Irresistible! Markets, Models, and Meta-Value in Consumer Electronics

The consumer electronics industry is entering an era of extraordinary growth. The industry’s best companies will ride that wave to unprecedented success. But, today, many CE companies are struggling with business models that are simply untenable. They must change to survive: they must change even more dramatically to win.

In this book, two world-renowned consultants preview the industry’s future—from online gaming to telehealthcare, and beyond. Next, they present a powerful new blueprint, offering indispensable guidance on everything from technology platforms to user interface design, branding to channel strategies. You’ll discover how to uncover new sources of value, design better models for doing business, and fuel growth by reaching new geographical markets. Whatever your role in the industry, this book will help you:

·   Make better decisions, find your differentiators, and focus on your key success drivers

·   Tap into the emergent “meta-value” that arises when technologies, devices, services, and content come together

·   Reach tomorrow’s smart, service-sensitive shopper: not just the “technology-hungry” customers

·   Widen margins by adding value consumers will pay for

·   Transform cost structures to support rapid growth and nonstop change

·   Sell into China, India, and other fast-growing emerging markets

·   Preview “telehealthcare”: the surprising application for the living room

·   Gain new insights into online gaming, smart home technology, and more

·   Discover the immense power of IBM’s Cell Broadband Engine processor—and the business opportunities it enables

·   Leverage embedded Linux to build more affordable, profitable, consumer-centric products

·   Develop higher-value software for connected consumer electronics

·   Differentiate products through state-of-the-art design and user interfaces

·   Discover what the industry’s “winners” will look like in five years—and how to be one of them 

The consumer electronics industry continues to grow at breakneck speed: from MP3 players to home healthcare devices, consumers are adopting new technologies faster than ever before. But most consumer electronics companies are struggling with razor-thin margins, or even losses. Their traditional business models simply aren’t working anymore. InIrresistible! Markets, Models, and Meta-Value in Consumer Electronics, IBM’s leading consumer electronic industry consultants reveal powerful new opportunities to profit—and offer realistic advice for leveraging them.

Drawing on their experience working with innovators from Helsinki to Osaka, the authors and contributors introduce revolutionary On Demand Business models for improving profitability, and identify tomorrow’s most profitable CE opportunities. They cover every element of success: technology, design

George Bailey is IBM’s Global Managing Partner for the Electronics industry consulting practice and a member of IBM’s senior leadership team. In this role, Mr. Bailey is responsible for managing over several billion of IBM’s business within the Electronics industry, which encompasses clients in consumer electronics, semiconductor, and telecommunications equipment manufacturing sectors, among others. Mr. Bailey leads a global network of thousands of employees focused on the Electronics industry, helping companies transform innovative ideas into bold, meaningful actions that drive business success and enhance enterprise value for our clients.

Mr. Bailey is an internationally recognized authority on strategic change and has led large-scale, multi-year transformational projects for progressive global companies. He is a sought-after speaker and has published numerous books, articles, and white papers.

Mr. Bailey received an M.A. from Pepperdine University and a M.B.A. from Drucker School of Management at Claremont College. He resides in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife and four children. He won his division in the 1995 Transpacific yacht race and remains an avid sailor.

Dr. Hagen Wenzek is the Global Leader for the Electronics industry at the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV). In this role, Dr. Wenzek is responsible for developing and deploying thought leadership in the Electronics industry. He generates the industry insight in the think tank environment of the IBV, in close collaboration with IBM account teams, clients, and academia, such as the Harvard Business School.

In his role as an Associate Partner for IBM Business Consulting Services, Dr. Wenzek has the additional responsibility to engage Electronics industry clients. He has led global consulting engagements from large transformation projects to focused strategy projects. Furthermore, Dr. Wenzek presents the results of his work at international conferences and in lectures at renowned universities.

Dr. Wenzek received a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Aachen University and a Doctoral Degree in Electrical Engineering from Hagen University, both in Germany. He lives in Heidelberg, where he trains to participate in swimming, running, and cycling competitions.