Seth Godin set up a friends computer and found “the digital world, even the high end brands, has become a sleazy carnival” as he clicked his way through dozens of pop ups, offers and confirmation windows.
The only real surprise is Seth can’t have set up a Windows computer for some time as crapware has been the bane of IT techs for years. At the 2007 Consumer Electronic Show Micheal Dell notoriously pointed out this crapware was worth $60 per computer.
Dell’s point was valid in one respect; if you are selling at unsustainable price points then you have to do everything you can to improve your profit margins.
At the beginning of 2010, Dell find itself locked in the low value, low margin end of the industry with a declining market share at a time when US consumers are banging shut their wallets. It’s fair to say Micheal has reaped what he sowed.
It’s unfair to just single Dell out – cost cutting, upselling and downright double dealing is endemic in the IT and electronics industry and the vendors only have themselves to blame as they trained customers to fixate on price and then struggled to claw back a decent profit.
The tech sector has betrayed its customers and only has itself to blame for the lack of trust and declining profits.
Paul Wallbank is a speaker and writer charting how technology is changing society and business. Paul has three regular technology advice radio programs on ABC, a weekly column on the smartcompany.com.au website and has published six computer books.
Since 1995 Paul has setup and run four business including PC Rescue which he grew to be a national IT support business. Paul currently works with government and businesses to help them navigate the challenges and opportunities of the new digital economy. 