Founded in 1923, Casa del Libro is the only large bookshop chain in the Spanish market, with 12 bookshops in the most important cities at the end of 2003. The main competitors of Casa del Libro are general stores, commercializing other products and considering books as just an additional line. With more than 50 million euros sold at the end of 2003, Casa del Libro is the second bookseller in Spain, far from the leader, El Corte Inglês. Casa del Libro achieved the second position trough an expansive plan designed to grow in a mature market, growing at rates closed to inflation rates. Casa de Libro has more than than 1600 suppliers, the double of its main competitions in Spanish market.Casa del Libro’s database was the most complete and up-to-date database in industry. Casa del Libro leveraged on their huge stock of books to build a reputation of “the cult place” for readers and bibliophiles.
Casa del Libro started to sell books on internet in 1995. At that time Casa del Libro worked with a webside not integrated with the back office and this way not getting advantage of Casa del Libro’s huge database. The limitations of the platform used could not stand the growth expected. Casa del Libro decided to create a new company from the scratch. At this point in time was a strong motivation to launch online initiatives (market analysts were severely punishing all the firms with no presence in the web). Casa del Libro started the development (in 2000) of the initiative followed the typical pattern of the time, acquisition of the best and most expensive equipment and software available in the market. Due to all of this the expectations were too high.
In September to 2001, the CEO found out that the ambitious platform designed couldn’t be integrated, despite the huge amount of money already spent on this, due to design errors. At the same time the known Internet bubble exploded and stock markets fell down abruptly. Definitely September 2001 was not a good month for Casa del Libro. Due to this the strategy of Casa del Libro had to change radically. The high growth sales rates expended take into account during the platform design were not valid anymore. Casa del Libro found itself in a point where it had to decide new objectives for the development of this new platform, shifting from “spectacular investments to brutal austerity and abruptly projects closure. To decide about the new dimension of Casa de Libro the first decision that had to be made was, should Casa del Libro keep the platform or redesign it? Or adopt a new platform?
In my opinion the platform being developed was designed for growth perspectives that don’t exist anymore, is a complicate platform with integration issues. This platform will probably involve high costs of maintenance and high costs associated with future developments. The platform adopted by the company should be a simple one allowing at the same time the company to provide is service with max reliability (probably this won't happen with the actual platform). As a conclusion I would suggest the company to adapt another platform, more adapted to the new growth reality and more simple. By being simpler this platform will be easily to integrate, more reliable and the costs of maintenance and costs of future development will be lower.
6/22/10
IT Competitive Advantage: Tesco case.
“Customer loyalty is not about how customers demonstrate their loyalty to us, it is about how we demonstrate our loyalty to them”
Lord MacLaurin, Chairman of Tesco
In 1995 Tesco launched the Tesco Clubcard the UK’s first supermarket loyalty program. Tesco introduced the Clubcard as a mean of giving something back to the customer, especially the customers who shopped frequently and purchased more. Points were accumulated for every purchase of £5 spent after a minimum of £10, and converted later into Clubcard vouchers, which could be redeemed in any Tesco store. So far this looks like any other loyalty program and this was the consensus in the British media and the opinion of Sainsbury (Tesco number 1 competitor and market leader) Chairman that considered the Clubcard no more than an “electronic version of Green Shield stamps (a previews loyalty program launched by Tesco in the 60’s)”. They were wrong.
The Clubcard loyalty program cost £300 million over the first three years and about 4,5% Tesco profits. But 6 months after the introduction of Clubcard, Tesco has increased its share of the retail grocery trade from 15% to 18%. This increase included not only the pull of competitor clients but also a large increase in purchases of products that usually customers didn’t get from Tesco (e.g. alcohol). Tesco attracted about 20 million members, of which over ten million are active users. By 1996, Tesco achieved finally is objective of becoming number one retailer in UK.
