DataClear Case Study
What dilemma or strategic threat DataClear is facing?
Gregg McNally, CEO of DataClear, got his MSC in Rutgers and PhD in Computer Science from UC Berkeley. He worked as software developer and eventually became a senior product manager at Borland and Oracle before he started DataClear in 1998. DataClear has been in the data analysis market for years and has been successful in the launching of its first software product, ClearCloud. In its first year of full operation, the company’s sale reaches up to $2.2 Million.
ClearCloud come in two versions – one for telecommunications industry and the other for financial services provider. This software has a numerous profitable applications. But now, a British start-up, VisiDat which was undergoing a beta testing of a data analysis product, was weeks away from launching its product. This opened the eyes of DataClear to developed strategies on how to deal with the new competitor. Gregg called his members for a meeting to come up with better strategies to play a healthy competition.
The group was divided into two and each should develop its own recommendation. Group 1 suggested that they would establish an office in UK and staff it with four to six persons. The second group suggested using an autonomous software distribution in each country. This is a bit costly so Gregg added if they could call another company, Benro, for a possible joint venture. This is a big challenge for DataClear since it was known to them that VisiDat just made its first significant sale to shell which amounts to $500,000.
This situation cannot be avoided by DataClear since they do not own the market and they do not have control as to prohibiting new entrants from entering the market. This is a dilemma for them but this should not serve as a hindrance in continuing to commit their goals; instead this should serve as challenge for them to work even harder.
Would you recommend that DataClear expand into international markets at this point in time?
Either way, fully explains your recommendations. When Gregg talked with Sarah, a hardware engineer of Dexis which designs chips for mobile communications industry, she suggested that it is advantageous for DataClear to sell much more product. But based on my own understanding, it is still too early for DataClear to join the international market since the company is still two years in the market. As of the moment, all they are going to focus is formulating strategies on how to play a healthy competition with the VisiDat. It is best for DataClear to undergo a competitor analysis study to formulate much reliable strategies. Read
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Competitor Analysis is one way to help managers understand their competitive advantage and disadvantages relative to their competitors, to generate a thorough understanding of the competitor’s past, present and future strategies and to provide an informed basis in developing strategies for achieving competitive advantage in the future. They need to work even harder and as of the moment focus on increasing their profits in the local market, then eventually start their way in the international arena.
If your answer to question 3 is yes, lay out specific recommendations for exactly how DataClear should proceed to “go global” in the near term. If the answer to question 2 is no, what specific steps should DataClear take to position itself for possible future expansion overseas?
DataClear should, as of the moment, position itself in the local market and continue on doing researches and strategies on how to improve their products and services towards giving customer satisfaction. Since they have made its name in the local market – that is, the company had many sales for the first two years of fully functioning – it is best for DataClear to lay out plans in order to gain more customers to patronize their product.
One way in doing this is to conduct a feasibility study and a survey on how they can improve their product. This is one way of involving the customers in identifying additional features for their products. This is a good start for them since customers are the direct beneficiaries of their products, thus, they know what is best for them. The nest thing to do is to undergo a thorough analysis of the gathered data in order to formulate the best strategies to be more competitive in the global market.
