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Microsoft… Tear Down These Summit Walls!

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: May 4, 2012
Comments: No Comments
Tags: Application Development, Windows Phone
Categories:Application Development, Windows Phone

Microsoft has sent out an initial round of invitations for a Windows Phone Developer Summit in San Francisco on June 20th – 21st 2012. While one aspect of the timing for this event is perceived by many to be advantageous (right between Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference and Google’s I//O Conference), this timing could backfire in a major way if not handled properly.

This event has the potential to be “make or break” for Microsoft in wooing more developers to the Windows Phone platform, as well as keeping the support and interest of their existing developer base. With a great deal of uncertainty around Windows Phone 8 and development migration paths and capabilities, this conference provides Microsoft with an opportunity to put doubts to rest and deliver a clear message to the developer, consumer and enterprise communities.

While having this conference is a good thing, the timing of it creates as many (if not more) potential pitfalls as it does benefits -

The announcement is very close to the actual conference date. For people to attend a conference, there are always the logistics around attendance that create difficulties. Corporate approval, costs, travel and lodging arrangements all are potential obstacles to attendance. With a window of less than 60 days, the possibility of simply not be able to attend likely looms large for some.
Three mobile developer events in three weeks means fighting for attendance (and dollars). Many of the developers Microsoft hopes to enlist in developing for the Windows Phone platform develop for other platforms as well. I can only imagine that many of those developers have already made plans t attend either one (or both) of the previously-announced conferences. Looking back at travel time and costs, asking these developers to add yet another conference to their agendas is not going to go over very well.
Don’t forget about TechEd 2012. Microsoft has the annual TechEd conference occurring earlier in the month of June in Orlando, FL. Many loyal .NET developers and IT personnel are already committed to attending that conference. Yet again, Microsoft puts itself with this Windows Phone Developer Conference of having to compete, this time with itself.

With all of this in mind, I have only one suggestion for Microsoft in order to create the greatest amount of impact. To paraphrase former president Ronald Reagan when referring to the Berlin Wall, I say “Microsoft… Tear down these Summit walls!” Translation – Go virtual with the Windows Phone Developer Summit.

By making the Windows Phone Developer Summit content available in real-time, you can keep the attention and focus of those unable to physically attend for all of the various reasons mentioned above. In addition, you gain the audience not previously mentioned – the developers who simply cannot of will not travel to conferences of this nature. Finally, the public relations benefits that would come from this approach could do wonders for getting a maximum amount of exposure to a broad audience could be huge (especially considering what is at stake here).

Microsoft has put itself in an interesting position with the announcement of this Windows Phone Developer Summit. Regardless of the message delivered during June 20th and 21st, there are many things at play that could lead to this being a huge success or huge failure. By eliminating obstacles to delivering the message, Microsoft would be able to focus on the message itself. Here’s to hoping that Microsoft is thinking in every way possible to make this conference a highlight in the evolution of the Windows Phone platform.

Why CAN’T A Microsoft-Nook Partnership Work?

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: May 2, 2012
Comments: No Comments
Tags: Android, Business, iOS, technology, Windows 8
Categories:Android, Business, iOS, Technology, Windows 8

Well, unless you’ve been under a technology-blocking rock for the last several days, you have probably heard about Microsoft’s $300 million USD investment in Barnes & Noble’s NOOK (soon-to-be spun-off) group. The investment and approximately 17% ownership in the eventual new group/division/company was a part of a settlement between Barnes and Noble over Android and Microsoft patents (a story for another day). A lot has been said about the agreement over the past few days and I have been watching and reading with interest. What finally pushed me to write about this was not so much the opinions / feelings of people regarding the deal; those are what they are. Instead, it was the common attitude I found with people being absolutely certain in their predictions about the future for this partnership, especially the ones that were stating the partnership would fail.

While I cannot predict the future any more than anyone else, I saw quite a few reasons why a partnership between Microsoft and NOOK could actually work out. The best part of it all – it didn’t take much “deep thought” to bring these points to light.

I’ll take a moment to list some reasons why this partnership makes sense from my perspective.

Picture courtesy cnet

REASON #1 – What’s $300 Million Amongst Friends?

The first thought that came to mind when I read this was quite simple. The entry point in this agreement from a financial perspective is, well, pretty cheap (when you’re a big company). Factor in a 17% stake in the spin-off at that price, and there’s not a whole lot to lose when it comes to the arrangement. Of course, there is the potential of a whole lot to gain, which leads me to…

REASON #2 – Joining In The eBook Party

It sure did take long enough (over a decade), but the eBook industry is big-time. Everyone and their brother has either a direct or indirect stake in this business, and Microsoft is no exception. While Microsoft sees revenue from eBook publishing, they haven’t (until now) had any direct stake in what is now a huge revenue opportunity. Even if Microsoft does nothing else, they have invested in a business that, while not #1 (Amazon clearly owns the market today), still owns a nice share of the market. There is still plenty of room to grow here as well, as there is not only the potential to increase market share, but the untapped market that has yet to invest in eReaders and eBooks. That market should continue to grow as the push for eBooks in education and business continues to march along.