But how Clubcard contributed to this? Simple, through Clubcard Tesco was able to get a high amount of information related to Tesco Customers consumer behaviors (the consumers used their Clubcards in each purchase they did). Tesco was able to segment his market by costumer and this way Tesco was able to better promote his products and better target and satisfy the needs of each customer. To better handle the volume of information, Tesco invested in the NCR Teradata data warehouse to provide a 360-view of its customers. As results of this information managements Tesco was able to decide better what products to offer promotions, to create a Clubcard magazine with 80,000 variations... Tesco also updated the loyalty program to allow customers to collect points on holiday promotions with some of the most popular travel agents in the UK and today Clubcard members can also collect points towards vouchers when they spent money on sport goods, sporting events, gas, electricity with any of the Tesco’s several partners. To understand customer online behavior Tesco launched the ”Net Perception” (to provide a more personalized online experience). By being the first mover (first to know customers) and expanding Clubcard network (through Tesco’ partners), Tesco got a strong competitive advantage in understanding the customers behaviors, and this way get new costumers and in maintaining their fidelity to Tesco.
Lord MacLaurin, Chairman of Tesco
In 1995 Tesco launched the Tesco Clubcard the UK’s first supermarket loyalty program. Tesco introduced the Clubcard as a mean of giving something back to the customer, especially the customers who shopped frequently and purchased more. Points were accumulated for every purchase of £5 spent after a minimum of £10, and converted later into Clubcard vouchers, which could be redeemed in any Tesco store. So far this looks like any other loyalty program and this was the consensus in the British media and the opinion of Sainsbury (Tesco number 1 competitor and market leader) Chairman that considered the Clubcard no more than an “electronic version of Green Shield stamps (a previews loyalty program launched by Tesco in the 60’s)”. They were wrong.
The Clubcard loyalty program cost £300 million over the first three years and about 4,5% Tesco profits. But 6 months after the introduction of Clubcard, Tesco has increased its share of the retail grocery trade from 15% to 18%. This increase included not only the pull of competitor clients but also a large increase in purchases of products that usually customers didn’t get from Tesco (e.g. alcohol). Tesco attracted about 20 million members, of which over ten million are active users. By 1996, Tesco achieved finally is objective of becoming number one retailer in UK.
But how Clubcard contributed to this? Simple, through Clubcard Tesco was able to get a high amount of information related to Tesco Customers consumer behaviors (the consumers used their Clubcards in each purchase they did). Tesco was able to segment his market by costumer and this way Tesco was able to better promote his products and better target and satisfy the needs of each customer. To better handle the volume of information, Tesco invested in the NCR Teradata data warehouse to provide a 360-view of its customers. As results of this information managements Tesco was able to decide better what products to offer promotions, to create a Clubcard magazine with 80,000 variations... Tesco also updated the loyalty program to allow customers to collect points on holiday promotions with some of the most popular travel agents in the UK and today Clubcard members can also collect points towards vouchers when they spent money on sport goods, sporting events, gas, electricity with any of the Tesco’s several partners. To understand customer online behavior Tesco launched the ”Net Perception” (to provide a more personalized online experience). By being the first mover (first to know customers) and expanding Clubcard network (through Tesco’ partners), Tesco got a strong competitive advantage in understanding the customers behaviors, and this way get new costumers and in maintaining their fidelity to Tesco.
6/14/10
Should companies adapt to ERPs or should ERPs adapt to companies?
For the ones that don’t know what is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Wikipedia defines it very well:
“…a system that is used to manage and coordinate all the resources, information, and functions of a business”.
An ERP can support all the essential functions of the company’s business processes: Human Resources processes; Logistic processes; Finance processes; Sales processes… . The ERP objective is to increase the operational efficiency and productivity of business processes of the companies.
Now, let me give some examples to show you how useful an ERP can be. Imagine your company operates in Europe and you are on a business trip at USA and you want to know what were today sales of your company. Easy, you just need to access your ERP and run a report and you will get all the information regarding today sales. Another example, imagine that your company has several warehouses all around the Europe and you need product A in warehouse 1, before you buy the product you should check if you have product A in other warehouses and if the answer is yes, you should transfer the product to warehouse 1, avoiding you to spend money in a product that you have on stock. These were just a few examples to illustrate you how an ERP can improve your company productivity and efficiency. The ERPs are amazing sources of information, in a good ERP you can find all the information you want about any functional area of your company and with this online information make better decisions. Using the ERP you can have access to information like: stock levels; free capacity in your plant; total assets; people working; products with higher margins; … . All the operations/transactions performed in the company are recorded at real time in the ERP system, the ERP is like the camera that records everything that happens in your company and keeps all that information available for when you need it.
