We are witnessing massive innovation in and around web services. It seems that rarely a day goes by without some new web service being launched.
And the same is true with devices of all sorts. We have Microsoft’s Origami device being discussed in the blogs this weekend before it’s even announced by Redmond. We have Amazon’s new music device to consider, and the Samsung Z5 which features software designed by the same guy who did the iPod’s software. And of course we have new cellphones, PDAs, game players, and digital cameras coming to market in ever increasing frequency.
Yet there is something missing from all this innovation and that is the integration between these new web services and these new devices. Sure you can upload the photos you shot with your cool Sanyo Xacti video/still camera to Flickr, but its not seamless. You can watch YouTube videos on your PSP, but it takes some work. You can put the songs you bought on iTunes in your iPod, but not your new Z5.
The problems are both technical and political. Web services are open for the most part, but some of the most popular ones, like iTunes (which isn’t even a web service) are not. Devices are almost always closed.
Much of the discussion regarding Amazon’s digital music strategy as well as the debate over the Z5 revolve around whether consumers require an integrated/turnkey solution. Can consumers figure out how to mix and match web services and devices or must they be served up a complete solution by a single vendor?
I think we all hope that a truly open environment will prevail where devices and services can play together and best of breed will win out on both fronts. But that is not where we are today and we have a lot of ground to cover in order to see that vision realized. And the powers that be don’t want it to happen. The businesses whose margins depend on their continued control over a distribution channel – carriers, media companies, and consumer electronic manufacturers – will find it hard to embrace innovation that potentially undermines their margins.
But if the experience of the personal computer and the interenet is a guide, open architectures where many players compete in a decentralized ecosystem do accelerate innovation. When web services integrate with devices in a open architecture, we believe that the consumers’ interest in innovation and integration will trump the vendors’ interest in preserving control over limited proprietary channels.
If you agree and are working on any aspect of this opportunity, we’d like to hear from you.