While Microsoft may be new to today’s market, they are by no means new to the eBook market, which takes us to…

REASON #3 – When You’ve Got Something To Offer…

Most people forget that Microsoft was, at one time, a leader in the eBook segment. In many ways, they were once again a bit ahead of their time in this regard. Over a decade ago, Microsoft provided the world Microsoft Reader. Yes – eBook reading software back in 2000. If you don’t believe me, just check Wikipedia. While Microsoft Reader itself never went beyond “niche” status, some good technologies evolved as a result of the effort, including work with ClearType font technology and text-to-speech.

With a history in eBook technology longer than any of the current major players, Microsoft definitely has the potential to provide some value to the partnership from an experience (and possibly intellectual property) perspective. In addition, Microsoft can bring to bear it’s resources from an R&D perspective and also it’s focus on user experiences around “appliances”. By that, I mean…

REASON #4 – Is That Microsoft Tech In Your Car (or Medical Device), or…

As someone who has spent years working both as a developer and advisor on Microsoft mobile technologies, I have always been keenly aware of Microsoft’s efforts (and success) with it’s technology focuses on embedded devices. Basically, we are talking about Microsoft technologies running specialized hardware. You may not be aware of it, but many types of hardware you see in your daily travels actually has Microsoft “under the hood”, and I am not talking about PCs or notebooks here. Many medical devices, manufacturing components and scanners run with variants of Microsoft’s Windows technologies. Microsoft’s work in the automotive space has led to Ford Sync as well as other in-vehicle systems.

From a technology perspective, an eBook is a specialized device. The NOOK currently runs a customized version of the Android operating system (hence the original patent issues between Microsoft and Barnes & Noble), but there is nothing to say that Microsoft could not bring more to the table with their experience (and success) in embedded technologies. Of course, the core software is only a part of the equation. Microsoft’s experience in tailoring these solutions to optimize both functionality and user experience for the mediums is also something that could benefit the partnership and even differentiate the NOOK from other platforms. This, of course, leads to…

REASON #5 – Is That Windows 8 On Your eBook Reader?

While this is number 5 on my list, this is the #1 (with a bullet) source of speculation around the Internet regarding the Microsoft / NOOK deal. While most are dismissive that this could actually work, I respond simply with – “Why not?” Some things to consider when contemplating a NOOK eBook Reader running Windows 8 -

eBook readers are evolving into tablet computers. Don’t believe me? Look at the Kindle Fire, NOOK tablet and iPad with iBooks. Especially look at the iPad with iBooks, as it demonstrates the potential for positioning a tablet as an eBook reader platform. While there is (and will likely continue to be) a market for dedicated eBook readers, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a larger target segment exists that longs for a solid reading experience – and more. Note: For the record, I currently fall into this category. While I currently own a first-generation NOOK, I no longer use it (my 11 year-old son does, however). Instead, I use an Android tablet with both the NOOK and Amazon Kindle applications, and love the experience.
Windows 8 on ARM (“WOA”) is targeted for just these kinds of devices. Microsoft wants to compete in the tablet space. The idea behind WOA and Windows RT is to go after this market. So, now we have the platform, complete with Metro applications to buy and run on the device. Of course, you also need hardware partners to buy in, so…
The NOOK gives Microsoft an immediate “dance partner” for WOA. I think the big question mark here will still be the cost of production and final selling price. However, if Microsoft and NOOK treat the device in a fashion similar to how cellular companies view phones and the resulting subsidizing model (sell the phone at a lesser cost in the hope of making up for that loss with eBook and software sales), there could be the possibility to have a hit on their hands. Remember – the Kindle Fire was, for many, a “must-have” device because it was more than an eBook reader; it ran Android. If nothing else, Microsoft has a platform to use as a “proof point” for other hardware vendors to show off the potential of the Windows 8 platform.

Incidentally, I left off one reason from this list due to a lack of objectivity – Finally get a NOOK application for Windows Phone. While this could be included in the list, I left it off because of my frustration in there not already being a NOOK application for my HTC HD7 despite having an Amazon Kindle application

Look, folks – I cannot predict the future of the Microsoft / NOOK partnership any more than anyone else can. Only time will tell. But I can say that for all the reasons why this partnership is doomed to failure, there are a number of good reasons why it could succeed. Personally, I would love to see success here. Seeing the NOOK become a bigger player in the eBook market leads to price competition. Seeing a successful Windows 8 tablet in that market also leads to more competition. All that competition invariably leads to wins for consumers – and that’s always a god thing.