Today there are several ERP systems but the most known at very large global companies are the ones provided by SAP, Oracle.
Going to the question “Should companies adapt to ERPs or should ERPs adapt to companies?”. The answer to the question is simples, ERPs should adapt to companies. A company can’t change its processes, the way it operates just to have or adapt to an ERP. The ERP should be designed taking into account the company processes, it should reflect the company processes and be a source of competitive advantage for the company. A good ERP (or ERP implementation) is the one that allows the company to have the most efficient processes for the company. From my experience with ERPs at very large global companies I can say that ERPs can be very useful and powerful tools but they have to adapt to the companies and not the other way around.
“…a system that is used to manage and coordinate all the resources, information, and functions of a business”.
An ERP can support all the essential functions of the company’s business processes: Human Resources processes; Logistic processes; Finance processes; Sales processes… . The ERP objective is to increase the operational efficiency and productivity of business processes of the companies.
Now, let me give some examples to show you how useful an ERP can be. Imagine your company operates in Europe and you are on a business trip at USA and you want to know what were today sales of your company. Easy, you just need to access your ERP and run a report and you will get all the information regarding today sales. Another example, imagine that your company has several warehouses all around the Europe and you need product A in warehouse 1, before you buy the product you should check if you have product A in other warehouses and if the answer is yes, you should transfer the product to warehouse 1, avoiding you to spend money in a product that you have on stock. These were just a few examples to illustrate you how an ERP can improve your company productivity and efficiency. The ERPs are amazing sources of information, in a good ERP you can find all the information you want about any functional area of your company and with this online information make better decisions. Using the ERP you can have access to information like: stock levels; free capacity in your plant; total assets; people working; products with higher margins; … . All the operations/transactions performed in the company are recorded at real time in the ERP system, the ERP is like the camera that records everything that happens in your company and keeps all that information available for when you need it.
Today there are several ERP systems but the most known at very large global companies are the ones provided by SAP, Oracle.
Going to the question “Should companies adapt to ERPs or should ERPs adapt to companies?”. The answer to the question is simples, ERPs should adapt to companies. A company can’t change its processes, the way it operates just to have or adapt to an ERP. The ERP should be designed taking into account the company processes, it should reflect the company processes and be a source of competitive advantage for the company. A good ERP (or ERP implementation) is the one that allows the company to have the most efficient processes for the company. From my experience with ERPs at very large global companies I can say that ERPs can be very useful and powerful tools but they have to adapt to the companies and not the other way around.
Dell Hell: Don’t play with me, I am a blogger…
Dell Hell started when Jeff Jarvis, after buying a Dell computer, posted in his blog BuzzMachine the following:
“Dell lies. Dell sucks
…I just got a new Dell laptop and paid a fortune for the four-year, in-home service. The machine is a lemon and the service is a lie. I'm having all kinds of trouble with the hardware: overheats, network doesn't work, maxes out on CPU usage. It's a lemon.”
Jeff Jarvis bought a Dell laptop that had several problems and when he contacted Dell customer service the “Dell Hell” started. Jeff Jarvis decided to post in his blog his complains about Dell’s costumer service.
The interactions between Jeff Jarvis and Dell costumer service didn’t go well and Jarvis continued to post about it in BuzzMachine. Jeff’s posts increased popularity and other bloggers started to use the “Dell Hell” to spread negative comments about Dell’s customer service, weakening Dell’s reputation.
The catchy “Dell Hell” become popular very quickly and was noticed at The New Your Times and Business Week. For sure Dell didn’t expect that a post in a blog would have so much impact on Dell’s brand.
Blogging become a popular way to complain about Dell’s Costumer Service. Dell responded to this launching its own “Customer Service Blog”.
