Why Pseudo-Roadmaps are so common in High-tech Markets
Ralf Haller
November 13th, 2006
Nowhere have I seen this business practice so excessively used as in high-tech (the IT market in particular). Telling the world that your product launches at a certain time and then - surprise, surprise - is being delayed by a few months and possibly even more.
This has become such a common sport in ICT markets that no-one seems to believe a communicated roadmap any longer. Why are companies lying to themselves, the markets and their clients?
This has, in most cases, nothing to do with technical implementation problems but more with other things:
- Common belief that competitors can be locked in because clients are waiting for the “better” product to come in only a few months.
- Often clients themself overstate the urgency with which they really need the product since they are playing the same games themselves with their suppliers.
- Additional pressure within the own team is built up, forcing them to work even harder to reach that unrealistic goal at least somewhat faster than they would otherwise.
- Short memory in a fast-paced market environment is assumed. Since everyone seems to play this game no-one can afford to be really pissed off by this, which is somewhat assumed.
The funny thing now is that if companies actually present a true and realistic roadmap, clients don’t believe it and add themself a couple of months. So if they need the product, say, end of Q1 2007,
they want to see a roadmap from suppliers that shows e.g. Q3 or Q4 2006 assuming that it will then be available end of Q1 2007 where they really need it. This practice is so silly that we decided to recommend our clients not to play this also, maybe lose a couple of businesses, but be able to establish in the industry and with their clients over time the reputation of being truthful and becoming known to state realistic timelines. It is in our opinion a better start for a business relationship if both sides know that they can rely on the other side’s forecasts.