Alas, Poor Zune Hardware. I Knew Ye Well…

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: October 4, 2011
Comments: No Comments
Tags: Business, Zune
Categories:Business, Zune

In case you haven’t heard, Microsoft has rather quietly announced the end of the line for the Zune HD personal media player (see more at CNET). It’s a sad day for me personally, and a sad day for this segment of the market in general.

I have been a Zune user dating back to the First-Generation devices. While the color choices for the outer casing were a bit suspect (I owned the “PBZ” color, with “PBZ” affectionately meaning “Poopie Brown Zune”). I wife and kids were (and still are) regular users of the smaller 4 and 8 GB Zunes (Second-Generation with solid state drives). I still carry a Zune HD, which in my opinion was the hardware for a personal media player – period. Now, I’ve used other devices over the years, including even after the Zune came out, but I always returned to the Zune platform. Part of my reasoning for going back was around the software and ecosystem (the best device UI and Zune Pass are two examples), but another part of it was around the hardware itself.

I think the Zune serves as a great reminder of how Microsoft markets so many of their products and how unsuccessful the strategy ends up being. Microsoft often times tends to spend a lot of time, effort and money building up interest and “hype” for product. Many times, this does work. However, once a product launch occurs, the effort goes from “great” to “virtually non-existent”. The history of the Zune may may the greatest example of this strategy.

For each generation of Zune, Microsoft put forth a lot of effort in marketing “what’s coming”. While some can argue the effectiveness of this marketing (personally, some of the “hip and trendy” ads reminded me of an old stodgy person’s impression of “hip and trendy”, the amount of exposure given was not in question. Once each generation of Zune actually launched, however, Microsoft seemed to disappear from the scene when it came to marketing. I don’t claim to know or even understand Microsoft rationale behind this, but it almost always seemed to me that Microsoft assumed -

People got the message, and no further marketing was really necessary;
The ecosystem (retailers, in this case) would pick up the marketing slack and sell for them.
Enough money was spent in preparation for launch, and spending more just wasn’t prudent.
All of the above.

I tend to ascribe in some form to the “All of the above” theory, but again – I’m not that much in-the-know. Whatever the case may be, Zune always seemed to fall into the “what’s that” category from a consumer awareness perspective.

I have lost count of how many times over the years that I showed people my Zune hardware, mainly because the people wanting to see it had little to no idea such hardware and software existed. Usually (and especially when it came to the Zune HD), folks were really impressed with the Zune experience. In almost all cases, though, people would take the stance of “Nice, but it isn’t an iPod.” Drill down with people on this stance and almost always this really meant “I don’t know enough about this Zune thing, but I know LOTS about an iPod”. In essence, Microsoft’s assumption that pre-launch marketing was enough simply fell flat on it’s face. Zune constantly suffered from a lack of brand recognition.

The good news (if there is any here) is at least aspects of the Zune experience outside of the hardware itself are living on strongly in other Microsoft products. The Zune music services live on in Windows Phone, desktop and Xbox 360. Almost as importantly, the Zune user experience lives on and thrives throughout Microsoft products. Most people forget or are unaware that the roots of the “Metro” user interface now appearing in Windows Phone 7, Xbox and even the upcoming Windows 8 operating system were born from the Zune user interface (I distinctly recall so many people calling Windows Phone 7 the “Zune Phone” when the first images of the user interface went public). All of this good news, however, makes me wonder even more how a platform generally can gain so much acceptance and acclaim, yet the hardware that started it all could struggle for so long and eventually die out without so much as a bang but a whimper.

Hopefully, Microsoft will learn from the life and death of the Zune as a device. Sadly, many of the same issues around marketing strategy dogged the old Windows Mobile platform and (sadly) seem to be repeated to some extent with the newer Windows Phone 7 platform. Maybe, just maybe, Microsoft will eventually learn that the “if you build it, they will come” approach to product marketing isn’t always enough, and brand recognition is a 24/7/365 marketing effort.

Now, I will stop writing and go back to listening to some music on my Zune HD (suddenly a collector’s item)…

Solving a Problem When You Can’t Define The Problem Itself

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: October 3, 2011
Comments: No Comments
Tags: Business, Personal, technology
Categories:Business, Personal, Technology

Sometimes I think we all forget that while technology helps us to solve problems, we have to first identify and clearly define the problem we are trying to solve. As consumers we often tend to purchase technology because we want it, not necessarily because we need it. We buy because it’s the “latest and greatest” or because it can do more, but these reasons don’t match up to any problems we currently have with our existing technology.

This type of conspicuous consumption has fueled economies since, well, forever. Of course, in uncertain economic times (like the present) we as consumers usually take pause and finally do ask ourselves if technology purchases are really serving a direct benefit and addressing a real problem we currently have. Ironically, however, another form of consumer (not the individual one like you or I) exists that suffers from some of the same impulse-buying and lack of forethought that we do. Their purchases, on the other hand, often run into the tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars. And the people making those purchases are often themselves paid well to behave in just the opposite fashion of their spending habits. The consumers I am referring to are businesses.