What Dell should have done? Dell should have solved this problem as soon as possible avoiding the huge brand damage that this caused. When a customer buys a product that is not ok the company that sold it should fixed it as soon as possible (nothing new is our days!!!), especially when this costumer is an influent blogger. To avoid the big dimension that this problem achieved Dell should have made Jeff Jarvis really happy from the beginning and hope that he posted is happiness and the end of Dell Hell in his blog.
To recover from the brand damage, Dell should first change its image within the bloggers community since these were the one that “caused” all the brand damage. The launch of Dells customer service blog was in my opinion definitely directed to this community. Just after changing bloggers opinion Dell will be able to change the overall public opinion.
“Dell lies. Dell sucks
…I just got a new Dell laptop and paid a fortune for the four-year, in-home service. The machine is a lemon and the service is a lie. I'm having all kinds of trouble with the hardware: overheats, network doesn't work, maxes out on CPU usage. It's a lemon.”
Jeff Jarvis bought a Dell laptop that had several problems and when he contacted Dell customer service the “Dell Hell” started. Jeff Jarvis decided to post in his blog his complains about Dell’s costumer service.
The interactions between Jeff Jarvis and Dell costumer service didn’t go well and Jarvis continued to post about it in BuzzMachine. Jeff’s posts increased popularity and other bloggers started to use the “Dell Hell” to spread negative comments about Dell’s customer service, weakening Dell’s reputation.
The catchy “Dell Hell” become popular very quickly and was noticed at The New Your Times and Business Week. For sure Dell didn’t expect that a post in a blog would have so much impact on Dell’s brand.
Blogging become a popular way to complain about Dell’s Costumer Service. Dell responded to this launching its own “Customer Service Blog”.
What Dell should have done? Dell should have solved this problem as soon as possible avoiding the huge brand damage that this caused. When a customer buys a product that is not ok the company that sold it should fixed it as soon as possible (nothing new is our days!!!), especially when this costumer is an influent blogger. To avoid the big dimension that this problem achieved Dell should have made Jeff Jarvis really happy from the beginning and hope that he posted is happiness and the end of Dell Hell in his blog.
To recover from the brand damage, Dell should first change its image within the bloggers community since these were the one that “caused” all the brand damage. The launch of Dells customer service blog was in my opinion definitely directed to this community. Just after changing bloggers opinion Dell will be able to change the overall public opinion.
6/7/10
Facebook. What is the future?
For those that don’t know Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Savery, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes in 2004. The Facebook started being used for people to get know each other, initial limited to Harvard students quickly was opened to other colleges. Today Facebook is the most used social network worldwide with 400 million active users worldwide. Facebook makes money mainly from advertising revenues.
It’s quiet difficult for me to predict what will happen to Facebook in the next 2 or 3 years. Facebook is still increasing very fast but in this market anything can happen (like a new social network being launched with high sucess) and Facebook could stop growing or even disappear. Some people think that Facebook reached a dimension (everyboby now has most of their friends/contacts in Facebook) that would be difficult for people to switch to other social network. I agree but this is not enough. The first social network I used was HI5, by the time I about Facebook I had already a big list of contacts in HI5. I started Facebook but for some time HI5 was still my first social network. As soon as most of my contacts become available in Facebook, I stopped using HI5. What I mean with this is that being big is very important but is not enough.
I expect that in the next 2 or 3 years Facebook will improve the “live” interaction between users, for example instant messaging. The Facebook “Chat” is a bit boring if I compare it with other instant messaging tools. Since I believe most of the people contacts are in Facebook makes sense to increase the use of Facebook for instant messaging. It’s easier to expand the contacts in Facebook then in instant messaging tools, in Facebook you just need the people name (no email adress in needed). I believe (and expect) that Facebook will work on this in the next years.
Other possible trend is that Facebook starts to offer social networks for specific subjects, for example professional, environment,… I believe that Facebook has is big dimension as advantage.
Connectivity with other websites. Is clear that Facebook has been increasing this I believe that the trend is to continue.
