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February 2004 Tech Customers Want More Than GlitzThe information technology industry is no longer the brash young kid on the block. Maturing tech companies face the reality that large parts of their market are outside the United States, that customers are no longer dazzled just because a product is new, and that a global workforce is here to stay, Bruce Chizen, president and CEO of Adobe Systems, told a Business School audience. Introducing Chizen at his October 23 View from the Top speech, School Dean Robert Joss estimated that one of Adobe's products, Acrobat Reader, runs on 500 million computers worldwide. Tech companies generally sell more of their products outside the United States than to the domestic market, Chizen said. "We can no longer build products for the U.S. market and hope other countries adopt them. We have to tailor our products to the way they work, they collaborate, and communicate." Chizen added that businesses are looking for returns on their IT investments, "consumers are not interested in spending as much as they once did on PCs or chips or the next version of software," and everyone wants easier to use products. In addition to relying on international sales, firms like Adobe rely on international workforces. When a quality engineer earns $15,000 in India and $90,000 in Silicon Valley, Chizen said, those hired for U.S. jobs must demonstrate leadership, a willingness to be a team player with coworkers in other countries, and a passion for the job and desire to think outside the box. "If we just want someone to follow the rules, we can hire them elsewhere and for less money," he said. |
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