There’s a dreadfully wrong theory floating around in tech circles that says that software platforms will make hardware irrelevant. The basic theory is something along the lines of the following. As customers do more and more of their business in apps like WeChat, it doesn’t matter which hardware vehicle delivers the data.
I thought that perhaps Apple’s continued success would have thoroughly discredited this dumb idea by now. That success includes a resurgence in China, the home of WeChat. But, this bad theory still seems to pop up here and there sporadically.
Here’s the main problem with that theory. It assumes that customers have no other other expectations beyond simply delivering data. It assumes that phones become commodities like gas or milk. But tech is different from a true commodity. Even a low margin business like automobiles shows how this theory is false.
Let’s compare phones to cars for a moment. The phone is a vehicle which takes you to your destination. The destination is all the data on WeChat. Proponents of the theory say that this commoditizes the phone and makes the brand irrelevant.
There is a similar parallel with cars. Your car is a vehicle which takes you to your destination. Does that make the brand of your car irrelevant? Do you simply buy the cheapest car available? They can all get you from your house to your job in the morning right? According to the software theory, since all of the vehicles can deliver you to your destination, the make and model is now irrelevant.
You can see how absurd this theory is when it comes to your own experience with automobiles. At the very least, quality and longevity play a major role in which “hardware” you choose. Then there are extra features like auto-parking, media controls, or styling. Even though a $20 thousand Honda Civic will get you to where you want to go there is a world of difference from a $100 thousand BMW 7 Series.
I’ve worked my entire career in the world of manufacturing durable goods. At all times there were at least 3 or 4 competitors which made great alternatives. We always competed on the basis of quality, features, or customer service for our share of the market. Getting your customer to where he wants to go is only the bare minimum.
And when I say “hardware”, I’m including the OS platform as a part of that. The OS platform is really the engine that drives the car. It’s a part of the vehicle that takes you to where you want to go. All the questions of quality, customer service, or features that factor into hardware by extension include the OS platform.
In fact, when you compare cars to phones, you could make the case that the brand choice is even more important with phones than with cars. Because privacy isn’t as much of a concern with cars. However, your choice of hardware or OS platform can make a big impact on what kind of data you share. Or what kind of customer service you can expect. All car brands have a dealership network. Only Apple has a bricks-n-mortar network for phone users if you don’t count carriers.
So when I first read about this theory that WeChat would make hardware irrelevant I immediately saw it as an amateurish understanding of business. I literally laughed out loud. Just because multiple brands can get their customers to their final destination, that doesn’t mean that all journeys are equal.
Here’s the main problem with that theory. It assumes that customers have no other other expectations beyond simply delivering data. It assumes that phones become commodities like gas or milk. But tech is different from a true commodity. Even a low margin business like automobiles shows how this theory is false.
Let’s compare phones to cars for a moment. The phone is a vehicle which takes you to your destination. The destination is all the data on WeChat. Proponents of the theory say that this commoditizes the phone and makes the brand irrelevant.
There is a similar parallel with cars. Your car is a vehicle which takes you to your destination. Does that make the brand of your car irrelevant? Do you simply buy the cheapest car available? They can all get you from your house to your job in the morning right? According to the software theory, since all of the vehicles can deliver you to your destination, the make and model is now irrelevant.
You can see how absurd this theory is when it comes to your own experience with automobiles. At the very least, quality and longevity play a major role in which “hardware” you choose. Then there are extra features like auto-parking, media controls, or styling. Even though a $20 thousand Honda Civic will get you to where you want to go there is a world of difference from a $100 thousand BMW 7 Series.
I’ve worked my entire career in the world of manufacturing durable goods. At all times there were at least 3 or 4 competitors which made great alternatives. We always competed on the basis of quality, features, or customer service for our share of the market. Getting your customer to where he wants to go is only the bare minimum.
And when I say “hardware”, I’m including the OS platform as a part of that. The OS platform is really the engine that drives the car. It’s a part of the vehicle that takes you to where you want to go. All the questions of quality, customer service, or features that factor into hardware by extension include the OS platform.
In fact, when you compare cars to phones, you could make the case that the brand choice is even more important with phones than with cars. Because privacy isn’t as much of a concern with cars. However, your choice of hardware or OS platform can make a big impact on what kind of data you share. Or what kind of customer service you can expect. All car brands have a dealership network. Only Apple has a bricks-n-mortar network for phone users if you don’t count carriers.
So when I first read about this theory that WeChat would make hardware irrelevant I immediately saw it as an amateurish understanding of business. I literally laughed out loud. Just because multiple brands can get their customers to their final destination, that doesn’t mean that all journeys are equal.
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