As someone who has spent nearly a quarter of a century working with businesses and their technologies, I still find myself amazed by the number of times organizations acquire technologies with little to no idea of how they are going to actually use them. They spend large amounts of money investing in technologies, only look at them post-purchase and collectively say “now what?” While the technologies have changed and evolved over time, the acquisition of technology still occurs and results in a solution struggling to find a problem. Here are two such technologies I see this occurring with quite regularly lately, with one hitting very close to home on a personal level.

Cloud-based solutions. Everything seems to be moving to “The Cloud” lately. Centralized, externally-hosted solutions are intended to generally solve very specific problems, such as:
- Reducing the cost of infrastructure. Less hardware and/or software to maintain, less network bandwidth and reduced licensing.
- Reduce the cost of operations. Less human resources needed to maintain infrastructure.
- Ease access to corporate data and applications.

However, I am amazed by how many people currently consider moving to cloud-based solutions that currently are not experiencing these problems or will not see these problems occurring any time in the future. In fact, in these cases the cost of migrating from in-house to the cloud will likely cost significantly more in both the short- and long-term.

Device Management solutions. This is the one I said hits close to home for me, working in the industry directly. Typically, device management platforms today can help to solve a number of issues around mobile devices and –
- Asset tracking and reporting;
- Security configuration and enforcement;
- Application management;
- Identification and control over both corporate-issued devices and personal devices accessing corporate resources.

Here again, however, I regularly meet with organizations “post-purchase” of device management solutions only to discover that they really don’t know what problem (if any) they are trying to solve. In many cases, there is really no strategic direction/planning around mobile devices. In all of these cases, questions directed at the customer regarding what they hope to leverage from device management are met with responses like “we have no idea; what do you think?”

Technology is an enabler; it helps us to do things more effectively, or at a lower cost. Technology is not an automatic solution, however. In order for it to solve a problem, there has to be a problem in place and the technology needs to be looked at to validate whether or not it is, in fact, the solution. Whether it is a new dryer or a device management platform, the same principles apply.

Platform Fragmentation: Yes, There IS a Good Kind

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: October 2, 2011
Comments: No Comments
Tags: Business, Mobile Technology, technology
Categories:Business, Mobile Technology, Technology

The other day, I was involved in what seems to be a regular occurrence for me; a discussion on platform fragmentation. For the non-mobile, non-techie folks out there, this concept refers to the idea that a given platform (say, Android) has aspects about it that open itself up to differentiation. In theory, the differentiation could be a good thing, but usually the term is only discussed when the results are negative (especially for consumer/users). BTW – while I used the phrase “non-mobile”, I don’t mean that the ideas around platform fragmentation are limited to mobile devices. The same thing can apply to any platform.

Well, a couple of interesting thoughts occurred to me during this particular platform fragmentation discussion. First, I found someone in the discussion tried to make an argument that just didn’t fit in defense of the particular platform in question (in this discussion, it was Windows Phone 7.5). The argument was, in essence, that “platform fragmentation” only occurs if the platform causes a given application to work on one device and not the other. I found this argument to be the equivalent of something like changing the dimensions of a soccer field in the middle of a game and then calling everything that was inbounds before suddenly out-of-bounds. It just doesn’t work that way.

From my perspective, I look at a platform from a very gestalt point of view. In other words, the whole of the platform is greater than the sum of its parts. This includes all aspects of the platform. In the mobile world, this includes any OEM relationships, mobile carrier relationships and the ability of the platform (in this discussion, it was the Windows Phone 7.5 OS as a major factor in the overall platform discussion) to allow for customization by the other players in the ecosystem. Remember – unlike Apple with iOS as a platform, there is literally no other “players in the game”; their manufacturing partners have specifications dictated to them, and mobile carriers have no ability to customize other than adding software (and only with Apple’s blessing). Now, with all this in mind, it occurred on me that there can be good aspects to platform fragmentation. The first example came out of the very discussion where someone was trying to change the parameters around what defines platform fragmentation.

A platform that allows for device manufacturers to differentiate through hardware capabilities opens the door for platform fragmentation. However, that type of fragmentation enables:

Differing screen qualities
Differing audio qualities
Integration with other technologies (take DLNA, for example, allowing for streaming from the phone to other devices)

Now, if this particular form of platform fragmentation is allowed without altering the fundamental user experience (something I will touch upon in a moment), then it becomes a “win-win” for both devices manufacturers and consumers. Device manufacturers can compete through hardware and feature capabilities, while consumers have more choice without fear of a differentiator altering expected functionality. The end result – a positive type of platform fragmentation.

