Bringing the App To You

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I have been thinking about a fundamental shift that is starting to occur in the world of software. Instead of you going to the application, the application is starting to come to you.

In the old days, when I wanted to send an email or create a document or calculate in a spreadsheet, you would go to some sort of launch screen, find the application you want to use, launch it and get to work.

It seems in the last few years this is fundamentally changing. It started for me in 2006 when we started working on the BlackBerry. If I created a web link within powerOne, such as how all the help is integrated, it would seamlessly launch the browser and display the content. A simple hit on the back button would bring you back to exactly where you were in powerOne.

But this isn’t really new. You could always do this with email and the Office suite was always linked together, and apps like the old “Works” systems had similar features. Even other apps had an “email” link in them that would launch the email client and automatically create a new address. Internet Explorer and Firefox have always done this.

Given that it was the seamless nature of how this capability worked on the BlackBerry that made me take notice. There was no splash screen, no visible change in app at all, that made this situation unique and started opening my eyes to the possibility]ies.

And as we have progressed through the last few years I am seeing more and more examples. Facebook and Google+ can now seamlessly access my contacts and look for people I know. iPhoto can send pictures to Facebook. The on-device video app can send created content to YouTube. Almost every smartphone and tablet news app makes it seamless to Facebook, Tweet, and email, among other options, a story. iOS 5 will have Twitter integration available to any app that wants it.

To me, though, this is just the start. What happens when all of your apps are integrated seamlessly across the web and device? What happens when you don’t have to deal with files but instead can just say “I want this memory [or comment or post or article or note or contact] over here.”

I don’t hear as much talk of this idea but think the idea of bring the app to you will be a significant driver of innovation on the web and mobile devices as we move forward. So developers… how does your app do this?

Taking Responsibility

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My eldest daughter started Kindergarten today. Laura is an exceedingly bright child who couldn’t be more excited about going to school. She is a fast study, has a strong memory and makes friends easily. I think she will do well both academically and socially.

This past year, my wife and I have made a number of very conscious decisions regarding our childrens’ educations. We considered and applied to a well respected private school but had decided, before she was wait listed, that it wasn’t the place we wanted her to go. At the same time we sold our house and moved to a better school district with a very well regarded public elementary school. She just left for her first day a half hour ago.

School has been a topic of conversation for the two of us ever since we had kids. My wife  is a retired elementary school teacher and I spent five years working with middle schools and high schools in math education. Each of us has a unique view of both the academic world and the business world.

As we have thought about this day, we have come to realize that the modern public education system, as it is today and will likely be over the next twenty years, is not a bad system. It does some things well and some things poorly. Most importantly, though, it must be treated as one piece of the puzzle. Unlike my parents generation Esther and I can’t drop our kids off in the morning, pick them up in the evening, and expect them to receive the breadth of education required to be productive members of society. We need to take charge. We need to be actively involved. And we need to make sure that what they aren’t getting in the classroom they are still getting.

This is a responsibility I am happy to hold.

Start with the End In Mind: Switching Business Models is Hard

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I have come to a conclusion that I think is important to share with all of you out there inventing new products and companies. I used to believe that great products could find their way in the world, that good products, once customers got ahold of them, could find their way to business models that pay for their existence, and that with enough customers and enough turning over rocks, that would become apparent.

I no longer believe that is the case.

I now believe that a semblance of the business model has to be in place before release and that it does no good at all to hunt and peck for it later. Part of proving that the product is viable is proving that the product can generate enough money to support its existence. The business model is what defines that.

The entire company, at the beginning, has to focus on proving that the product is viable. And the only way to do that is to focus on proving that business model from the beginning. Otherwise there is no business.

It is possible to pivot or change but by human nature it is extremely hard to pivot from a business model that is generating revenue, just the wrong kind. When that income is the only thing that stands between you and destitute, when that income is the thing that feeds your two small children, it is almost impossible.

With powerOne, I proved that we could generate one-off income in the App Store. At $5 per copy its a grand bargain. I always thought that I could eventually figure out how to turn that into recurring revenue. After all powerOne has been very successful! Apple has featured it a number of times now, we have consistently been the number one selling financial calculator app for both iPhone and iPad, and customers love it.

But powerOne is what it is, a reasonably successful product (money-wise) that will never earn enough to pay the bills by itself but has been successful enough that throwing away that success and betting it on a different model would be devastating.

