Playing catchup equals losing out

13th April 2011 :: Author: Andrew Cope, Managing Director, Evergreen

I read an article this morning on the Daily Telegraphs website mentioning that Microsoft is rolling out their Streetside technology across the UK over the next few years.

I find it incredible that a corporation as big and as influential as Microsoft are not trying to carve out their own categories. They must have some very intellectual people amongst their ranks. After their foray into search engines with Bing, which was backed up by hard hitting marketing campaigns, they now continue to emulate Google who have already spearheaded this market.

I would cite Apple as an example but this is slightly different. I might try and sue an example though and then explain where others are different. Apple has released its second generation iPad to great international success, but while they have defined this category, no one else has managed to provide a solution that has been picked up by the masses in the same way. This is in contrast to the iPhone though, which is a few years old now. Time has allowed others to step into the fray and while they do have a good market share, they are not at the forefront of the industry and are playing a very reactive role, rather than taking an innovative approach. That said, Android phones are now in a position to drive the market forward as each tries to stay ahead of the competitor, but in most cases, by the time the competitor has caught up, the innovator is onto the next thing.

Whether Microsoft Streetside (rather similar in name to StreetView also) will be a success or a failure will remain to be seen but ultimately Microsoft have the capability to be innovative and create their own markets, and as peoples cravings for technology increase, they should not be jumping on the band wagon. Rather, they should be steering the band wagon.