Overall I strongly believe that Facebook will continue to be the major player in social networks market in the next 2/3 years … but everything is possible…
It’s quiet difficult for me to predict what will happen to Facebook in the next 2 or 3 years. Facebook is still increasing very fast but in this market anything can happen (like a new social network being launched with high sucess) and Facebook could stop growing or even disappear. Some people think that Facebook reached a dimension (everyboby now has most of their friends/contacts in Facebook) that would be difficult for people to switch to other social network. I agree but this is not enough. The first social network I used was HI5, by the time I about Facebook I had already a big list of contacts in HI5. I started Facebook but for some time HI5 was still my first social network. As soon as most of my contacts become available in Facebook, I stopped using HI5. What I mean with this is that being big is very important but is not enough.
I expect that in the next 2 or 3 years Facebook will improve the “live” interaction between users, for example instant messaging. The Facebook “Chat” is a bit boring if I compare it with other instant messaging tools. Since I believe most of the people contacts are in Facebook makes sense to increase the use of Facebook for instant messaging. It’s easier to expand the contacts in Facebook then in instant messaging tools, in Facebook you just need the people name (no email adress in needed). I believe (and expect) that Facebook will work on this in the next years.
Other possible trend is that Facebook starts to offer social networks for specific subjects, for example professional, environment,… I believe that Facebook has is big dimension as advantage.
Connectivity with other websites. Is clear that Facebook has been increasing this I believe that the trend is to continue.
Overall I strongly believe that Facebook will continue to be the major player in social networks market in the next 2/3 years … but everything is possible…
5/31/10
Today I am going to blog about Google. Being more specific I am going to blog about: Google Chrome, Google Operating System and Google & Privacy.
What is Google Chrome?
Google Chrome is the open source web browser Google launched to compete with Internet Explorer, Firefox,….
Google announces it (http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/more/index.html) as being:
Fast – “Chrome is designed to be fast in every possible way: It's quick to start up from your desktop, loads web pages in a snap, and runs complex web applications
fast.”
Simple – “Chrome's browser window is streamlined, clean and simple. Chrome also includes features that are designed for efficiency and ease of use. For example, you can search and navigate from the same box, and arrange tabs however you wish — quickly and easily”
Secure – “Chrome is designed to keep you safer and more secure on the web with built-in malware and phishing protection, autoupdates to make sure the browser is up-to-date with the latest security updates, and more”
Google Chrome was launched in 2008 and today is the 3rd most used with a market share of 6,73% (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome ).
For me the functionality that makes Google Chrome singular is that he combines the address bar with the search bar “One box for everything”. I am an Internet Explorer user and 90% of the times a go to a webpage is via www.google.com .Google made it easier.
Google Operating System
“Google Chrome OS is an upcoming open source operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications. Announced on July 7, 2009, Chrome OS is set to have a publicly available stable release during the second half of 2010.
The operating system is based on Linux and will run only on specifically designed hardware. The user interface takes a minimalist approach, resembling that of the Chrome web browser. As a browser incorporating a media player will be the only application residing on the device, Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Internet”. (Source: www.wikipedia.com )
“Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.
Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.” (Source: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html )
Seems this OS will focus in internet using. This makes me excited about it and hoping the see lots of innovation here.
Google & Privacy
My major concern as a Google user is privacy. Every day I use Google tools to search around 90% of the web pages I see. This way Google knows very well what my habits in internet are, what I like and don’t like. And I can say that I like that Google know what I like, so they can and are using this information to suggest me pages that I really like and advertisement that I think is interesting. With the broad range of products that Google has and will launch (e.g. Google OS), Google will have access to all possible information related to personal internet use. As I said privacy is a concern for me but so far I can’t complain and I hope it will keep this way.
P.S.: This post about Google was done using Google as the research tool.
What is Google Chrome?
Google Chrome is the open source web browser Google launched to compete with Internet Explorer, Firefox,….
Google announces it (http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/more/index.html) as being:
Fast – “Chrome is designed to be fast in every possible way: It's quick to start up from your desktop, loads web pages in a snap, and runs complex web applications
fast.”
