deal architect

What tech can learn from the Grammies

I have not watched the Grammies in years, so I felt like Rip Van Winkle at the start with acts like Bruno Mars and Adele. Those names looked vaguely familiar – from the iTunes receipts that my kids kindly charge to my card:)

But as the show went on, I was struck with how well it blended the old and the new. And how country and rock and rhythm and so much more from around the world came together.

Blake Shelton gave tribute to Glen Campbell, Jennifer Hudson to Whitney Houston, Maroon5 to the Beach Boys. Carrie Underwood sang along with Tony Bennett. Heck there was even a Chipolte commercial where Willie Nelson covers for Coldplay.

There are few technology events where we blend different genres. The Crunchies celebrate startups. Gartner events mostly focus on established vendors. Hardly any event brings buyers, vendors and investors together. And few events celebrate the many three and four letter acronyms that define the breadth of our industry – hardware, software, services, telecomms.

My only request – start the show a bit early so Foo has a fighting chance finding the older genre like me awake:)

The Never Ending Bowl

After 22 years of marriage, I thought I had heard every Irish expression there is. This breezy weekend, my born-in-Ireland wife, Margaret went “It’s coming in like Auld Segosha”. Fortunately, she keeps a Hiberno-English dictionary at home. I am always amazed she can pull more of that music from the closet.

I have known Brian Sommer almost as long.  I have heard story after story about his pranks growing up, practical jokes his family is big on, his travels, his auto dealer experiences. Just when I am convinced I have heard them all, last week he emails me about a “nom-de-plume” he has used on occasion. Clearly there is more to learn there!

As a young kid, I loved to visit a cousin who had an endless supply of comics – Richie Rich, Archie, Casper the Ghost. Nowadays, I like to go to Barnes and Nobles once a month and browse a bunch of magazines. Without fail I get 5 to 7 blog post ideas for my innovation blog, New Florence.

Dennis Howlett reviewing my new book says “I was struck by the almost child like wonder and excitement that oozes from Vinnie’s analysis.”

New Florence is my idea of an endless sandbox – so much innovation out there to catalog (and Barnes & Noble only gives me about 5% of my post ideas). When I started that blog 7 years ago, I thought I would run out of blog ideas in a year. 2500 posts later, if anything, the pace is only accelerating. And I am seeing users interestingly mine the database of posts for seasonal and topical trends.

It is my version of Olive Garden’s periodic promotion – the Never Ending Pasta Bowl. Come play in my sandbox!

FBI on Steve Jobs: Snore

The FBI has made public notes from the background check on Steve Jobs when President Bush wanted to consider him for an appointment. Sure there is some unflattering personal detail, but this was during Bush Sr’s (yes!) tenure – over 20 years ago.

What would be far more interesting is recent notes. The Secret Service’s notes on Jobs as he met President Obama on several occasions. President Obama’s memoirs and his recounting those meetings and likely Jobs’ frank talk. The CIA’s notes on Apple’s China operations and its Japanese, German and other component suppliers. The Justice investigation on whether Apple colluded with book publishers to raise eBook pricing compared to a market standard Amazon was establishing. FCC notes on the AT&T, Apple and Google dust-up. The EU’s files on potential anti-competitive behavior. FBI and other investigations into countless IP theft and infiltration attempts Apple is constantly subjected to. The surveillance agreements Apple was likely coerced into with carriers around the world as it rolled out the iPhone globally.

Dream on if you think any of this will see public light any time soon. Like Area 51, it does not even exist:) 

Burning Question: Do you measure negatives around your Brand?

During the Super Bowl I saw a couple of tweets which lamented that few of the ads “called for action” on part of the customer. Probably part of the brand nurturing investment I thought. Sometime in the near future, in competitive decisions, customers will likely reward their brands.

