Richard Bliss Blog

Skype Crash - Needed more than ever

3 years ago Skype went down and News agencies barely noticed. Three years ago I placed a call to all the major news networks in San Diego to let them know that this was big. 

Only one network covered the event:

 

Now, three years later, Skype is down again worldwide. This time, the entire world is hearing about it.

Immediately news began covering the story. Here is a link to the Wall Street Journal

Skype Down for Millions

It has been three years since a major outage of Skype. In that time, we, the users of Skype, have become so accustomed to it always being up and available that we automatically assume the problem resides at our end, with our equipment or Internet access, not with Skype itself.

I personally spent most of the morning troubleshooting my network because I use Skype as the main indicator of whether I am online. The ubiquitous little green check mark is my constant reminder that I'm connected to the world.

As a fallback, I began using Text, Facebook, and Twitter to communicate at the speeds I'm now accustomed to. It was a last resort to make a phone call. Who makes phone calls anymore?

And email? Forget about it. Email is now what the postal service used to be. It is slow and inefficient when compared to the immediate communication that I enjoy with my virtual team around the world.

Some would use this as an argument to refute the power of cloud services. Don't be fooled. All technology breaks at some point. The fact that 20 million people have been using a free service and the last outage was three years ago is a pretty good track record.

This shows the power of the cloud, not the weakness. Though we are all scrambling to find additional ways of communicating, the problem is being addressed with a global sense of urgency. 

We are all being drawn into a virtual world of instant communication. With the crashing of Skype, it shows how far we have come but it certainly doesn't represent an indicator that we are all heading in the wrong direction.

But there is some good news.

The good news is that due to my calls into tech support at my ISP, my bandwidth doubled in speed because they found a problem completely unrelated to Skype.

As soon as Skype comes back up it will be faster than ever.

Postponement of BrainShare - What now?

Novell has announced the postponement of BrainShare, its annual customer technology conference.

The conference had the misfortune of bad timing. BrainShare is still needed and will still happen. It just won't happen in March when it was originally planned.

Without the acquisition of Attachmate being finished before BrainShare, there just isn't any way for Novell to hold a global conference and then not be able to talk about what everyone was there to talk about.

Instead, Novell did the prudent thing, holding off the conference until the timing is right.

BrainShare: The House that Netware built

When BrainShare began, it was a small user conference on the campus of the University of Utah. It was held in March during the school break when all the students were out of class. That tradition has carried on over the past 20 years. BrainShare in Salt Lake City in March. It has always been that way and some would think it would always be that way.

But not necessarily. BrainShare was all about Netware for so many years. The other products struggled to find their voice in the sea of Netware noise.

I can remember some members of the GroupWise community started a GroupWise word watch at BrainShare. Identifying each time GroupWise was mentioned and then cheering loudly.

But as the dominance of Netware faded so did the focus on BrainShare. The SUSE acquisition gave it a shot of energy for a while. But it was clear that another Linux conference wasn't necessarily needed. I can remember remarking to a Novell Executive that if BrainShare was going to be about Linux, they would be much wiser to save their money, buyout the sponsorships of Linuxworld Boston, and hold BrainShare as part of Linux World.

The challenge for everyone who wants to be at BrainShare this coming year is the timing of the event. Attachmate, the new parent company is taking on a big task. And the Novell community may be something new for them to discover. Making the multi-million dollar decision to hold BrainShare has to be something done carefully in the new environment. And no one knows what that new environment will look like.

When BrainShare is rescheduled, my belief is that it will be more modest in size, focused around a tight core of subjects. It won't be as big as it used to be, but it will still serve its purpose. Unlike a show like Comdex that outlived its usefullness, BrainShare has a tight community that still supports it, even if it moves from its traditional time slot or location. If  you hold BrainShare, people will come.

Mac App Store Could Deliver GroupWise Client

Apple has announced the pending release of the new Mac App Store that will deliver Mac Apps through iTunes.

One of the challenges that Novell has faced, is supporting the GroupWise client on multiple platforms.