Simple – “Chrome's browser window is streamlined, clean and simple. Chrome also includes features that are designed for efficiency and ease of use. For example, you can search and navigate from the same box, and arrange tabs however you wish — quickly and easily”
Secure – “Chrome is designed to keep you safer and more secure on the web with built-in malware and phishing protection, autoupdates to make sure the browser is up-to-date with the latest security updates, and more”
Google Chrome was launched in 2008 and today is the 3rd most used with a market share of 6,73% (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome ).
For me the functionality that makes Google Chrome singular is that he combines the address bar with the search bar “One box for everything”. I am an Internet Explorer user and 90% of the times a go to a webpage is via www.google.com .Google made it easier.
Google Operating System
“Google Chrome OS is an upcoming open source operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications. Announced on July 7, 2009, Chrome OS is set to have a publicly available stable release during the second half of 2010.
The operating system is based on Linux and will run only on specifically designed hardware. The user interface takes a minimalist approach, resembling that of the Chrome web browser. As a browser incorporating a media player will be the only application residing on the device, Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Internet”. (Source: www.wikipedia.com )
“Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.
Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.” (Source: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html )
Seems this OS will focus in internet using. This makes me excited about it and hoping the see lots of innovation here.
Google & Privacy
My major concern as a Google user is privacy. Every day I use Google tools to search around 90% of the web pages I see. This way Google knows very well what my habits in internet are, what I like and don’t like. And I can say that I like that Google know what I like, so they can and are using this information to suggest me pages that I really like and advertisement that I think is interesting. With the broad range of products that Google has and will launch (e.g. Google OS), Google will have access to all possible information related to personal internet use. As I said privacy is a concern for me but so far I can’t complain and I hope it will keep this way.
P.S.: This post about Google was done using Google as the research tool.
5/25/10
When I think in Microsoft (www.microsoft.com)….
… I immediately think in Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Messenger, Microsoft Internet Explorer… tools that I use in a daily basis and that I couldn’t imagine me living without them. For me Microsoft has been and is still the top world company in developing software.
According to http://www.wikipedia.org/, Microsoft Windows has currently a market share of 91% which demonstrates Microsoft dominance in operating systems segment. Even if competition is increasing I don’t believe that Microsoft will lose is market dominance in operating systems at least in the next 5 years (and 5 years in a world that is changing faster and faster, it’s a long time… ).
If we analyze the browsers segment I believe the story will be another, actually the Internet Explorer has a market share of 50% – 60% after having around 95% during 2002 and 2003 (Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/). Microsoft is slowly losing market share in this segment and probably will lose the market dominance in the next years.
My favorite Microsoft product, Microsoft Office (Excel in particular) is used by 80% of the enterprises (Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/). I had to do some research to find out what are the competitors for this product and in the article http://www.pcworld.com/article/49506/suite_survivors.html , Corel’s WordPerfect, Lotu’s SmartSuite and Sun’s StarOffice are pointed has the competitors (the article highlights the best prices of this products and the offer of some features that office lacks).
Just to finish I would like to convey that in my opinion Microsoft has been a very innovative company (even with some flops in the way) launching continuously new versions of his products. I believe that Microsoft will continue for a long time a top player in software development even with the increasing competition.
According to http://www.wikipedia.org/, Microsoft Windows has currently a market share of 91% which demonstrates Microsoft dominance in operating systems segment. Even if competition is increasing I don’t believe that Microsoft will lose is market dominance in operating systems at least in the next 5 years (and 5 years in a world that is changing faster and faster, it’s a long time… ).
If we analyze the browsers segment I believe the story will be another, actually the Internet Explorer has a market share of 50% – 60% after having around 95% during 2002 and 2003 (Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/). Microsoft is slowly losing market share in this segment and probably will lose the market dominance in the next years.
My favorite Microsoft product, Microsoft Office (Excel in particular) is used by 80% of the enterprises (Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/). I had to do some research to find out what are the competitors for this product and in the article http://www.pcworld.com/article/49506/suite_survivors.html , Corel’s WordPerfect, Lotu’s SmartSuite and Sun’s StarOffice are pointed has the competitors (the article highlights the best prices of this products and the offer of some features that office lacks).
Just to finish I would like to convey that in my opinion Microsoft has been a very innovative company (even with some flops in the way) launching continuously new versions of his products. I believe that Microsoft will continue for a long time a top player in software development even with the increasing competition.
