Not that war
For too long our attention was diverted by ridiculous arguments and fabricated "wars". We were told that Microsoft and Apple were in a state of holy war, but it died down 20 years ago.
And this is not a battle worth talking about. The battle that needs to be talked about, but which is not talked about, is a battle between mobile device manufacturers and operators. This is the only war worthy of attention.
And why should she care? Because the operators are very long in the way of the good life of users. For years, Palm, Nokia, HTC, and RIM beat their brow to operators. Operators sell all the devices and services, they decide which software is available and which is not, they know what to do with the device for which you gave $ 3000 or more (multi-year contract). And who gets the most? Us. Buyers. We get poor service and shit from work.
I have been in this business for 13 years. Three years ago, I lost hope ... before the iPhone. I was impressed not by the Apple design, not the device, not the user interface. I was impressed by the revolutionary business model (although the previous one was also impressive). Apple indicates which applications can be installed. Apple indicates where to sell devices. Everything — Apple, AT & T, the developers — everyone gets their piece of the pie, and users get quality service and satisfactory support.
')
I was also almost impressed when Google announced Android. Two of the most influential technology companies could unambiguously rebel against 4 major operators, and force them to be what they should be: controlled utilities, like electricity and gas. I thought that this event would force Nokia and RIM to join forces to smash head over to operators. (But this did not happen: the RIM store is still not pre-installed on their devices.)
But this communal dream was destined to quickly break. Operators, after the initial retreat, went to the counter. They use the openness of Android against it. Operators refused to support Nexus. Verizon has exclusive contracts with Skype. The "approval" of new versions of the Android OS is being dragged out. AT & T blocks devices from third-party downloads and excludes Google Marketplace from delivery. Secret (and mysterious) network neutrality agreements are concluded. And finally, an offensive blow to Google, which, like the Web, planned to generate revenue from the sale of advertising, in the form of replacing Google Search with Microsoft Bing, as the only search engine on some Android smartphones.
The purpose of this article is to shift the discussion to the sector where it is needed. This is a war. And this war will have nothing to do with the Microsoft and Apple war. There is a war for control of services, for communication with customers.
And the stakes are much higher.
The article has so far little to do with our Russian reality, but the trend is already evident: the analysis of 403 errors by Megaphone, the blocking of VoIP traffic, the creation of branded devices with limited functionality. Considering that our market is 3-10 years behind the Western one (depending on the industry) very soon, we may be held hostage by the big three.
And this is not a battle worth talking about. The battle that needs to be talked about, but which is not talked about, is a battle between mobile device manufacturers and operators. This is the only war worthy of attention.
And why should she care? Because the operators are very long in the way of the good life of users. For years, Palm, Nokia, HTC, and RIM beat their brow to operators. Operators sell all the devices and services, they decide which software is available and which is not, they know what to do with the device for which you gave $ 3000 or more (multi-year contract). And who gets the most? Us. Buyers. We get poor service and shit from work.
I have been in this business for 13 years. Three years ago, I lost hope ... before the iPhone. I was impressed not by the Apple design, not the device, not the user interface. I was impressed by the revolutionary business model (although the previous one was also impressive). Apple indicates which applications can be installed. Apple indicates where to sell devices. Everything — Apple, AT & T, the developers — everyone gets their piece of the pie, and users get quality service and satisfactory support.
')
I was also almost impressed when Google announced Android. Two of the most influential technology companies could unambiguously rebel against 4 major operators, and force them to be what they should be: controlled utilities, like electricity and gas. I thought that this event would force Nokia and RIM to join forces to smash head over to operators. (But this did not happen: the RIM store is still not pre-installed on their devices.)
But this communal dream was destined to quickly break. Operators, after the initial retreat, went to the counter. They use the openness of Android against it. Operators refused to support Nexus. Verizon has exclusive contracts with Skype. The "approval" of new versions of the Android OS is being dragged out. AT & T blocks devices from third-party downloads and excludes Google Marketplace from delivery. Secret (and mysterious) network neutrality agreements are concluded. And finally, an offensive blow to Google, which, like the Web, planned to generate revenue from the sale of advertising, in the form of replacing Google Search with Microsoft Bing, as the only search engine on some Android smartphones.
The purpose of this article is to shift the discussion to the sector where it is needed. This is a war. And this war will have nothing to do with the Microsoft and Apple war. There is a war for control of services, for communication with customers.
And the stakes are much higher.
The article has so far little to do with our Russian reality, but the trend is already evident: the analysis of 403 errors by Megaphone, the blocking of VoIP traffic, the creation of branded devices with limited functionality. Considering that our market is 3-10 years behind the Western one (depending on the industry) very soon, we may be held hostage by the big three.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/104271/
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