Impact of Web Apps on Mobile

The client engaged Rubicon to perform strategic research designed to inform and define its choices in the software platform market.

About the Client

The client is a leading software platform company that licenses software for use on a variety of devices.

The challenge

The company wanted to probe the impact of web applications on its business: Do they create new competitive opportunities? How important is it to embrace web app developers? Do they obsolete or weaken the company’s platform business?.

Rubicon proposed a three-phase approach that included: 1.) an internal audit, 2.) research on web application developers, 3.) synthesis of implications and next steps.

Making a selection for ‘the one’

The client uses a consensus-driven management style, and key stakeholders had many ideas about what they could or should do. The need to discern which to select was a challenge. Rubicon principals conducted in-depth interviews with internal stakeholders and gathered the various ideas together so that disagreements and disconnects could be discussed with the client.

Rubicon created a discussion guide which was used to guide the interviews with developers. The guide was reviewed with the client, ensuring that Rubicon was gathering the information most needed by the client, and that there were no gaps in the data being collected.

Rubicon then interviewed decision-makers at 20 web application companies, representing a cross-section of company sizes and target markets. Again, in-depth, conversational interviews were held. The individual meetings were conducted privately, leading to the discovery of information that would never have been extracted during group interviews or in the presence of management.

Developing directional themes

Rubicon helped the client see the big picture based on what was learned during the discussions. Rubicon identified the developers’ most important needs, attitudes toward the client and other suppliers, and potential opportunities for business cooperation. Although the interviews were anonymous, several of the interview subjects volunteered to meet with the client and give additional feedback directly.

A series of ‘next steps’ to pursue was created for the client, along with information on what to investigate to flesh out a specific strategy. The findings and themes were compiled into a presentation and discussion with the client’s senor management team. Rubicon also gave the option to present the content to a broader group within the organization if the client desired.

Throughout the project, Rubicon principals participated with the client on a number of phone calls and exchanged frequent email. Rubicon’s ability to probe for ideas had the unexpected benefit of pre-socializing the research findings internally for the client.

The result

During a follow-up call, the client stated that they received much more than they’d expected from Rubicon. The engagement provided a great quantity of data and exceptional insight. The client noted that, months later, people inside the company are still talking about the quotes Rubicon gleaned from developers, their impact on the organization’s direction and many of the graphic elements in the final report. The client company’s CEO commented that it was a very successful engagement.