5/14/10
Don’t know “Foursquare”? Get your Blackberry or iPhone ready…
Foursquare (http://foursquare.com) is a social network with 1 000 000 users. You are probability thinking “Another one? I already have 2 or 3? What makes it different?”. Well, Foursquare is an application where you can be connected with your friends, know where your friends are now, find out the best restaurants near you by checking the tips posted, …
How it works? It’s simple, “Users share their location with friends by “checking in” via a smartphone app or by text message. Points are awarded for checking in at various venues. Users can connect their Foursquare accounts to their Twitter and Facebook accounts, which can update when a check in is registered. By checking in a certain number of times, or in different locations, users can collect virtual badges. In addition, users who have checked in the most times at a certain venue will be crowned “Mayor” until someone surpasses their number. Various venues have embraced Foursquare, and offer special deals to users who are “mayors”. Foursquare has applications for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile” (Source: http://www.crunchbase.com/company/foursquare).
The possibilities to get advantage of Foursquare for business are huge. Imagine you have a clothes store or a restaurant, and from one moment to the other you just realize that some of your clients are recommending your store in a social network of 300000 users (and this number is growing up), you would love that costumers (and Foursquare!), they are advertising your company for free. What you could do to get advantage of this? For example giving a discount to Foursquare users, they would be happy and then post something nice about your store for 1 000 000 users and with luck you would have to open a new restaurant for the new clients. More people would join to Foursquare to get discounts everywhere and Foursquare would grow up exponential. As you can see Foursquare is adding value not only for their direct customers (Foursquare users) and that is maybe a big advantage over other social networks.
Big companies have already realized the value added by Foursquare, Finantial Times (http://www.ft.com/home/europe) for example is using Foursquare to get in contact with students from top business schools. “Foursquare users at the cafes in Cass, LSE, London Business School, Harvard and Columbia will be able to earn secret codes that will give them access to premium subscriptions for FT.com. More venues will be added as the campaign continues. For Foursquare, this is an opportunity to promote itself to a wealthy and entrepreneurially minded userbase, while the FT gets a very fashionable marketing campaign. "We're conscious we need to engage with readers in different ways," said Rob Grimshaw, the FT's head of digital operations.” (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/apr/12/foursquare-ft).
“This new social broadcast application can help your business promote deals, get the attention of savvy early adopters of technology, or simply to increase foot traffic.” (Source: http://www.inc.com/guides/making-money-foursquare.html). “Foursquare has been cutting partnerships left and right. Some of these are for good causes, some are for potential business relationships, and some are just interesting” (Source: http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/12/foursquare-harvard/#ixzz0nvC4Plyh ).
Foursquare success is already making people wondering if Foursquare will become the next Twitter. Read more at http://mashable.com/2009/07/25/foursquare-app/ or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7hCMyUJmOE&feature=related.
To know more about Foursquare Business model check the blogs I follow. Below I have some links if you are interested to know in more detail how Foursquare works.
- http://foursquare.com/overview
- http://videos.edufire.com/2009/internet/foursquare-7-tips-on-how-to-use-foursquare/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwM2sKX9Xok&feature=related
How it works? It’s simple, “Users share their location with friends by “checking in” via a smartphone app or by text message. Points are awarded for checking in at various venues. Users can connect their Foursquare accounts to their Twitter and Facebook accounts, which can update when a check in is registered. By checking in a certain number of times, or in different locations, users can collect virtual badges. In addition, users who have checked in the most times at a certain venue will be crowned “Mayor” until someone surpasses their number. Various venues have embraced Foursquare, and offer special deals to users who are “mayors”. Foursquare has applications for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile” (Source: http://www.crunchbase.com/company/foursquare).
