Customer-Driven It: How Users Are Shaping Technology Industry Growth

This is an excellent book on the near term future of IT. It says that the next IT growth is based on customer innovation. No incremental improvements to existing or leadership in emerging markets are is likely to be sufficient to drive a major industry expansion (page xiv). The shift from supplier to customer dominated industry represents a huge cultural and business change and challenge. The emerging customer-centric era requires customer leadership, including vision, motivation, skills, and decision making capabilities. Customers must show the same level of faith and commitment than IT suppliers have provided in the past. The customer motivation is the single most important risk of the future success of IT (page 230). This is closely tied to executive attitudes towards technology (234).This also means that traditional venture capital backed start-ups will play a diminishing role in the industry. The responsibility is on the leadership of existing industries, with a relative absence of start-ups and therefore a relatively reduced role of entrepreneurs (143). "The sad thing is that so much of (this) energy flowed into a flawed industry vision ...unless the IT industry embraces some sort of shared long-term vision and direction, the use of technology could either drift aimlessly or continue to squeeze diminishing returns out of proven areas of investments" (40). Many of the key customer-centric applications have already been identified. These include music, advertisement, payments, health care, e-learning, government services, and community interaction (26).Web Services and Semantic Applications are marketed as the next big thing concepts. Web Services implement process nets with modular components. Many viable Web Services already exist, such as e-mail, credit card processing, and news feed. Web Services may lead to the emergence of new kind and more specialized service companies that provide better economies scale, or skills, or more flexibility, and may create shareholder value. This dis-integration differs from the dot-com vision - processes instead of businesses are horizontalized. On the other hand, the dot-com collapse has shown the risks of outsourcing. Semantic Applications are capable of understanding other applications. They require industry standardization, which is seen everywhere; in the joint initiatives in electronics, automotive, manufacturing, medical, chemical, and travel industries (115).The book considers e-learning as a major opportunity, and LMS (Learning Management Systems) as the last great enterprise horizontal software market, in the lucrative tradition of ERP, CRM and so on (156). Communities are still at the heart of the Internet activities. They rival and exceed those of e-business and e-learning realms (166-167). Government's role in information society is thoroughly described and evaluated (185-206). Public policy is increasingly important IT industry factor (43). Example are e-learning, online gaming, voting,

Let's face it, there are way too many prognostications about technology, business and the consumer. The Internet Bubble generated a mountain of exuberant "vision" books, many that their authors now have good cause to be embarrassed about.In contrast, this book strips away "irrational exuberance", and gives a sober and well-grounded perspective of how technology has really changed the world thus far, and what likely lies ahead - leaving the rose-colored glasses behind.The driving premise is a simple, but profound one: the pervasive success of the PC and the Internet have created a population of customers that are finally educated enough about IT possibilities, that they are actively driving the future of the market. While this is given for most mature markets, remarkably it's a relatively new development in IT. The implication for business executives: if you're passive in your vision and use of technology, your doomed to be regularly surprised by your competitors' IT-based business breakthroughs. The implication for IT suppliers: the reality of other major markets like CPG, Auto and Retail is now upon you; get to know your customers' worlds VERY well, for that - not the technical agenda of your development labs - is defining your future.Moschella is not a showman, but a serious and experienced analyst of the technology industry. As a result, the book dives deeper on occasion than the casual reader may like. But for the business executive whose biggest decisions must now anticipate IT's future, it's a very worthwhile read.

As a CEO in the IT industry I'm always interested in what's next. This book makes the best case I've seen for customer innovation driving future growth (versus vendor invention). Short on hype, long on fact-based vision. Alot of relevant historical parallels between the Internet and other big time industries like autos, telephone, radio, etc. This is one of those "read this and let's talk about what it means to our business" books.