From products and solutions to end-user experiences

Abstract

The traditional way to meet a market demand is to develop a product and sell it to the customers. In some cases all the requirements cannot be addressed with a single product, but a larger system with multiple products is needed. Further, a lot of tailoring takes places to convert these products and systems into solutions that are supposed to meet customer requirements exactly. All of these approaches have been widely used for a long time in mobile communications, and as a result we are surrounded by large amount of products and solutions. But this technology explosion has not necessarily resulted in better customer satisfaction. Thanks to the rapid spread of mobile devices and new services enabled by network technologies, it is increasingly difficult to differentiate just by improving products. The value for the end-user is more and more in personalized experiences that are created based on a customer's need, preferences and location. Rather than building generic solutions, companies need to think how to provide customers with unique value they are willing to pay for. All this has many implications on how solutions and services are developed. Typically a good co-operation between many companies is needed to deliver a seamless end-user experience. These industry ecosystems and value networks are already established in many areas and their importance is growing as we speak. To play this game a company must have openness in product, system and solution architectures and capability for networked product creation. Delivering a superior enduser experience will be the differentiator between successful companies and the rest. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.