Software markets are highly dynamic: product categories evolve fast, competitive advantages erode quickly, and new entrants can disrupt established markets any time.

In such dynamic environments, competitive analysis needs to go beyond simple feature-by-feature comparisons and cast a wider net. It is not sufficient to focus on current products, we need to understand the vision and strategic direction of competitors. And we need to include indirect competitors in our analysis, as well as other alternatives or substitution products. Over time, these can turn into formidable threats, even if their current offerings seem primitive and unappealing.

This session discusses how to obtain insights that provide a strong foundation for competitive strategy. 

Barbara Hoisl is a consultant and trainer, specializing in “Exponential Strategy – Thriving in a world driven by exponential change”.

She draws on more than 30 years of direct, first-hand experience in the global software and Internet industry, including 14 years with the software business unit at Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Her German-language reference book on strategies for vendors of IoT products was published by Springer Gabler: “Produkte digital-first denken: Wie Unternehmen software-basierte Produktinnovation erfolgreich gestalten”.

Barbara holds a master in Computer Science from Technical University of Kaiserslautern. She is a fellow of the ISPMA (International Software Product Management Association) and partner at pd7.group, a leading provider of ISPMA-based certification training for software product managers.

You find her at barbarahoisl.com, on LinkedIn and Xing.