I've been 30 years on in the software business so I've heard this "truism" before. It sounds great but it's totally false. Particularly in the mobile phone world (enterprise software is different).scottg wrote: ↑8 Jun 2022, 3:38pmAngstrom wrote: ↑8 Jun 2022, 2:15pm[snip]
I still don't understand why Garmin Connect software on the mobile phone (and on-line) is such a bloatware with so many useless things (health stuff, bages, contacts etc.), useful stuff hidden away (planned trips), yet so many obvious things missing. Like being able to configure the device with the help of a full UI on line or in App then send the configuration to the device.[snip]
There is a software truism something like,
"A end user only makes use of 5% of the features of a device,
unfortunately each user uses a different 5%"
We live in a world where users expect things to just work, never have to open a user manual. There are many examples of apps and software that have pushed incumbent bloated software in history books by looking at a user need and providing an alternative with an elegant, intuitive solution to the core needs of most users. If they wanted, they could and would make what most of their users would agree to be the core and do it very well.
The reason behind the Garmin bloatware is that their challenge is elsewhere: competition between Strava, Ride with GPS, Komoot and many others and the device manufacturers. They fear being pushed back in the role of a simple HW manufacturer providing data to the software guys who can monetise via a subscription model. The Garmin bloatware is there to provide an alternative to these other vendors and keep as many of their customers theirs only. What creates value for IT vendors today is the "stickiness" of their business model. A sticky BM means how hard and therefore likely it is that a customer errs away and jumps ship. Another word is "locked-in", but that is pejorative and not politically correct.
Garmin aims at creating an "ecosystem" in which once their customers dip a foot, they stay in for many years, either upgrading their devices every other year or pay a subscription every month/year. They believe providing all this data about health, sports activity etc. is the means to this end. They don't care that much about making their software user-friendly. As a matter fact, their users have invested at least 200€/£ in a device and for the most part won't change immediately (unlike software users) if their software is perceived to be user-unfriendly. They will eventually get it then be less likely to abandon it (once they're over the steep hill. The real value of Garmin Connect to Garmin is that it contributes to position the company to shareholders (or potential shareholders) as being a "sticky business" with some recurring revenue and therefore values with greater "multiples". The Garmins, Stravas, Ride with GPS, Komoots etc. collaborate out of necessity yet they are in reality in competition with each other. The criteria are number of Monthly Active Users (MAU), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Annual Recurring Revenue, ARR, etc. They want to make you use many device and use them all day long to collect lots of data, make you eventually subscribe to a paid service.