Change or Die

Its still early in the decade so its presumptuous to already give it a theme.  But presumption aside, I’ll try: Change or Die.  Whether you are a dictator in the middle east, or a technology powerhouse on the west coast, 2010s are bringing the specter of redefinition to big and small alike.  There are large examples that everyone is familiar with: Yahoo, is “changing” from a search company to a data management company.  HP is changing from a PC manufacture to a data management company.  Borders is changing from a publisher and bookstore to an e-book distributor.   Blockbuster isn’t changing and well… its dying.  The list goes on.

Let me point out a small change that maybe few have noticed: Jan, Microsoft announced that it would no longer attend CES beginning in 2013, and it would not host the iconic keynote address.  The reason given was Microsoft planned to spend more on their own events, such as their annual developer’s conference, and Microsoft product announcements.  Although definite fiscal wisdom can be seen in the tactical nature of this move, the strategic reason may be different.

In an effort to survive in this environment of change, Microsoft is placing more emphasis on foreign markets and spending less to develop a declining US PC market.

Here are some things to consider:

• In 2011 US showed a 5% drop in PC sales, while the international community saw 37% PC growth.
• For 2013 Microsoft both canceled its CES presence and increase its investment in the European technology show: Cebit

As American’s we are familiar with the concept that, technology would take hold in the US and spread to the rest of the world from there.  This can be clearly seen with worldwide desire for iPhones, and iPads.  Historically the US dollar has been strong enough, such that desirable technology regardless of origin, will find its way to that dollar.  What we are not used to is some company’s product launches are skipping the US entirely.  This emphasizes a new reality where worldwide economies are large enough to support non-US product launches, and require increased marketing attention for US companies.    In recent interviews, Nokia’s Stephen Elop has clearly stated that the focus of Nokia will be on growth markets, and the US will be significantly deemphasized.  Many of Nokia’s future products will no longer be supported for the US at all.  These are big words considering the nature of the Microsoft / Nokia partnership.

Foreign consumer electronics markets have a long way to go before they out pace the American consumer electronics market; however they are clearly starting to shift in that direction.