HP Garage Photo: © Hewlett-Packard Co. Click on the photo to link to the HP web site and read the full story.
The IT industry was created, in about 25 square miles surrounding the Hewlett Packard Garage in Palo Alto, CA., where America's Silicon Valley was born.
Part of this creation was the establishment of Value Chains that pretty much dictate how any product is going to reach its end user customer.
We must face up to the fact that all technology companies now live in the era of The Pragmatic Buyer. Major customers everywhere are drastically reducing the size of their approved supplier lists. Given current global economic and stock market pressures buyers everywhere are becoming increasingly conservative in their choice of suppliers.
Some of these let highly innovative software and electronics components suppliers embed their technologies in the products of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Others work through major Systems Integrators who are familiar with the business models of key industries that can effectively implement software and hardware solutions for their customers. A number of companies also function as simpler distribution channels on behalf of vendors, but all of these are Routes To Market (RTM).
There are various RTM or Channel models currently operating in the technology supply industry and selecting the right one is a key step in building your company, but it can only be done if the existing Value Chains are seen as the context. Small companies can enter and disrupt existing Value Chains only if they have a truly innovative product offering that is differentiated in terms of its tangible value to the market. To find that out you need to gather and filter a lot of market intelligence.
2in10 has a series of tools and techniques to help you understand the Value Chain operating in your target market, evaluate and select the Route To Market options open to your product.