The possibilities to get advantage of Foursquare for business are huge. Imagine you have a clothes store or a restaurant, and from one moment to the other you just realize that some of your clients are recommending your store in a social network of 300000 users (and this number is growing up), you would love that costumers (and Foursquare!), they are advertising your company for free. What you could do to get advantage of this? For example giving a discount to Foursquare users, they would be happy and then post something nice about your store for 1 000 000 users and with luck you would have to open a new restaurant for the new clients. More people would join to Foursquare to get discounts everywhere and Foursquare would grow up exponential. As you can see Foursquare is adding value not only for their direct customers (Foursquare users) and that is maybe a big advantage over other social networks.
Big companies have already realized the value added by Foursquare, Finantial Times (http://www.ft.com/home/europe) for example is using Foursquare to get in contact with students from top business schools. “Foursquare users at the cafes in Cass, LSE, London Business School, Harvard and Columbia will be able to earn secret codes that will give them access to premium subscriptions for FT.com. More venues will be added as the campaign continues. For Foursquare, this is an opportunity to promote itself to a wealthy and entrepreneurially minded userbase, while the FT gets a very fashionable marketing campaign. "We're conscious we need to engage with readers in different ways," said Rob Grimshaw, the FT's head of digital operations.” (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/apr/12/foursquare-ft).
“This new social broadcast application can help your business promote deals, get the attention of savvy early adopters of technology, or simply to increase foot traffic.” (Source: http://www.inc.com/guides/making-money-foursquare.html). “Foursquare has been cutting partnerships left and right. Some of these are for good causes, some are for potential business relationships, and some are just interesting” (Source: http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/12/foursquare-harvard/#ixzz0nvC4Plyh ).
Foursquare success is already making people wondering if Foursquare will become the next Twitter. Read more at http://mashable.com/2009/07/25/foursquare-app/ or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7hCMyUJmOE&feature=related.
To know more about Foursquare Business model check the blogs I follow. Below I have some links if you are interested to know in more detail how Foursquare works.
- http://foursquare.com/overview
- http://videos.edufire.com/2009/internet/foursquare-7-tips-on-how-to-use-foursquare/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwM2sKX9Xok&feature=related
5/3/10
Why a blog?
Three weeks ago I have landed in Madrid to start my MBA at IE Business School. So far has been a great experience.
The first two weeks was the beginning of the program with the “Launch Program” (see video below). In these 2 weeks I have participated in basketball games, arquitecture classes, Arab, Japanese and Chinese culture classes and had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world (Lebanese, Korean, Mexican, ….). Previously I had worked in very diverse environments but never in one like this (in my class there are 24 different nationalities). All of this time has been like “honeymoon”: just fun and more fun.
Classes started in the third week and the “honeymoon” was over. Lots of reading, preparation of study cases that with more or less difficult were done …
After being accepted in a top business school my confidence was very high and I thought that, for sure, I was ready for everything. I realized I was wrong in my first Information Systems class when the professor started speaking about new applications/technologies. During some minutes I thought the teacher and some class mates were speaking Chinese. I felt analphabet but, fortunately, I began to ear some familiar words such as Google and Facebook.
Can you guess which was the first Information Systems class task? Yep, create a blog! So this is the reason for this blog and one of the objectives is the discussion of new technologies, information systems, etc. I will try to do my best and I am expecting your contribution.
Please feel free to post!
The first two weeks was the beginning of the program with the “Launch Program” (see video below). In these 2 weeks I have participated in basketball games, arquitecture classes, Arab, Japanese and Chinese culture classes and had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world (Lebanese, Korean, Mexican, ….). Previously I had worked in very diverse environments but never in one like this (in my class there are 24 different nationalities). All of this time has been like “honeymoon”: just fun and more fun.
Classes started in the third week and the “honeymoon” was over. Lots of reading, preparation of study cases that with more or less difficult were done …
After being accepted in a top business school my confidence was very high and I thought that, for sure, I was ready for everything. I realized I was wrong in my first Information Systems class when the professor started speaking about new applications/technologies. During some minutes I thought the teacher and some class mates were speaking Chinese. I felt analphabet but, fortunately, I began to ear some familiar words such as Google and Facebook.
Can you guess which was the first Information Systems class task? Yep, create a blog! So this is the reason for this blog and one of the objectives is the discussion of new technologies, information systems, etc. I will try to do my best and I am expecting your contribution.
Please feel free to post!
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