From a “bad” point of view, there are in my opinion several major types of platform fragmentation. They include -

Allowing for functional changes that break consistent user experiences. The scenario that was positive above becomes negative if a device manufacturer adds or removes capabilities that make application no longer function or change the way users have to perform basic tasks (turning on WiFi, for example). When this happens, moving from device to device within the platform makes for a painful new learning curve and removes the expectation of basic functionality.
Allowing for a device manufacturer or carrier to alter the basic user interface experience. Think “skinning” or “theming” here. While there can be an argument (both for and against) allowing users to change the fundamental appearance of the user interface, allowing devices to be sold with this as a default leads to a number of issues, including:

Altering the fundamental expectation of user experience;
Creating confusion through a lack of recognition of a platform. This was often the case with the old Windows Mobile platform and now occurs quite often with Android devices. Users do not even recognize and cannot identify what platform the device is running, never mind easily perform common tasks. Again, user frustration and new learning curves result when moving from device to device within the platform;
Difficulty for the consumer in determining what device is best for them within a platform. The number of returns of devices because of issues like the ones listed above lead to dissatisfied consumers.

Creating splits within the platform to accommodate hardware and features. Anyone remember the confusion caused by Windows Mobile Standard (non-touchscreen) vs. Windows Mobile Professional (touchscreen)? How about Android Honeycomb/3.x (tablet-specific) vs. the Android 2.x variants (tablet and non-tablet)? These splits result in software compatibility issues and even greater confusion/frustration for the consumer.

I guess the points I am trying to make here are, quite simply:

Platform fragmentation almost always will occur to some level with technology, especially when the technology includes an ecosystem with more than one vested interest.
There can be good forms of platform fragmentation that allow for grater choice for consumers without confusing, frustrating or hurting them.

To argue the basic definition of platform fragmentation shouldn’t be the approach when it occurs. Instead, the argument should focus on the benefit or detriment of the fragmentation in question.

Back In The Blogging Saddle…

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: September 27, 2011
Comments: No Comments
Tags: miscellaneous
Categories:Miscellaneous

After (yet again) another long hiatus, it’s time to get back to writing a bit more regularly here. While I’m not hard to find in the usual social media haunts, I’ve been absent from the blogging world for almost half a year. While there are a lot of valid reasons for me not spending more time blogging, they really are just excuses in the end. It’s not really all that hard to stay on top of things and write a bit more.

So – what coming? Well, more of what I have done in the past. Thoughts on technology, observations and (of course) the occasional rant.

Stay tuned…

HTML 5 and “That Familiar Sinking Feeling”

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: March 5, 2011
Comments: 2 Comments
Tags: Application Development, HTML 5, Mobile Application Development, Mobile Web Applications
Categories:Application Development, HTML 5, Mobile Web Applications

It appears to me that HTML 5 is reaching the proverbial “critical mass” on the Internet Hype Machine. Everybody and their brother is touting HTML 5 as the solution to every ailment, and every vendor is proclaiming “HTML 5 support”. Before I go any further in this post, please understand the following – I am a HUGE supporter of HTML 5. As a mobile application developer, I have been a backer of HTML 5 ratification from the time Palm implemented HTML 5 proposed standards as the foundation for WebOS development. HTML 5 offers a world of promise for addressing many mobile (and desktop) web development woes, including the fundamental need to work offline (i.e. – NO INTERNET CONNECTIVITY) using a single standard for programming. However, the push to “jump on the HTML 5 bandwagon” immediately and start migrating native mobile applications to the web causes me to have an old (and far too familiar) “sinking feeling”.

If you read my introductory paragraph closely, you may have noticed my careful choice of the phrases “proposed standards” and “world of promise” when talking about HTML 5. There is a reason for that – HTML 5 is not yet an official standard. In fact, the W3C (the official sanctioning body for HTML specifications) has recently mentioned that final ratification may still be years away. I totally understand and accept that fact. I also understand, however, the potential implications that presents for today and until the time that a final specification is ratified.

My web development as a professional consultant actually goes back to the days when HTML 2 was a proposed standard (ah yes… when a company’s web site was largely static and, well, rather plain or ugly by today’s standards). As HTML evolved, from proposed specification through the ratification process, the following events have ALWAYS occurred:

Company A that supports using HTML (read – “browser maker” or “web development tools maker”) implements their “interpretation” of the proposed HTML standard in product.
Company B that supports using HTML decides Company A’s interpretation isn’t quite right and implements their own variation of the proposed standard.
Companies C, D, E, etc all do the same.

Back in the days of HTML 2 and HTML 3, we were fortunate in how limited the number of “companies” referenced above were. Even then, however, the differing interpretations often created such development havoc that building one application for the web was more time- and resource-consuming than building separate native applications. Anyone reading this remember HTML 3 or 3.2 and the “Internet Explorer/Netscape Navigator Browser Wars”? I sure do. The varying approaches that Microsoft and Netscape took towards “implementing” HTML specifications soured many businesses from moving to the web. In fact (and totally in my opinion), I believe that the fallout from the “Browser Wars” actually set back web adoption by a few years. Unfortunately, HTML 5 is setting up to walk down this same path again.

