In a technology startup company there are many functions that are deemed “critical”. Unless the company is heavily funded – probably by institutional capital – even some of the most critical functions are often not individually staffed in the beginning. Much of the time a founder or early employee splits time between several functions, doing […]
BYOD, Enterprise Mobile ISVs and Cross-Platform Support
One of the hottest trends in the technology industry these days is the phenomenon know as “Bring your own Device” or BYOD. For IT departments, this is the latest control-related nightmare they loath so much. The original technological shift from Mainframes to Minis and PCs was probably the start of many control-related sleep disturbances and […]
Software Product Marketing: Horizontal vs. Vertical
An important discussion for most software companies–both in the software product planning stage and in the downstream active software product marketing phase–is the manner in which the product will be marketed. The decisions to be made in each of these phases are separate, but closely related. The discussions on this topic need to happen regardless […]
Integrating the Marketing and Engineering Functions at Technology Companies
In most tech companies, Product Marketing and Product Development/Engineering are managed separately. There is usually one VP over the Product Development function and another VP over the overall marketing function, which usually (but not always) includes both current product management/marketing and future product planning. While this is certainly an appropriate way to organize a software […]
High Tech Market Research for New Products
One of the biggest problems in high-tech businesses is that a “technology-focused” approach often tends to dominate strategic decisions. This is especially true among startups. This shouldn’t be a surprise, of course. Many founders of software and hardware companies tend to come from engineering, programming, or other technical backgrounds. This enables a corporate strength in […]
