Customer solutions

What does it take to have a customer focus? I don't mean talking about customers in vague terms. I mean really studying and understanding who your customers are and what they need. Here's what happened yesterday. Ed was sitting at the table eating yogurt and reading the PC connections catalog. He turns the catalog toward me and says, "Why can't Sun do something like this?"

I saw a page with the headline "Complete Video Surveillance Solution". It's a turnkey system, utilizing partnership between an HP workstation, Wren Security cameras and software, and some cabling, and power supplies, courtesy PC connections, or one of their suppliers. Oh, yeah, and it has a big "Intel Inside" logo in the corner.

He adds, "I know Sun isn't a consumer company, but still, it's a complete package. It's solution based, and I'll bet HP is behind this, not PC Connection."

"hmmm." I say, thinking that this really isn't just a consumer solution for someone who wants a backyard security sysem, it's a small business solution too.

The thing that makes this stand out in a catalog like PC connection, which is really product-based catalog, is that it's an integrated solution instead of a product. It brings together HP, Intel, Wren, and even PC connection to provide a specific solution for a specific business need at good value.

For business systems solutions like phone, IT, payroll, intranet, the 20th century solution was to hire an expensive consultant—or firm of consultants—or to roll your own. Now companies like IBM and HP are doing research on customer problems, and creatively addressing them. Read my lips: This means dollars.

IBM's been doing this for years, and understanding customer problems is fundamental to their business and continued success. They've also got some tools to get ahead of the curve. Success is not—I repeat not not not—just about speeds and feeds, and we'll be boiled alive like the frog in the pot if we don't wake up to this soon. Don't get me wrong. Speeds and feeds are important, but so is value, and so is not having to pay for an expensive custom solution or having to create your own solution because no one even provides the service. Read my lips: This is an opportunity.

Kudos to Sun's leadership for setting the stage and making the goals clear. Jonathan and the other exectutives are pretty clear about it. Now the rest of the team has to get going and make it real. For example Java Enterprise System needs to be a world class solution, and a solution that directly addresses business customers' needs. It needs to integrate with our hardware, other software solutions, and services into what our customers need, not just what is cool to do. And sorry for turning into Bush 41 with all that "read my lips" but really, I'm passionate about this.

So what does it take to have customer focus? Focus and discipline. Focus on the customer, not ourselves, and discipline to keep at the attention to the customer—no matter what it takes—till we succeed. Pure research? Our successful competition does pure research—even play—all the time, but understanding a customers problems and the trackback to the customer is always at the heart of it.

Posted by brucelee [General] ( July 11, 2006 10:48 AM ) Permalink