I wish I could boil down DM systems into 2 easy bullet points. It if were that simple, everyone would be buying the lowest cost product already. Clearly it isn't.
Before you accuse me of having blinders on, I have no doubt that messaging based DM will capture a significant market, but I also believe that market will a) be bigger and b) be composed of different prospect mix than it is now.
At the same time, I have no doubt that there is room for DM players as long as they have a specific vertical, if not point, solution focus.
The big growth opportunity to be sure is not going to be in the point solutions. The days of 2000 dollars or 500 dollars per seat are going away. Who will get hurt first? FILE, DCTM or DOCS?
I also have no doubt that there will be room for non MSFT solutions as well as non Lotus solutions. I also am quite certain that for the forseeable future, many of these up and comers will fall short in areas that the current demographic clientle of DM systems are looking for. Since they make up the known market now, and that market is growing, its hard to imagine a cataclysmic turnaround. Bloody clients want to do too much that is even today difficult to achieve.
Another angle on the "worlds going to end because of MSFT/IBM" issue -- Its kinda like saying that with IBM tool kits or MSFT tool kits you can build eCommerce solutions, therefore the BVSN's and ARBAs etc ad nauseum of the world are all invalid. Does anyone believe that?
I think there's still room for third parties, and perhaps in the end if that means adopting MSFT's repository, or IBM's, as part of your solution, that is a valid strategy for survival and prosperity. If that's the way of the world, and smart vendors identify it at the right time and act on it, then those vendors will see increasing benefit as well.
The specialization, vertical focus and value add will grow increasingly important regardless.
Have a good long weekend or short weekend, wherever you are. |
