product management in tough times

Product Managementin Tough Times

Ryan McMahonDirector Product ManagementRNA networks Inc.

About RNA

•Early stage - 3 year old company,

•IT product – memory virtualization

•Markets – Financial services, Oil & Gas, Cloud Computing, High Performance Computing

•Customers – Several customers, significant opportunity funnel

Impacts on Startups

•Hard to build a reputation

•Harder to find customers

•Deliver more product with less resources

•Must get more from customers

•Harder to recover from mistakes

Forces Focus!

Customers’ Mindset

•More conservative

•Must get more from existing investment

•Decisions are clearcut

•Still must look forward

Customers’ Mindset

•Financial Services – still buying but need clear ROI

•Oil & Gas – decreasing oil prices drives investment in research and exploration

•HPC – commodity HW horsepower is driving adoption of HPC in other verticals

•Cloud Computing – emerging, requires agility, improvements in utilization

What We’re Trying

•Finding customers – innovators & early adopters

•Focus on “must-have” products / solutions

•Drive to decisions fast – yes or no

•Intimately understand the customer and their problems

•Understanding economic benefits

Understanding the Customer Means

7

Customertechnical problems

Customerdifferentiatio

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Alternatives considered

Customer business models

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Org chart

Their IT budgets

Indirect product benefits

ITenvironment

Direct product benefits

Customerbusiness problems

How they purchase

Reaching Customers

•Creative outreach▫Interest groups – join, create, participate▫LinkedIn, Facebook▫SEO – searching is up!

•Proof of Concept engagements▫Prove the value▫Drive to purchase decisions

•Brute force ▫Traditional marketing▫Networking

Opportunity

•Little new competition

▫No new entrants

▫Few expeditionary products from existing players

•Customer willing tolook harder for value

•Window to establish newproducts / new companies

Thanks!

Ryan McMahonDir. Product ManagementRNA networks Inc.Ryan.mcmahon@rnanetworks.commcmahonrw@gmail.comC: 971-219-5555