The “HTML landscape” of 2011 is far more complex than it was a decade-plus ago. The number of “companies” (those providing fundamental support for HTML through browsers and development platforms) dwarfs the numbers of the late 1990’s. Furthermore, their stakes in the HTML market are far greater and extend far further than they did 10 years ago, with the desktop and mobile web reaching a vastly larger audience. During this “Wild West” period of HTML 5 implementation, when there is no final specification and plenty of room for “interpretation”, these companies have the ability to lead developers down a single path that could, in turn, restrict wider use. While there is no guarantee that this will happen, history speaks otherwise. This risk, in turn, is one that potentially result in a repeat of the development nightmares of the past. Even as we speak, current browsers and their “HTML 5 support” are beginning to cause developers to spend extra development time and effort to ensure that what works for “Browser A” also works for “Browser B” (and “Browser C", D,E and F”). Speaking strictly from a risk management perspective, the longer the time it takes for formal ratification, the greater the risks become.

While I eagerly await the day when HTML 5 is formally ratified and HTML 5-supported platforms come into greater alignment, I have a hard time staking my (or a company’s) development investment on the standard. While the HTML 5 “companies” continue to bombard me with messages on why I should invest in their HTML 5 implementations, I cannot help but feel that their answers to HTML 5 will lead me to a point where I will be either sandboxed into just their products or be forced to spend a lot of time coding my way out of their sandbox. All of that leads to that familiar sinking feeling of the past. That feeling is something I already have faced one too many times. So, I will stick with either native mobile applications or web applications that work across platforms (complete with limitations) until I feel comfortable that the sinking feeling will stay away.

A Message To Prospective Mobile Application Developer Employers

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: March 5, 2011
Comments: 2 Comments
Tags: Employment, Hiring, Mobile Application Development
Categories:Android, Application Development, iOS, Mobile Technology, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone

As someone who is regularly directly recruited or asked to refer possible employees for companies looking for “mobile application developers”, I have seen a trend in expectations that I think requires a bit of level-setting. I have a simple message to pass along…

Lower your standards.

While this quote does make me giggle, reminding me of an old Jon Lovitz sketch on Saturday Night Live years back, the statement does have some truth to it. You see, I believe that for many employers beginning the foray into mobile applications, hiring one developer will easily fill the need. Before you go any further, there are some things you should be aware of in order to avoid some disappointment as your hiring search begins.

There is more than one mobile application platform out in the world. I find far too many recruiters looking for a mobile developer who, when asked to define which mobile platform will applications be developed for, simply respond “I don’t know” or “does it matter”. The simple answer – “it makes all the difference in the world”. Today, there are several major target platforms your company could target for development – iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod), Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone. There is not a “one skillset fits all” solution to this situation. The tools, languages and techniques used to fit the development needs all vary (more on this below). As an employer, you should take the time to really refine which platforms you desire for your applications. If you don’t know, perhaps you should first take the time to research your real needs.
Each mobile platform requires different technical knowledge. While many concepts around mobile application development are common to all platforms, the actual implementation/development skills around the platforms vary to a significant degree. iOS development requires knowledge of the Objective-C programming language. Android and Blackberry, while both leveraging Java as a language, use differing extensions of the base language. Windows Mobile and Windows Phone both leverage .NET languages (C# and VB.NET), but with significant differences from their desktop and web siblings. The assumption that one developer will be fluent in all languages is a precursor to disappointment.
To see just how rare the multi-language skillset is for developers, you probably would have to look no further than your current in-house IT group. Just ask any in-house developer how difficult it would be to move an existing desktop application from .NET to Java, or a web application from PHP to .NET. The most common response from a given developer would likely be “I don’t know that language”. While there are always some developers who are fluent in more than one programming language, assuming competency across the board when looking for potential candidates will likely lengthen the time for searching.
A “designer” does not mean a “developer” (and vice-versa). Hopefully, most employers and recruiters know this, but I still find some do not. Many developers who are extremely competent at developing mobile applications struggle with user interface design and the graphical nature of applications. Also note that being able to program in a language does not guarantee understanding the nuances of design for the platform. I point this out because of the simple fact that I regularly see employers/recruiters going after general programming knowledge as a way of “fast-tracking” the hiring process. By this I mean seeing companies looking for Objective-C or C# skills and minimizing mobile application development experience. All I can say here is – bad idea. If are comfortable with a large post-hire learning curve for your employee, then you are OK. If, however, you expect instant results, you will likely be disappointed.
Be prepared to pay for employees skills. Sadly, there are some employers who are aware of everything I have said thus far but believe by recruiting generally for a mobile application developer they will get a “5 for the price of 1” hiring deal. Sorry folks – just like a company in need of hiring for natural language translation, the rule of thumb is “the more languages known, the higher the price”. Furthermore, the increasing hiring practice I have seen around “don’t tell them what we really expect from them until after we hire them” has resulted in successfully eliminating any employee retention. Bottom line – when you know what you need, be prepared to pay for what you need.

