Even it’s pretty late, if still possible TD should return to the basics. TD fate is in prioritizing customer-centric strategies. As the saying goes, 'It's the customer, stupid !' When customers are cared for, everything else falls into place.
Since 2010, TD has consistently neglected the importance of customer intimacy. It reflected badly in vital aspects such as product design, marketing, delivery, and support.
In 2023, my own layoff left me surprisingly indifferent; from as far back as 2016, I sensed that TD's weak executive leadership would eventually lead to its demise. A prophecy that sadly came true. The dangers of becoming overly focused on product features were obvious, except to ELT.
TD's downfall has been exacerbated by its reckless expenditure on unnecessary tech features, rather than heeding the voices of its customers.
Countless thriving businesses demonstrate daily that product superiority alone is neither necessary nor sufficient to attract and retain customers. It’s customer intimacy that truly ans always matters.
TD should heed this lesson and embark rapidly on a (desperate) journey of genuine customer engagement, listening attentively to their needs and preferences.
Only then could TD stop it customer base erosion, reclaim part of its former glory and secure a rightful place in the market. But my fear is, it’s way too late now.
Requiem 🙏🏼
8 replies (most recent on top)
We're way past turning this around. I've noticed teams are getting whittled down, sales forecasts are being downgraded and the GTM teams have given up in many areas.
The challenge for the ELT will be how to continually Paint a rosy picture because whilst the AI market booms, Teradata is going backwards and surely the wall St expects will discover sooner rather than later.
We're preparing our cv's for the eventual outcome.
Post from TheLayoff.com
The whole world is moving to object store and TD can’t survive if it doesn’t have Lake.
The "edge of the cliff"/tipping-point will be when the total number of remaining customers plummets below 500. At that time, any lingering doubt on the part of the remaining customers will be erased and the demise will accelerate. Word gets around among customers so there won't be any mystery.
The key question for those of us laid-off (and not close enough to know) is "how close is that number?"
Sad but true. An example is the lake house debacle. No TD customers asked for it yet somehow the ELT decided that's what TD needed to build. Would have been better to extend NOS to support the data bricks delta lake protocol, which is something customers were actually asking for. HA wouldn't have known that though because she was too busy being interviewed for bogus "Top women in tech " articles to find out what TD customers actually wanted.
It’s not your dad’s Teradata.
Who needs customers when you have stock options.
Way too late. Teradata laid off anyone with product knowledge. Outsourced and replaced them with lower quality foreign and DEI. Now surprise surprise the lower quality are jumping ship which perpetuates the death spiral.
ELT is rearranging the furniture on the Titanic in a desperate effort to keep everything going long enough to get more stock options which they immediately sell.
It's sad watching something so many poured they're time and talent into get hollowed out from the inside.
10 years too late.