But when GW Mail and GW Calendar from Ghost Pattern Software started selling in the App store, it demonstrated the demand that exists in the market for clients that access GroupWise from something other than the Windows desktop client.

Ghost Patter Software delivers the GW Client to iPhones and the iPad. End users who want to get their GroupWise client on the device can easily purchase it from iTunes.

Having the ability to do the same for a GroupWise client on the Mac would be a near perfect solution for all those GroupWise organizations that are looking for a simple solution to meeting the needs of their Mac users.

The arguement has been put forth that this kind of client would have to be a simpler application. Yes, exactly, That is what I want and I believe that is what most GroupWise Mac users want. Give us a Mac client that is 100% Mac and I will easily use it for less than 100% GW functionality.

A big challenge to this suggestion has been figuring out how to get an application like this to market. Now that Apple is willing to handle marketing and distribution, we are left with needing someone to simply build it.

And Novell, they will need to make it possible for someone to do this. A happy Mac user on GroupWise gives the product another great reason to stay.

Watching a Billboard Ad Make Money

It isn't very often that you can watch a piece of marketing generate revenue directly in front of you.

I was sitting in the San Jose Airport watching one person after another step in front of a billboard ad and lift their smartphone to take a picture.

I have to admit I was intrigued and walked over to see what the interest was about.

The ad was for a new app for your smartphone called 360Panorama.It allows your iPhone to snap 360 degree photos.

The ad was very clear, telling people to download the app, take a picture of the ad, and then tweet it to @360contest.

I took the bait, paid the .99 cents to download the app and snapped a few photos. I realized I was watching the billboard generate revenue, 99 cents at a time, as each person stepped up and snapped a photo.

Bringing the physical world and the virtual world together is a pretty smart idea.

Here is a link to the contest the app is running http://occip.it/360/contest/

And here is an example of a 360 shot I took at the M resort in Las Vegas.

 

Novell's New Voice - Following the Five Laws of Marketing

In a previous post I identified Ries and Trout's first five Laws of Marketing

They are:

1. The Law of Leadership - Better to be first than to be better
2. The Law of the Category - If you can't be first, create a new category
3. The Law of the Mind - Better to be first in the mind rather than first in the marketplace
4. The Law of Perception - Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products
5. The Law of Focus - Own a word in the mind of the prospect

In our discussion we are going to assume that the deal has gone through and the company has been split into two entities, Novell and SUSE.

I have argued that Netware and its successor, SUSE, have not allowed the company to change or develop significantly beyond a Network OS company.

In this new environment, the rules of the game have changed. From a marketing standpoint, this is significant and changes the discussions of the past. Now, without Netware to hijack all the money and all the message, the other entities have a chance to tell their story and find their voice.

Let me give you a few examples of what I'm talking about.

First, I bet you can name the top Web Conferencing Solution on the market today. If you say WebEx, then you are absolutely correct. Today it is the dominant player.

How did WebEx get to be #1? Was it first? Did it have the fastest growth? Did it have some technology that set it apart and made it superior?

No, the secret to WebEx's rise to #1 is that it was #2.

The top web conferencing solution before WebEx was PlaceWare. 10 years ago it dominated the new market of web conferening, owning nearly 75% of the market.

It then was acquired by Microsoft, which changed the name and rolled the solution into its Office product and called it  Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

The product lost its brand, it lost its focus, and it became a feature of Microsoft Office rather than a stand alone leader in its own category.

When the top vendor is removed from the market, the #2 becomes the new #1 in its category, thus Microsoft caused WebEx to become the new category leader, one of the key Laws of Marketing.

Compare this to the way Cisco has handled the acquistion of WebEx. Oh, first, did you know Cisco owned WebEx? Many people don't. Unless you look really close, you will miss the "A Cisco Company" sticker.

Cisco let the product continue to be a leader, removing the Cisco brand, which would have placed it into a different category, avoiding the mistake of Microsoft.

Why Does Novell GroupWise have Document Management?

