The Dropbox Technology - Essay Example

Analysis: Houston and Ferdowsi believed that their product was unique and most user-friendly, without having the users the need to learn its usage, and yet extremely useful to its users.  Houston believed that something like the Dropbox technology is needed by every individual that works or uses computer technology, although people can work without this one; however, Dropbox would make their computer-based work and activities hassle-free and enable individuals to access their files/information/data from any other system and from anywhere in the world.  The most challenging aspect for Dropbox is to earn consumers that believed in the usability, precision, and need for Dropbox technology. 

The most important and challenging aspect of bringing Dropbox to consumers is to confront the fierce competition that already existed in the market in other forms.  Some products provided backup; protected data from the risk of loss, hackers, damage, etc.; upload data onto the web for future access from any time and any place.  Dropbox had to combine all features of the competitors’ products to enter the market and sustain.  Dropbox used minimal marketing strategies to avoid additional costs and focused on providing additional usage featureful with their product. This certainly was a tough challenge compared to its rivals, like Carbonite and Mozy, which invested heavily in advertising through various media. 

Dropbox is based on a different kind of business model that is comprised of various other technology companies in building this product.  Secondly, promotion through screencast uncheckered News attracted immense feedback from beta users on the usability and features of Dropbox. This activity also attracted some funding from Y Combinator, which further promoted Dropbox by conducting a demo for larger companies. This helped in attracting funds as well as consumers.  These funds helped in advancing Dropbox in terms of understanding potential users’ needs, creating software platforms for Dropbox, as well as in understanding the business through analytics.  Research revealed that users were looking for different options, product design, and a variety of features, which were different from Dropbox’s traditional design. To earn consumers, gain sustainability in business, and face competitors, Houston has to address these challenges.

Recommendations: Considering Houston’s original vision of the product and users’ expectations learn that a tough challenge is ahead of Dropbox.  It would take much longer to customize Dropbox as per various users’ needs and also require huge investment, which is a constraint.  Hence, it is recommended that Dropbox is designed for individual users and business users; and offers to customize Dropbox for business groups but retain the original version of Dropbox for individual users.  This will save time and also earn more revenue from business groups.  Moreover, entering into partnerships with software giants like Microsoft to sell Dropbox for individual users will work compared to partnerships with other business groups.  For these, customization needs for businesses may be routed through the partnered companies. The partnership will also help in gaining a competitive advantage over Dropbox.