I might really buy the Forrester report to see what it essentially claims.

How to predict gadget success | Business Tech - CNET News

”Convenience” as one primary success driver seems about right to me, maybe I might even agree with “the most important driver”, regarding the past.

But what about the economic reality we are about to enter? This singularity that will change the way the world works on the most fundamental levels.

I can only guess that price will be paramount, as will be sustainability and longevity. I believe the time of taste-and-toss are over. A product will need to show that it can be used for a long time, that even at a low cost it is durable and dependable. The end of the relentless “one more button” forced expiration of gadgets is over, we simply do not have the money to pay for it and the appetite to condone it. Austerity might just be the next word of the year. I wonder whether we will see a deep freeze in product development, as it has prostituted itself to meaningless iterations rather than solid improvements.

Products will have to be better at providing lasting value. Loyalty has to pay directly in more than monetary benefits (e.g. “points”). These formats seem to tire all over the world, as people begin to understand that the administrator of loyalty point systems is paid by their money. No loyalty means lower cost and that will mean success.

It looks to me as if we have lost the blueprint on how to provide competitive differentiation. “Innovation” is not cutting it any more, as most companies now use the tools. “Quality” is also more an also-ran. “Value” begins to tire as it is very hard to specify and measure. Is “Transformation” the next “It”-word?

In their study “The Enterprise of the Future”, IBM lists the following five characteristics of the successful company:

• "Hungry for Change
  The enterprise of the Future is capable of changing quickly and successfully. Instead of merely responding to trends,  it shapes and leads them. Market and industry shifts are a chance to move ahead of the competition.
• Innovative beyond Customer Imagination
  The enterprise of the Future surpasses the expectations of increasingly demanding customers. Deep collaborative relationships allow it to surprise customers with innovations that make both its customers and its own business more successful.
  Globally Integrated
  The enterprise of the Future is integrating to take advantage of today’s global economy.  Its business  is strategically designed to access the best capabilities, knowledge and assets from wherever they reside in the world and apply them wherever required in the world.
• Disruptive by Nature
  The enterprise of the Future radically challenges its business model, disrupting the basis of competition.  It shifts the value proposition, overturns traditional delivery approaches and, as soon as opportunities arise, reinvents itself and its entire industry.
• Genuine, not just Generous
  The enterprise of the Future goes beyond philanthropy and compliance and reflects genuine concern for society in all actions and decisions.”

Sounds a little boilerplate to me, but it does carry the important things: Deal with Change, Smooth Interactions inside the Company, Be Nimble. The interesting thing is the emergence of “social responsibility” in an age of financial turmoil. That makes me feel good.