If you have ever wondered why and how GroupWise came about having a document management system wrapped around its email product, it is due to similar thinking like Microsoft.

WordPerfect purchased SoftSolutions, the leading Document Management company of the time. And before it could swing a stick, Novell had acquired WordPerfect. Now, the decision makers, rather than keeping SoftSolutions in its own category, DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT, decided that document management and the emerging email market were made for each other. They took a market leader, SoftSolutions, and made it a feature of GroupWise, a product competing in the new email category.

Both products suffered. The document management system lost all its resources and its ability to lead in its category and the email system become burdened with code and feature sets that it needed to support even if no one wanted it.

Netware 6 - iFolder Feature

Another excellent example is the acquisition Novell made of iFolder. In 2001 Novell acquired a small company with a cool product. It allowed the sharing of files across the web and computers without needing a traditional network to do it. 10 years ago this was great stuff. Novell bought the company and renamed their product iFolder. Everyone loved it. Customers thought it was amazing.

Novell made it a feature of Netware 6. I can remember sitting in meetings listening to the Netware guys argue because customers wanted iFolder but they didn't want Netware 6. In order to keep Netware relevant, Novell needed to make it mandatory that  you purchased Netware 6 in order to get this cool application.

iFolder really was a cloud like product, developed at the perfect time to take advantage of the growing need for shared folders amongst work teams and computers.

When the product became a feature, its future was doomed.

Five Laws and new voices

The new Novell offers a chance for each of the smaller entities that make up Novell's revenue stream to have a chance to tell their own story with their own voice, out from under the shadow of Netware or SUSE.

GroupWise, ZENworks Desktop Management, ZENWorks Patch Manager, eDirectory,  and Identity Manager have a chance of pursing customers in each of their own markets.

Law #1 - Better to be first than to be better

Law #2 - If you can't be first, then create a new category

Each of these products can find a way to become first or to find a new category to become first in. Without having to be in the Linux category, they can pursue their own niches.

Law #3 - Better to be first in the mind than first in the marketplace

Right now, before the changes, the flow looks like this

Customer Mind -> Novell -> Netware -> Dead

It has to change to:

Customer Mind -> Category -> Product name - > Novell

Note, it isn't the company name that is in the mind, it is the product name.

Law #4 - Marketing is a battle of perception, not products

Right now the perception is that Novell is old because Netware is old

But now, with the new owners and the new structure, each product category has the chance of changing the perception. Telling the story of new direction, new markets, and new focus is all believable because everything has changed. It is a new company.

Law #5 - Own a word in the minds of the customer

Each product now is tasked with finding a word to own.

This isn't going to be easy. Very few people will believe that it is possible. Many, especially those who have grown bitter over the years critizing one Novell move after another will want it to fail.

One of the biggest challenges here is that Novell has always been a technology company. It has believed that producing the best technology will result in customer satisfaction and revenue. They have traditionally built very solid products that have been superior. But being better isn't how you win. Stop trying to be better, instead try to be first.

The game is moving a lot faster and Novell needs to go back to its nimble years. Creating and responding quickly to the market and their customers otherwise they will follow Netware into obscurity.

 

Novell Netware & the Golden Rule

We all know the Golden Rule - Whoever has the gold, makes the rules.

For decades inside of Novell, Netware had all the gold and made all the rules. It is Netware that has brought Novell to this stage of its life. Over the past 20 years Novell COULDN'T change, not because because it didn't want to, but because it COULDN'T.

When 80% of your annual revenue comes from one product, that product hijacks your company. Remember Chris Stone's keynote address at BrainShare? The idea that maybe they would 'Give Netware away". He was alluding to Linux and Open Source at the time and the need for Novell to change,  but the reaction was nearly catastrophic. 

Novell's largest customers started screaming, Novell's largest Channel partners started screaming, Novell's biggest departments internally started screaming, Novell's board probably started screaming. 

All the people, companies and entities that were invested in Netware held too much sway for Novell to attempt to change course so drastically.

