Finding Major Market Opportunities for Linux Debugging and Development Tools
Undo Software is the leading commercial supplier of Linux and Android reversible debugging tools that enable software developers to record, rewind and replay their C/C++ code to respond quickly to customer critical bugs, increase their productivity and meet their development deadlines. Used by over 1, 000 developers to solve complex, real-world problems, UndoDB is proven to reduce debugging time from weeks to minutes, while seamlessly integrating into existing development environments.
Undo Software is currently completing a Innovate UK Proof of Concept project to develop a disruptive new approach to debugging software. The new tool (called Live Recorder) is an error-reporting scheme that removes the need to reproduce software failures. In order to effectively exploit this disruptive new technology, Undo Ltd needed to identify potential market verticals; rank them in order of attractiveness and ease of entry; understand the product and market requirements for the most attractive; and to identify the compelling ‘value proposition’ that Live Recorder brings in order to guide its product development and marketing programmes.
Qi3 rapidly identified that Linux is winning the O/S battle everywhere except the desktop and is rapidly becoming the standard operating system for all non-desktop applications – infrastructure, embedded, and wide range of other applications. This trend is creating a major market opportunity for Undo Software’s new product (Live Recorder) and for its current product (UndoDB). Following extensive interviews of key opinion leaders and potential new customers, Qi3 developed a “market tested” product specification and a value proposition that will guide the completion of product development and future marketing programmes.
Qi3 also mapped the competition, pricing, customer decision making units, business models and routes to market to obtain a complete picture of the drivers, barriers and opportunities in this fast moving market. Due to the rapidly emerging nature of the market, no published forecasts of market size are available. Therefore, Qi3 built a detailed market model to forecast overall market size for Live Recorder and UndoDB, the sizes of different market verticals, growth rates and market adoption rates. Using this clarity of understanding of the market dynamics and drivers gained from the interviews and analysis, Qi3 then created a set of strategic and practical market recommendations on how Undo Software can fully capitalise on its tremendous market opportunity.
Throughout the project, Qi3 worked closely with the Undo Software team.
“Qi3’s rigorous research methodologies and market insights allowed us to rapidly understand the real scale of the market opportunity for Undo Software. Their ability to uncover key market drivers and identify the strength of market traction combined with their extensive business experience has given us the evidence and strategies to allow us to increase the scale of our commercial ambitions, thus improving the potential return to our investors. We believe that bringing in an external organisation with such clarity of thinking has significantly increased our market and competitive strength.