Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Whitespace




Artists know how to use it.

           Entrepreneurs salivate over it.




                It's WHITESPACE             


Apple has done well with whitespace. They succeed by finding underserved markets and providing better solutions. They don't look at the competition and say: "How can we be like the market leader?"

I have been asked several times: "Why did you buy a PlayBook?  It's not like the iPad".  My answer is: "I want better. I want more than a phone".

RIM has found several whitespace opportunities with the Playbook  First is the 7" screen. Second is the true multitasking QNX operating system.  Third is... wait for it... Flash!

For the rest of this week I'll suggest other whitespace arenas where Apple is not and RIM can win.

Just remember, winning with whitespace requires two steps:

1. Finding it
2. Executing on it

Over the next year we'll see if RIM can win.


2 comments:

  1. My interest has always been from a micro point of view, i.e. where is the opportunity within reach of the non-monoliths.

    For us, whitespace can sometimes be found on the soft underbelly of a giant that has reached mainstream and is no longer innovating. It's evident by not keeping pace (ignoring big new changes), or making so-called strategic decisions that are counter-productive for their customers (e.g. not supporting Flash).

    The early adopters in the customer community are looking for something better, something a bit disruptive, they want what they're not getting.

    That's where I find whitespace. My latest venture started with in-memory analytics but that space was too crowded. When I adapted to web and social media analytics, I found a space poorly occupied by some weak players - jackpot for me still tbd.

    Someday I'm going to try a playbook. Anything you like so much has to be good. Like you, I'm not always enamoured with Apple.

    ward yaternick
    excel.nextanalytics.com

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  2. It's great to hear from you Ward. Mobile analytics across a variety of domains is something we are both interested in.

    Apple legitimized the tablet market with the iPad. Yet they have done precious little innovation since giving us an iPhone in a larger form factor. With their famous 'laser like product focus', Apple has left some gaping holes in their strategy. Journalists may not see, but we geeks can. 2011 is going to be fun.

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