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Developers appreciate dynamics

by bryan morgan
May/June 2001

We’ve seen it happen repeatedly. Huge firms spend money and manpower to promote a new technology only to be overrun by an upstart with an army of rabid developers. How are certain companies able to organize developers into a strong community? What advantages do these companies have going forward?

Consider Palm Inc., which initially made developer support a priority and leveraged that into a dominant computing platform and developer program.

Succcessful Successful firms must have a Web site with starter information and white papers, contact information and demonstration downloads. Firms that seek large developer audiences add a "Developer" section to their site, which allows registered users to subscribe to newsletters, post on message boards and receive online technical support. But this is only part of the puzzle.

While Palm built a very capable online presence, certain guiding philosophies helped them succeed. Let’s examine these philosophies along with a few items you probably should not be doing.

Make it easy to get started. This seems like a fairly simple concept but you would be amazed at how many companies (perhaps your own) miss this point. Palm makes it very easy for developers to begin building applications for the PalmOS by providing pointers, plenty of documentation and developer tools. Include links to download evaluation copies of applications. Omit the phone number to your vice president of sales - no self-respecting developer will call a salesperson!

Encourage, support and publicize the development of third-party tools and utilities. As difficult as it may be to believe, sometimes the best ideas for your products come from outside your organization. Palm fostered the use of GNU (GNU’s Not Unix) free programming tools as well as the development of third-party tools from companies such as Pumatech Inc. and Metrowerks Inc. One of the key Palm development tools (the PalmOS Emulator, or POSE) was originally developed by an independent programmer, Greg Hewgill. So support grass roots efforts, platform hacks and any developments that begin to attract large audiences or groundswells of support. Refrain from sending a cease-and-desist letter or shun any potential partner based on name value or market capitalization alone.

View developers as a means to an end, not the end itself. This particularly applies to the wireless industry. If a single developer employed at a Fortune 500 company is working on an application that potentially could generate large amounts of airtime for your network, it makes sense to give that developer all the support he or she requires. This includes devices, free airtime, free technical support, etc. One happy developer could lead to hundreds, even thousands, of new customers. So, lower the barriers to entry in the wireless arena. Don’t make revenue from your developer program a key component of your business plan.

Provide partnership and joint marketing opportunities to all developers. Palm has done an excellent job in this area through the creation of its Palm Alliance Program. Work with developers to co-market solutions.

Don’t view developers as competition. Remember, the software developer community is one of your means to reach and grow your target market.

Bryan Morgan, a software developer, founded Wireless Developer Network. Contact him at bryanmorgan@home.com.