracle, you will find that women like going out with you!!! Or continue with those and suffer the eternal hell of coding for the next version of Windows ;)
@Sriram - ha ha. Since when have you become the geek advisor on matters of feminine allure ??
Tech is a different industry, one with an extremely small product life cycle. There are corporation which have made the brands in the industry like Apple, Samsung with it's galaxy S & note series, Oracle, SAP have all made good brands.
For others' the PLC is too small to actually invest in building the brand. The customer loyalty is so fickle in the area. Imagine the time when Winamp used to be a magnanimous brand but then WMP, Ipods and phones killed the medium.
@Prats - Agree. The industry indeed has very short product lifecycles. But so does the fashion industry for example. And still there are great brands there.
Of your list, only Apple is a brand truly. Samsung, maybe. Oracle and SAP and some others like Intel are essentially B2B businesses where branding plays much less of a role.
I know I'm replying like a gazillion years later but I just couldn't resist...
I'm not a geek or a guy but I highly doubt my granny or my mom would be interested in learning about Windows 9. I know a blonde who's a marketer but she uses Mac and hence she wouldn't be interested either :P. Just kidding!
I really don't know about the expensive upgrades because Windows 10 was free when it was launched in 2015 and offices don't always upgrade unless absolutely necessary. And I also don't think brands like Apple, BMW, Rolex etc. are leading because of marketing. Their status (doesn't matter tech or otherwise) is because they are such quality products. And I doubt the actual creator of Apple products, Rolex watches, or BMW cars would be good at marketing either :)
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