So as we start a couple of new projects — one close to release and another coming later this year — I try to learn from powerOne and try to focus the learning on business models that can sustain us and help us thrive as a business. I’ve enjoyed this too thoroughly for 14 years to quit now.

Waiting for Something Amazing

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The last two weeks in mobile have left me dizzy. Google buying Motorola, HP dropping all hardware, including webOS, and finally Steve Jobs retiring. There have been so many unbelievable things happening such a short time period that I have to admit it makes me feel a little like the boy on the trike in “The Incredibles.”

If I Was Running…

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Here is what I do know about the tablet market, none of which are original thoughts:

  • There is no tablet market, there is an iPad market. Imitating Apple’s iPad is not going to win significant market share. Apple has too many things going for it right now: superior product, control of supply, massive distribution, momentum.
  • The TouchPad weekend (devices sold like hotcakes when priced at $99) means nothing. There is no lesson here other than people love a bargain.
  • Remaining tablet makers have a choice: keep building your tablet and hope Apple screws up somewhere and you can quickly move to fill the void or invent a different kind of tablet.

If I was running RIM…

RIM is one of the companies that I think has a unique opportunity to differentiate. If I was running RIM I would laser focus the entire product on solving small to medium sized business problems. This would allow RIM to differentiate its offerings from Apple effectively. How would I do this? I would build a world-class web services layer that makes coordinating and sharing schedules, contacts and everything else across the office seamless and simple. In other words, I would explore how RIM’s technology advantages in BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Messenger could be the core of an approach that focuses on making technology control and integration as simple for SMBs as it has been for enterprises, without needing an IT department.

If I was running Microsoft…

Frankly, I’d keep doing what they are doing: combining tablets with Windows 9 to create a seamless Windows-tablet interface. Is this the right approach? Will customers prefer the “run Windows everywhere” approach over the “be restricted to specified tablet software” approach? Who really knows but Microsoft has to find out. There is actually evidence in both directions on this one. Microsoft, of course, has failed to sell Windows-on-tablets for a decade now. On the other hand, Apple managed to sell “iPhone apps” on tablets when it was first launched. If Microsoft’s approach is the same as Apple’s when it comes to Windows apps — “we have an awesome tablet for you with a unique interactive interface but if you really need a Windows app on the go, you can do that too” — then the strategy just might work this time. Can they beat Apple with this strategy? My feeling is this is a bet-the-company decision for Microsoft (meaning the company’s future growth is completely dependent on this decision) and frankly I’d be more comfortable betting the company on this than a copy Apple approach.

If I was running Google…

Speaking of a copy Apple’s approach… I spent the most time thinking about this one. Just like RIM, I don’t think Google would take the advice even if I was in a position to give it to them, but all the same here it is. Focus on social. Google’s future is social. It has to be. Google, you don’t really need to compete with Apple and Microsoft. While every action shows that these are the two companies you are most afraid of, neither is really a threat to your business. Neither makes money from advertising, neither competes on search (really), neither is in your league when it comes to web services. Facebook, however, is the one who sucks the wind from your sales. Same business model except Facebook says you don’t need search because everything you need to learn you can do so from your network. If I was Google, I’d be focusing all of my efforts on making devices that redefine social. I have no specifics on what that is. I am no social guru, tend to be a late comer to those technologies, and tend to see social through the lens of business, not through the lens of, you know, social interaction. But this is clearly Google’s biggest threat and strategically the entire company needs to use its strengths to win here.

If I was running…

To me there is a massive tablet section left that I don’t think has been focused on yet. RIM could do it (but won’t) as they at least had some mind-share in this segment. I honestly think this will likely come from someone who is not technically in the tablet space today, maybe an Amazon or Barnes and Noble. While I love my iPad, I still have a notepad I use. I desperately want to get rid of it. It needs to be good at three things: taking notes, reading, and browsing. Apple has nailed two of the three but the note-taking piece just isn’t there. Being restricted to a cursor and keyboard is a problem and pen input on an iPad is less than satisfying. Would I carry two devices? Of course as I already do: my iPad and a pad of paper.

Final Thoughts

The only way to beat Apple is not to outcompete them at their own game but to take on a segment of the market that Apple is either not focusing on or may be willing to give up. Jeez, hasn’t anyone in the tech space read Clayton Christensen? I don’t have all the segments here and some of these may be areas Apple would defend but by picking off a sub-segment and pushing Apple upstream, any number of tablet vendors could get a toe-hold and eventually compete head-to-head.