Monday, June 07, 2004
Do Channels Matter?
According to Nicholas Carr, IT Doesn't Matter. Since IT is ubiquitous, it has no strategic value or competitive advantage, only high cost and potential downside. Carr's assumption is that scarcity is the essence strategic value. "You only gain an edge over rivals by having or doing something they can't have or do." To use Carr's logic, since everyone has channels and sales people, channels must be strategically insignificant. After all, the idea of channels is as old as Satan using Eve to sell Adam a bite of the apple.
Carr's recommendation of a defensive posture in IT spending is more a reflection of the pessimistic, market killing attitudes than real business opportunity. For simplicity, I will call this attitude Carrism and its supporters Carrists. This attitude is the opposite of the optimistic attitude Robert Scoble has used at Microsoft.
It is how you use IT, not whether it is a commodity that makes it valuable as a strategic asset. Take a look at my upcoming ChannelZone column, "IT and the Channels Do Matter" to see just how far off course Carr's advice is.
If you are taking a defensive posture on channels, you are on the wrong course.
Scott Karren, The Channel Pro
2 comments
According to Nicholas Carr, IT Doesn't Matter. Since IT is ubiquitous, it has no strategic value or competitive advantage, only high cost and potential downside. Carr's assumption is that scarcity is the essence strategic value. "You only gain an edge over rivals by having or doing something they can't have or do." To use Carr's logic, since everyone has channels and sales people, channels must be strategically insignificant. After all, the idea of channels is as old as Satan using Eve to sell Adam a bite of the apple.
Carr's recommendation of a defensive posture in IT spending is more a reflection of the pessimistic, market killing attitudes than real business opportunity. For simplicity, I will call this attitude Carrism and its supporters Carrists. This attitude is the opposite of the optimistic attitude Robert Scoble has used at Microsoft.
It is how you use IT, not whether it is a commodity that makes it valuable as a strategic asset. Take a look at my upcoming ChannelZone column, "IT and the Channels Do Matter" to see just how far off course Carr's advice is.
If you are taking a defensive posture on channels, you are on the wrong course.
Scott Karren, The Channel Pro
2 comments
Comments:
A quote about "Carrism":
"This is like advising the Indians in the 1800s that you don't have to invest in rifles. Just wait 10 years and those rifles will be a lot cheaper." - Bill Gurley, Benchmark
"This is like advising the Indians in the 1800s that you don't have to invest in rifles. Just wait 10 years and those rifles will be a lot cheaper." - Bill Gurley, Benchmark
That is "funny" - it seems the reasons for IT has been forgotten by "Carrists"! I remember saving my department something like 5,000 man-hours annually by writing a simple Basic/DOS program when the IBM PC first came out. Though there was no compelling reason to switch from the 10-key platform. :)
Most Carrists will fade into the woodwork when the economy heats, I think. Corporations have been reluctant to deploy new technology which they would see a good ROI from during these recent years when keeping the ink sufficiently black has been all important. They will be vulnerable going forward if they do not adopt new technology at an accelerated pace!
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Most Carrists will fade into the woodwork when the economy heats, I think. Corporations have been reluctant to deploy new technology which they would see a good ROI from during these recent years when keeping the ink sufficiently black has been all important. They will be vulnerable going forward if they do not adopt new technology at an accelerated pace!
