I’ve been an ardent fan and user of Windows/PC for many many years. I think any developer that has been following a path of development for a long time really has a huge struggle to change direction when everything in their business, and their life to a certain extent, is focussed in one direction.
The vast majority of clients, and non-clients to that end too, that we work for have always be predominantly Windows/PC users. No surprise then that our set-up, equipment, machines and support software et al, are all Win/PC based.
However, in the last few months I noticed a real shift towards mobile and mac based equipment. That’s not breaking news, it seems that half the World is doing the same thing, iPhones (me too!), iPad’s (me Wish!), and MacBook Pro’s, iMac’s etc etc.
Up until now there hasn’t been a strong enough argument to hit that “Is a change of direction required now?” argument head-on. I must be the only person that didn’t see the Angels descending from above when FileMaker Go first released. Sure, I thought that’s nice, might be a good addition, and so on..
But, then I thought about the strategic side of things, and coupled that with conversations I’ve been having very recently – almost every conversation contains some “mobile” aspect … “Could I do this on iPad” … “Could I get this data on my iPhone” … and so on and so forth.
When people like Todd Geist are base-jumping into the hosting market on the back of releases like FileMaker Go, one sometimes needs to step back and think “I’m missing something here”. And, I think the crux of it is: In the Win/PC world I don’t think I’ve been viewing the iPad and similar products as a new direction, I’ve been thinking of them as an added expense – for which some clients might be interested at some point in the future.
WRONG!
Paradigms are not a Developer’s best friend (…or anybody else’s)
Strategically, one should be thinking a little more analytically than that. But often the constraints of our little paradigm aren’t apparent. Almost the “what box?” response, “I’m not in a box?” – WRONG AGAIN!
What’s a developer to do in future when there are already a mass of products out in the market? Or worse, there are a mass of developers out there in the market with a track record of delivering this technology – even more difficult to compete against than a product.
Break the Paradigm
So, with a little fresh insight and a reformed strategic vision of what FileMaker GO will do to our development world: We no longer will be able to develop for desktop/client only. Never. How could we? That would be amateurish, like doing half a job.
Sure, if you are very close to a client and they rely on you wholesale for every IT decision they make then you could get advanced notice that they might be going in that direction – but even then it’s probably too late – you’d be reactive, not proactive.
So I think this will reconfigure my whole project approach, starting now. Everything must be incorporated into the project as “standard” NOT “a nice to have” that could be done later on. Because, nobody wants that phone call that starts “I just downloaded FileMaker GO and my FileMaker solution you wrote looks like crap on it..” – Not a great start to a conversation is it!
I would much prefer a call that started off like “WOW, I just loaded our solution onto iPad and it works perfect right out of the box”
- Really? So let’s talk about giving you some specific functionality to make your life even easier now that you’ve made the leap..
I wholesale admit that I am behind the game with iPad, and if a lot of developers that already own one are honest, you’d admit it was that “I’ve got to have one of those things” that drove the purchase and not your FileMaker Strategy. (…with the exception of those that were already developing with FMTouch.)
Takeaway Lessons
- Take note when there is a market shift, as opposed to a “Fad”
- Always challenge your own assertions and beliefs
- Never ignore the fact that you might be wrong, and seek feedback from everywhere
- Ask yourself the right questions:
Prime question:
- Is this technology/product disruptive to the marketplace?
If it is then we need to ask some other questions too, like:
- Does this change my approach?
- Does this change my business model?
- Does this change any aspect of my business strategy?
- Please free to add to this list with your own insight in the comments below…
Time for some action. Watch out!
Share your own insights, and leave a comment below.
About the Author: Darren Lunn develops custom applications for people desperately in need of custom applications. And, when his wife offered to buy him an iPad for his birthday he stupidly turned it down – idiot!
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