So, what can employers do to successfully recruit and retain mobile application developers? Here are a few suggestions based upon my experiences over the years -

Have a mobile development vision before you start the hiring process. By vision, I mean something a bit more substantial than “create mobile applications”. Think about what applications you need, who will be using these applications, what platforms do you wish to target and when you need to go to market with them. This will not only help to define your job requirements; it will also help to engage with hiring prospects during the interview process and best identify hiring candidates. Remember – prospective employees are also interviewing view (not just the other way around). As I have advised many mobile developers seeking jobs, a company that does not understand what they need to hire for or why they are hiring is never a good thing from the employee perspective.
Consider hiring tactically and working toward your strategy. This goes back to your mobile vision and prioritization. As an example, your immediate need may be for the iPhone. However, you want to expand your offerings to eventually include Android and Windows Phone. When hiring, you can build job requirements that look for iPhone development up front, but include an interest in developing for Android and Windows Phone in the future. When interviewing hiring candidates, you can discuss their openness toward learning about these platforms. Note: be prepared to develop a plan to support the learning process (training, time to learn, etc) and to discuss this with prospective candidates. There is nothing that turns off a potential development hire quicker than the feeling that an employee just expects them to learn something on their own with no support. By taking this approach, you will be able to identify candidates that are genuinely interested in mobile application development as a career and see you as a company to work with (not just work for) as a career.
Remember the non-technical skills in addition to technical skills. Even a skilled programmer in a language and/or platform does not guarantee success if the person being hired lacks “higher-level” skills. As an example, I have heard countless tales of perspective candidates who knew iPhone development inside-out – as long as we were talking games development. For a company wanting to build line of business applications that include domain knowledge and integration into complex enterprise architectures, hiring this person typically results in an entirely different learning curve from both a technical and business perspective. Be sure to include such job requirements up front to avoid a lot of time spent interviewing candidates that don’t meet your needs. Also be sure to include such discussions with candidates during the interview process. I know of at least several instances where candidate screens were entirely focused on low-level knowledge of development, only to discover that the now-hired employee had no knowledge of integrating with business systems.
It is a “buyers market”… and you are not the buyer. As hard as this may seem to accept, the demand for skilled mobile application developers is very high, and the supply is quite low. The higher you set the bar for job requirements, the harder it will be to find qualified candidates. Plan for a protracted employee search and hope to be pleasantly surprised if you find someone quickly. Do not wait until the last minute to start a candidate search.

In the end, employers, I give you this feedback and suggestions not to really “lower your standards”, but to adjust them. It will benefit not only yourselves, but the potential candidates to fulfill your employment needs. I just couldn’t pass up on the Jon Lovitz reference, though Winking smile

NFL Conference Championships 2011–My Picks

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: January 22, 2011
Comments: No Comments
Tags: NFL, Picks, Playoffs
Categories:Football, Personal

Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t really bet on anything this NFL playoff season – I’d be crying all the way to the bank. To summarize thus far -

Versus the spread – 2 wins, 6 losses
Straight-up winners – 3 wins, 5 losses

I’m avoiding the painful details of last week. I’ve decided my motto is don’t look back; look ahead. That being said, I now face to conference championship games that I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole in the real betting world. This isn’t reality, though, so here goes my picks -

Green Bay (-3.5) at Chicago
This is Game 1 of the “Really Crappy Turf Weekend”. Soldier Field is a wreck. I do believe there is one truth about poor field conditions – they help offenses. Defensive lineman can’t plant for blocking/rushing, and cover men can’t break on routes. With that in mind, it comes down to the two offenses. Sorry Bears fans – as long as Jay Cutler is only a throw away from disaster, I can’t get behind you. As well as the Bears did last weekend, there will still a couple of “WHAT THE —- ARE YOU THINKING, CUTLER?!?” throws. Luckily, they weren’t caught. I think the Bears have the potential for some success on the ground, but not “150+ rushing yards” success.
On the Packers side of things, Aaron Rodgers is playing in a different dimension right now – a dimension that allows him to see and do things that are simply not possible to the rest of us in three-dimensional space. I heard a statistic the other day that dumbfounded me. Last week, the Falcons had a free blitzer 15 times against the Packers (that means that 15 times, someone came in clean on Rodgers). Rodgers went 11 for 15 passing in those situations. That’s just not right, man… just not right. Green Bay should be able to deal with the Bears defense enough to let Rodgers be successful; maybe not 300+ yards successful, but successful enough to say…

