Assembla DifferentiationPublic Space

Feedback on Differentiation: Assembla

From Andy

via email:
In Basecamp, the users for the set of projects under one account are separated from the users in a set of projects under a different account. That’s the opposite of creating a network. Odesk goes further toward offering profiles, but they basically assume you work on one project at a time. So, no, Basecamp doesn’t support any networking at all, and oDesk doesn’t go very far in that direction.

via podcast:
Basecamp and other collaboration tools assume that your project is the only one out there. They don't have the public face that Assembla.com has. Imagine that every project is embedded in this global, professional network. Rather than think of it as one project at at time, Assembla.com starts with the idea that it's one pool, that allows you to restrict permissions on particular spaces.


From Sesha

via email:

I believe the key differentiation for Assembla is the ability to help companies develop and deploy web applications, especially the new generation of Web2.0 applications. There are several reasons for this:

1. One of the major enabling innovations of the Web2.0 movement is agile development and a “release early, release often” methodology. Assembla’s agile development process and infrastructure has been designed specifically to enable agile development of web applications
2. Assembla has already developed and deployed a number of “enterprise-strength” web2.0 applications using Ruby on Rails, the development environment of choice for Web2.0 development.
3. Assembla has the ability, through its developer community and recruiting efforts, to provide organizations with on-demand staffing of Web 2.0 projects, especially for difficult to find positions like AJAX programmers and interface designers.
   

There are both positive and negative aspects of positioning around the Web2.0 trend:

Positive: the majority of Web2.0 development has been done by startups and leading consumer technology companies (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Netflix). These innovations are starting to influence the mindset of corporate users and IT departments, which should result in a strong need for Web2.0 resources and talent. However, demand for Web2.0 developers and designers is already outstripping supply, resulting in a dramatic increase in salaries for these professionals, and providing an opportunity for companies like Assembla to provide innovative solutions.

Negative: the term “Web2.0” has already become overused and has become associated with an every broadening category of web sites and applications. Also, as Web2.0 moves into the mainstream, it is likely to be absorbed by mainstream vendors who provide “Web2.0” offerings (e.g. off-shore software development shops who now claim agile development and Web2.0 skills). Therefore, positioning around Web2.0 may be too vague and may not provide a clear differentiation as other vendors introduce their own offerings.