Brands can bring enormous customer loyalty. What is less studied is they also bring negative associations. Two recent examples from a TV session:

a) I saw a news item on Redbox and Verizon’s planned physical and streaming video service. As Blockbuster fades and NetFlix stumbles, it will be good to have other providers. But Verizon? All my negatives for that brand earned over decades of experience – creative fees, data throttling, slow technology rollout, poor customer service etc – jumped out.  I actually felt sorry for Redbox.

b) Saw an ad for Quicken Loans where they promised a “rate drop” feature where they would absorb the “majority” of closing costs of any refinance. Quicken Loans is an entity separate from Intuit, but the negatives for Intuit from my past experiences with QuickBooks and other products came to mind. Frequent and expensive upgrades, irritating pop-ups for countless Intuit products like checks….Still curious I went to their web page. The rates were a full percent higher than what my current mortgage bank offers, and we have a similar rate drop feature for a defined fee of $ 495.  Given my already wary state of mind why would I sign up for a rather vague “we will cover a majority of refinancing fees”?

Readers, is your company like Domino’s which used brutally honest customer feedback to engineer a “pizza turnaround”?  Or does it ignore them or even fight negative customer vibes?

More New Florence

on the innovation blog

The most beautiful college libraries

iPad in the classroom

Crowdsourced Analytics

Technology and Gasparilla

The maturing of industry M&A

It is so predictable. The media flurry around an M&A announcement, the celebratory mood at the acquired company, the speculation around the acquirer’s quarter, the giddy talk about conquering the world, the rumors around “who-next” and “roll-ups”, the debates around valuations. All good fun, but so predictable.

We have come a long way since 2004 when Oracle bid for PeopleSoft. (disclosure: I was an expert witness in one of the litigations that transaction spawned). It is impressive to see how effortlessly Oracle can integrate multiple acquisitions a year – especially for an entity which in the 90s was largely an organic technology company. Not just Oracle – Google, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft and others have shown similar competence.

Even more impressive is how many vendors have managed to calm customers about their traditional doubts about M&A.

Let’s face it – most CIOs are still ambivalent about technology M&A. As most will honestly say, we gave Oracle (or IBM or whoever) a chance to competitively win our business a few years ago and they did not. They are backing into our business with acquisitions. But so long as they don’t disrupt the acquired operations too much and don’t jack up charges too much, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, many see it as an opportunity to negotiate volume discounts. Many also see it as a way to deemphasize older, organic technology from many of these vendors.

This is so different from the mindset in 2004, and certainly the 90s when CA was on the prowl where CIOs would actively seek change in control exit clauses in contracts. They still ask for them, but there is a ho-hum feel to it.

Which is why it is funny to see analysts and bloggers work up a froth over every M&A transaction.  

The Changed Definition of Vertical Technology

It was 1997. Gartner used to publish an annual poster which rated systems integrators/outsourcers by industries, by geographies, by technologies, and other competencies. It was a large wall hanger with many rows and columns, and many analysts, including me, had a say in some of the cells.

One of the firms being rated submitted the same customer reference in their qualifications for the ERP, financial process competency and for the entertainment industry columns. I called the firm and asked them to pick one “view” for the scoring. They insisted they deserved to be given credit for that client on all 3 columns. We went round and round. I asked them Do you not have any royalty, studio accounting or DRM projects to share? They insisted their Oracle GL project for that entertainment client was proof of their industry expertise.

Fast forward 15 years and most vendors still show off their sales to specific industries as proof of their verticalization. There are some that can show specific industry functionality like retail merchandising or utility billing. Even fewer have functionality for newer biotech and countless other “new” industries. As a GE executive told me for The New Polymath

In sector after sector, we find that technology suppliers sometimes lack deep domain knowledge when it comes to vertical technology solutions. That has opened the door for GE Healthcare, GE Transportation and other units to become technology leaders in their markets. We are a multi - billion dollar software and technology company in our own right.

