The key buzz word used over and over again in Ray Ozzie's 2005 memo was the word SEAMLESS. Seamless OS. Seamless Productivity. Seamless Solutions. Microsoft finally recognized that what people wanted were products that "just worked". Microsoft wanted to change its strategies to focus on usability, having end-to-end interoperability, and networked solutions. They had seen the light and we taking steps to change.
Having been in the computer game as the big boy for so long, however, the behemoth of a company had forward momentum in the old way of doing business. Microsoft was a patch work of 110 companies, stitched together through acquisitions, all contributing pieces to the giant puzzle of Microsoft's product offerings. They were trying to set a course where all of these disparate entities were supposed to be able to achieve a "seamless" integration, not only in functionality but in vision. This was a monumental shift in the thought process. Instead of focusing of incremental improvements, Ray Ozzie was asking the employees to undergo a paradigm shift.
Apple, on the other hand, was far better to suited to handle the changing trends in the 3 tenets outlined in the memo. Apple had already been designing and maintaining system integration for years; since the early days. Their focus had always been on the user. By maintaining tight control over its underlying technology, hard ward infrastructure and systems architecture, Apple had the prime position to put together an impressive array of products that "just worked" together. Take for example, the iPOD. Apple was not the first company to put forth an MP3 product offering. Nor was it the first company to develop a digital jukebox to organize and play the MP3. In fact, Apple was rarely the first company to create new ideas. But what Apple does extremely well is to be laser focused on the end user and the usability of its products. iTunes was purposefully pared down to minimalistic functionality to ensure that the users would be able to easily interface with the program. Likewise, the iPOD itself was design with the same minimalistic approach. The seamless integration of the hardware, the design, the software and the iTunes store allowed Apple to create an entirely new way of doing business in the networked world.
Microsoft still has a long way to go. At least they've taken the first step and identified that they need to step up their game.
Apple's "minimalistic functionality" as you described has resulted in benefits across the product life cycle. Apple is in tune with its customers and has an unmatched ability to produce products that give customers what they want and eliminate features they don't want or need. The latter is what Apple's competitors continuously struggle with, especially Microsoft.
ReplyDeleteCase in point, the new iPod Nano at first glance seems like a significant upgrade in terms of its features compared to previous generations with its miniature size and touch screen. But by eliminating features such as the scroll wheel and camera the newest Nano costs Apple less to produce than prior generations other than the 4th generation Nano.
In an industry where it seems common practice for companies to pack in as many features into their products as they can manage, seemingly just to prove that they can, Apple has bucked the trend and continues to satisfy its loyal customers and cut costs at the same time.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/28/new-ipod-nano-costs-aroun_n_741467.html