razmaspaz

I just finished reading a post by Adobe’s John Nack on the photoshop roadmap for 64 bit computing. The post outlines the plans Adobe has for 64 bit on windows and on the Mac. Let me say that if you are a Mac user you are going to be dissapointed.

Its not the Adobe roadmap I want to talk about though, its roadmaps in general. As a developer who makes decisions about what software to use and what platforms to develop on, roadmaps are important to me. I make decisions about what technologies I learn based on whether those technologies will meet my current and future needs. I absolutely need to know where a platform is going to make good decisions about my future and the future of my clients and customers.

There are 3 different styles of roadmaps that I’ve seen in the market lately. There’s the Microsoft roadmap, where most of the stuff happens in the public eye, and intentions are made known years in advance to anyone interested in knowing about them. There is the IBM roadmap, where a select few are allowed access to the roadmap under NDA. And there is the Apple roadmap where nobody knows anything and every word out of any employees mouth is dissected for hints of things to come. I think each system has its strengths and weaknesses, but there is one clear winner when it comes to consumers.

The Microsoft model works great for Microsoft. Microsoft has so many partners, vendors, and ISVs that it is impossible for them to stay in touch with their entire ecosystem. They have to communicate by press release to be sure they reach everyone. Unfortunately this style of communication leads to customer expectations that are often unrealized. Take the new file system MS was supposed to roll out as part of Longhorn, er Vista. that sounded so coo, but it never saw the light of day, as a customer I’m left feeling ripped off, and ultimately I didn’t buy into the Vista product.

The Apple style is the opposite. Keep tight lipped, don’t share a single shred of information, and let speculation run wild. Thats great for Apple, it builds excitement and keeps them from managing to a feature set. How can you be creative if you’re boxed into a roadmap? the answer for Apple is, you can’t. The downside is that none of your independent developers, vendors, or corporate customers know anything about whats going on either. Tell me why I should create a Cocoa application when it could easily be absorbed by Organic in 6 mos. I’m not willing to invest in a technology that could be dead tomorrow. I would contend that Apple’s customers lose out, just like they are losing out with Photoshop CS4 because Apple doesn’t provide direction.

IBM is not without its flaws, but I think its method of delivering a roadmap is spot on. Even though the customer is largely in the dark about a roadmap, the IBM partners, and vendors that the customer works with can keep the customer on the right path by steering them away from technologies that are no longer viable for the customer. They can serve as an enlightened guide through the soup of IBM tech. In addition to being able to guide custmers, vendors can get training and build products around what IBM has in the pipeline. Because there is an established relationship between IBM and its insiders, there is no crying foul when features are removed or changed. The customer wins because partners and vendors are able to deliver value adds in a timely fashion, and IBM wins because customers aren’t left in the cold when a feature they were hoping for is delayed or dropped entirely.