Any attempt by Novell to reinvent itself was going to be met with extremely stiff resistance by all those who had a vested interest in Novell NOT reinventing itself. When it finally did something bold and purchased SUSE Linux, it was to swap one Network OS for another. It was an attempt to replicate Netware all over again. It wasn't an attempt to have Novell penetrate new markets, it was an attempt for Novell to keep their same customers, just using a different flavor of software.

What this means, is the initiatives that Novell was pursuing outside of Linux, were never really going to be able to have a voice of their own. They were always going to be swallowed up as part of the bigger initiative of Novell as an OS company.

There isn't anyone to blame for this. Each team at Novell, whether it is development, product management, support, sales, literature, events, marketing, or whatever all focused on doing the best to meet the needs of their current customers and to deliver what they thought was best.

I take exception with those who say that Novell Management sat on their hands and simply built up the cash as a way of cushioning their own exit. I take exception with people who say that Novell Management purposefully drove the company into the ground.

Decisions were made for sound reasons with a lot of smart people in the room. There wasn't a cabal of tribal leaders hidden away undermining the efforts of the organization.

The current team has done a great job at stabilizing Novell, helping the company recover from the death of Netware and finding its role in the new IT world.

Some remember the glory days and can't let go. Others find no pleasure except in the disparaging of those they feel are to blame.

Netware is dead but Novell is now finding new life. We are seeing the rebirth of the company. The decisions being made now give Novell a chance to grow, to experiment, and to pursue markets and ideas that aren't beholden to Netware or SUSE. 

Freedom is a scary thing. But now Novell, free of Netware for the first time in its existence, has an opportunity of finding new life in new markets.

Novell's future and the top 5 Laws of Marketing

The top 5 Laws of Marketing as stated by Al Ries and Jack Trout are:

1. The Law of Leadership - Better to be first than to be better
2. The Law of the Category - If you can't be first, create a new category
3. The Law of the Mind - Better to be first in the mind rather than first in the marketplace
4. The Law of Perception - Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products
5. The Law of Focus - Own a word in the mind of the prospect

With the announcement of the pending acquisition of Novell by Golden Gate Capital, Francisco Partners, and Thoma Bravo, it is time to look at where Novell may be going in the future.

Novell has always been about Netware. The big Red N that appeared on millions of desktops over the years stood for Netware, not Novell.

Novell was the Networking leader, winner of Law #1 when Netware was king.

Novell established the "File and Print" category, winning Law #2

No one, not even Microsoft, was believed capable of unseating Netware as the dominant network operarting system, winner of Law #3

Robust, powerful, and everywhere, Netware was perceived to be the best, winning Law #4

Within Novell, it was always the Netware team that called the shots. Winning Law #5

But that was very far in the past, especially in Internet years. Today, with pending new ownership, Novell has the task of discovering who it is with the Five Laws.

Splitting Up

Splitting SUSE from Novell is one of the announcements that we have heard. They will still be owned by the same organizations, but the teams will now be separated. This is the best news for everyone involved. SUSE has its own battles to fight. The management team that ends up running SUSE will now be able to focus completely on becoming the best Linux flavor it can.

Law #1 says that Linux leadership is owned by Red Hat. Okay, go for Law #2 and create a new Linux category. I have argued for years that "Business-Driven Linux" is wide open as a category without a leader. SUSE Linux can dominate that category.

For the rest of Novell, SUSE Linux has been a mixed blessing. It gave the company a new shot in the arm, but internally it was swapping one task master (Netware) for another (Linux) except Netware generate $1 billion a year and SUSE was something much less.

The rest of Novell was left scrambling to find a purpose in a Linux company. Now, with new leadership, Novell can take the time to have each piece focus on being the best.

For example, Linux and Mac are both growing in popularity. Without being beholden to SUSE, Novell products can pursue supporting platforms used by their customers rather than platforms used by their parent company.

The Law of Focus says that splitting Novell into two separate entities is a very smart move.

 In my next blog I will discuss ways Novell san SUSE can use the top five laws of marketing to move forward.