My Pick: Green Bay to cover the spread and win on the field.
New York Jets (+3.5) at Pittsburgh
Welcome to Game 2 of the “Really Crappy Turf Weekend”. Heinz Field is really not much better than Soldier Field this weekend. Again, offense has the advantage. For the Jets, the on-again, off-again rushing game is key. New York can’t afford to put Mark Sanchez in a position to have to carry them. They did this last week; Sanchez never had to play from behind. The problem for the Jets this time, though, is playing against a Pittsburgh defense that is WAY better, WAY more physical and WAY more experienced than the Patriots defense of last week.
For Pittsburgh, they pose a unique challenge to the Jets defense this playoff season. So far, the Jets have played against two pure pocket-passers in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Credit the Jets for recognizing that blitzing is not the answer to everything, choosing instead a patient approach with a straight-up rush and excellent coverage. This week, though, you face Big Ben, New York. You face a quarterback that is as dangerous outside of the pocket as he is inside of the pocket. This is going to lead to some very interesting coverage challenges. Combine this with what I believe to be a more consistent (if not spectacular) rushing attack by the Steelers and I can only come to the conclusion that…
My Pick: Pittsburgh to cover the spread and win on the field.

There you have it, folks. Stay tuned to see if I can change my prognosticating fortunes…

Platform Fragmentation Doesn’t Just Hurt End Users, You Know…

by Don Sorcinelli Published on: January 22, 2011
Comments: No Comments
Tags: Android, Enterprise, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone
Categories:Android, Business, Mobile Technology, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone

I was just noticing all the tweets and Facebook posts the last few days around Android devices and “haves and have-nots” with regards to operating system updates. Of course, a lot of the focus on peoples’ posts are very personally focused (“I want…” or “I need…”). This is all well and good, mind you. However, there is a whole other group of people who are having to wrestle with the kind of platform fragmentation that Android seems to be experiencing – IT folks who support large numbers of corporate workers. Sadly, this seems to be a case of “here we go again” for many of these folks.

As someone who has worked with mobile device in the enterprise for a number of years, I can’t tell you how many times fragmentation has created havoc at the enterprise level in terms of providing users support or even access to enterprise systems (email, IM, file access, etc). Early on, it was just the expansion of platform variety that caused the problems. Today, it is nearly impossible for a business to simply say “you have to have <device x> in order to get…”. I have witnessed countless businesses who tried this approach, only to have to later change direction from too much pressure from executives and workers. Supporting multiple device platforms, however, was only the beginning.

Windows Mobile (or so it was named back in the day) was the first mobile OS that I worked with that had fragmentation within a single platform. As a matter of fact, it suffered at times from “fragmentation within fragmentation”. You see, there was the “Smartphone” version of the platform (eventually this became known as the “Standard Edition”) and the “Pocket PC” version (eventually known as “Professional”). Each had different capabilities and limitations. Some of these impacted developers creating applications, while others affected IT organizations trying to secure and configure devices to meet business guidelines. Add to all this confusion new versions of the operating system that often did not reach existing devices (mostly due to device manufacturers and carriers not wanting the updates to see the light of day), and the Windows Mobile platform was a constant source of confusion for IT support. Amazingly, I now look at the current state of Android and I am feeling a strong sense of history repeating itself, this time with Google playing the role of Microsoft. There are a couple of reasons for my thoughts here.

First, you have the breakneck pace of Android releases. This is actually happening at a far quicker pace than Windows Mobile updates ever happened. Each release introduces new features. Google has started to also take into account enterprise needs as well, with better Microsoft Exchange server support (including mailbox policies). This is great on the surface, but now factor in the device manufacturers and carriers once again taking their time to release the new OS versions to users and – well, here we go again. Add to this Google’s recent inferences that Android 3.0 is a “tablet-specific” OS and my brain immediately thinks “Smartphone/Pocket PC” all over again. Most amazing to me – Google seems to be oblivious to the risks that this current situation brings forth.

Microsoft’s mobile strategy was by and large the undoing of Windows Mobile, in my opinion. While there was a lot of user dissatisfaction around the operating system, Microsoft eventually lost the backing of the enterprise. Corporate IT was a major backer of Windows Mobile for quite some time, with the combination of enterprise-focused functionality and tremendous configurability and security options making it the “phone of choice” for many organizations. The fragmentation issue became too much to deal with over time, however, and when coupled with pressures from the user base led many IT folks to submit. Windows Phone 7 is the ultimate testament to the problems of Windows Mobile – it is a platform wholly-focused on avoiding the platform fragmentation issues of the past.

Android seems to be rapidly moving to a situation where the combination of user dissatisfaction over the lack of OS updates and IT frustration over the complications created by platform fragmentation could find Google witnessing some serious abandonment. Mind you, the question here is not about how good Android is as an operating system; it is about how good the platform and partner ecosystem are. As a developer, I have often reminded people “even if you have created the greatest application ever written, without user and IT acceptance it is nothing”. Google needs to be very careful of the path they are following – the path has led to a dead end in the past, and there is nothing to prove that history won’t repeat itself.

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