Microsoft has sent out an initial round of invitations for a Windows Phone Developer Summit in San Francisco on June 20th – 21st 2012. While one aspect of the timing for this event is perceived by many to be advantageous (right between Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference and Google’s I//O Conference), this timing could backfire in a major way if not handled properly.
This event has the potential to be “make or break” for Microsoft in wooing more developers to the Windows Phone platform, as well as keeping the support and interest of their existing developer base. With a great deal of uncertainty around Windows Phone 8 and development migration paths and capabilities, this conference provides Microsoft with an opportunity to put doubts to rest and deliver a clear message to the developer, consumer and enterprise communities.
While having this conference is a good thing, the timing of it creates as many (if not more) potential pitfalls as it does benefits -
- The announcement is very close to the actual conference date. For people to attend a conference, there are always the logistics around attendance that create difficulties. Corporate approval, costs, travel and lodging arrangements all are potential obstacles to attendance. With a window of less than 60 days, the possibility of simply not be able to attend likely looms large for some.
- Three mobile developer events in three weeks means fighting for attendance (and dollars). Many of the developers Microsoft hopes to enlist in developing for the Windows Phone platform develop for other platforms as well. I can only imagine that many of those developers have already made plans t attend either one (or both) of the previously-announced conferences. Looking back at travel time and costs, asking these developers to add yet another conference to their agendas is not going to go over very well.
- Don’t forget about TechEd 2012. Microsoft has the annual TechEd conference occurring earlier in the month of June in Orlando, FL. Many loyal .NET developers and IT personnel are already committed to attending that conference. Yet again, Microsoft puts itself with this Windows Phone Developer Conference of having to compete, this time with itself.
With all of this in mind, I have only one suggestion for Microsoft in order to create the greatest amount of impact. To paraphrase former president Ronald Reagan when referring to the Berlin Wall, I say “Microsoft… Tear down these Summit walls!” Translation – Go virtual with the Windows Phone Developer Summit.
By making the Windows Phone Developer Summit content available in real-time, you can keep the attention and focus of those unable to physically attend for all of the various reasons mentioned above. In addition, you gain the audience not previously mentioned – the developers who simply cannot of will not travel to conferences of this nature. Finally, the public relations benefits that would come from this approach could do wonders for getting a maximum amount of exposure to a broad audience could be huge (especially considering what is at stake here).
Microsoft has put itself in an interesting position with the announcement of this Windows Phone Developer Summit. Regardless of the message delivered during June 20th and 21st, there are many things at play that could lead to this being a huge success or huge failure. By eliminating obstacles to delivering the message, Microsoft would be able to focus on the message itself. Here’s to hoping that Microsoft is thinking in every way possible to make this conference a highlight in the evolution of the Windows Phone platform.