In comparison, it is interesting to read about Ron Johnson’s overhaul strategy at J.C. Penney. His track record – Apple’s wildly successful retail foray over the last decade. In my upcoming book I have repeated examples of how successful. Apple’s fingerprints are all over the Taubman Shopping Centers case study. In the ultimate compliment. Michael Gartenberg at Gartner says “I’ve called Apple the Nordstrom of technology in the past, but now it seems the student has become the master”. 

Apple has similarly reshaped music and mobile service. EBay, via Paypal, has reshaped banking. Amazon continues to revolutionize book publishing. Google and Facebook have reshaped the advertising world.

So, when vendors present to me about verticalization, I am not too impressed about that Oracle or SAP financials project in some industry. I was not impressed in 1997. Much less so in 2012 having seen what the Ron Johnsons can do. The definition of vertical expertise has come a long way.

More Innovation

on the New Florence blog

Bill Gates’ Annual Foundation Letter

The Perception Analyzer

 Technology and the State of the Union speech

The Logitech Cube Mouse

Monday Morning in America

That has to be one of the best Super Bowls I have watched. I was neutral so could watch the game dispassionately. The game was close all the way – a couple of caught or dropped balls made the difference. The teams were well coached by two of the best in the league. There were quirks in the beginning – the safety for intentional grounding and the ending – the chess game about a Giants field goal or touchdown and clock management.

The setting made it even more enjoyable. I have seen Super Bowls in some interesting places. I saw Doug Williams decimate the Broncos in 1988. Watched it on the Armed Forces Network piped into a villa in Saudi Arabia. The game started at 3 in the morning, and there were no commercials. I escaped out of our town when the game was here in 91 and watched it in the Concierge Lounge at a Marriott in California and was asleep when Norwood missed his last minute field goal. There have been many others with friends and family.

Last night, it was Peanuts, my beagle, my TV, my laptop and my smartphone. First half in the living room, till we got kicked out by my son who wanted to play a different game on the XBox. Then in the guest room.

But it did not feel lonely at all. I had a virtual set of friends on Twitter as we passed judgment on the commercials and the game. As a colleague told me last night it was the world’s biggest sports bar!

The morning after thinking about the evening, and my own way of enjoying it, I reflected on Clint Eastwood in his 70s and his inspiring Halftime in America commercial for Chrysler. I thought about Madonna in her 50s and doing the moves of a much younger woman. I thought about coach Tom Coughlin, in his 60s, and about to be written off a couple of months ago. I thought about Tom Brady approaching the end of his glorious career. I went and felt the warmth of the Isfahan, which has been a sitting place during many a previous Bowl when guests took over the couches.

Yes, our technology dominated lives put a premium on the new and the young. But the old adapts and continues to enrich our lives. That’s my takeaway this Monday morning.   

The Four Seasons

I heard Prince this morning

“Seeing that I was doing close to nothing…but different than the day before”

And it struck me how dated he sounds: how can you be bored in this day and age?

Earlier in week, I kidded with the Enterprise Irregulars that living in the South, I had no idea what Groundhog Day is. In a way, I was not kidding – life is so full of diversity. I am very aware of so many interesting days each month.

Search the New Florence blog and you see will annual posts on St. Patrick’s Day, Daytona 500, and many other milestones. It is my way of observing technology’s gradual and not so gradual impact on how we live, work and play. And it spills over to my books. My upcoming book features trends across January Consumer Electronics Shows, February Super Bowls, December Christmases.

(It’s also a painful reminder how slow the book publishing process is compared to the blog publishing one. And just as painful to go to some vendor events each year and see deja vu all over again.)

Overall, though, we live in an amazing era. Antonio Vivaldi, using technology he had access to in the 1700s, majestically captured seasonal differences in his violin concertos. A modern day artist  has so many more technologies and so many more “seasons” to celebrate. 

I think Prince is much more right when he goes

Honey you got to slow down…Cause if you don't you gonna run your little red corvette right in the ground…