Back Story
After 8 over years on Zwift, it felt like a long haul flight across continents. From a small island map to multi-world platform with communities formed based on nationalities in its early years, to the explosion of clubs with the club feature available now. The formative years of creating communities has gradually shifted to highlighting racing on a platform that is still finding its way to make it more credible.
Zwift on Jarvis Island circa 2014
Zwift in 2022
It has left me wondering if how much longer does it take before Zwift goes to Version 2.0 as the antiquated Ver 1.x is constantly in need of updates and patches, or when Zwift becomes a listed company by being acquired as part of a bigger company, Hits and Misses Certainly we have seen the potential of Zwift to be a leading company in virtual cycling app by vritual of being there first in the ever competitive market. Being in that position allowed them to introduce/propose a few initiatives that have came and went while did not even get off the launchpad like the intended introduction of rowing sport which got shelved currently despite having a start pen in Watopia.
Zwift Rowing (Video credit to Zwift Hype) Zwift in recent years ventured into offering their own brand of training hardware,. It first came up with the Zwift bike which got canned. Their intention remained unchanged and morphed into a collaboration with JetBlack to produce a low-cost trainer called Zwift Hub. All these changes to business strategy is an expensive corporate exercise and it does not come cheap when the executive fell short of actualization.
Zwift went from toying with the idea of a smart bike...
To collaborating with trainer company JetBlack to rollout the ZWIFT Hub No sooner than its launched we see them embroiled in a legal suit with Wahoo over proprietry issues which is still going on. I cannot comment for certainty what did Zwift do with the Zwift Hub which infriged on the "Intellectual Property" of Wahoo but seems like there is something done which suggests so. Personally, I think the value proposition of the Hub is great by bringing in more users to the platform at a relatively cheaper pricepoint. However, in the course of building the trainer, has Zwift crossed some invisible lines? We shall see more development on this tussle in the coming months ahead.
Value Proposition Zwift needs to possess clarity on their business focus and have the support of a strong team that is able to steer them in the right direction, leveraging on their best of their expertise to reach their full business potential. Subscribers of the platform will be concerned if the company chooses to deviate from their primary application business and tinkle with projects which will rile the industry and partners. Such negative impacts can have rather negative consequences for the customers as they will gradually come to decide if they should stay or move to another plaform that has less such issues.
We are customers who have simple expectation when we sign up for a service which is the actual delivery, reliably. Offering us shiny, new things like new maps, roads, gaming features may be great initially but they will become ordinary over time. Also, with every new feature introduced, we are faced with a list of bugs and broken features in tow which the cycle has persisted right up till today. This is something the paying customer does not need to come to terms with and accept at all. However, Zwift continues to enjoy an amazing amount of brand loyalty which has kept many subscribers staying on.
Customers cannot be Crash-Test-Dummies for corporate decisions... Zwift takes to the skies As Zwift continues to grow, they have succintly gained more investor funds over the years, increased media PR exposure with Tour de France, supported multiple human-rights movements which rallied the community. The traction has exponentially increased during the pandemic period where most people were either under lockdowns or restricted movement which hampered the ability to cycle/run outdoors liberally. Zwift provided that perfect platform at the right time for people of this planet. However, the recent times have seen staffs being laid off and teams reorganized, even the way we communicate with the Zwift Team seemed to be a different and tad distant experience. This raises the question on whether the company is buckling under the weight of its own meteoric growth. The next few steps will be very interesting for us who are concerned about the company's health.
Zwift raises funds to increase its potty
Zwift collaboration with ASO for Tour de France virtual
UCI e-Sport World Championships on Zwift
Technology 101
Fast forwarding to the end of 2022, after 8 years I felt that the platform is not very different from the one I started my first beta ride on 1st December 2014. Aesthetically, the UI and layout interface may have been changed but the base graphics, avatars, the feel is just so... 2014. For long time users like myself, the UI is screaming loudly for a real overhaul. We have seen the potential of gaming engines these days like Unreal5 which produces amazing visual quality and motion but sadly, I don't see it coming over to Zwift anytime. your Even hardware is so bound my old ways of coding as it continues to use OpenGL which is going out in due time. Try riding on Makuri Island your PC system will be CPU strapped but only on a single core while your graphic card will be under-utilised. This is a sign of poor coding which on a greater extent requires Zwift to think harder on really getting their technology infrastructure brought up to date.
Zwift UI 2014 is where is all began
Zwift UI 2022, different but how much really?
Zwift is in need of a real overhaul to keep up not only with the technology side of the platform, but also the concept of how the business as an entity in order to keep investors sold to the idea that we can just sell subscriptions, get events collaborations are enough to make the brand attractive.
Where do I go from here So what's with my deal? I created and manage a virtual sports community under the Ascenders Team brand with the goal of community engagement through fun in sports. We are non-sponsored and carry out our events though various platforms not only restricted to Zwift but also rival apps like WahooRGT, MyWhoosh, WhiizU, Kinix. to actively seeking ways to deploy them in helping me to achieve my team goals of keeping the community engaged. Zwift may have had a headstart to the virtual cycling app industry but they must realise that competition is catching up and are capable of delivering features they are either not having or "primitive" by today's standards. On the flipside, if the demise of any particular platform can have a negative impact to our ability to stay connected. Hence, I hope to see these companies continue not only to thrive but also improve their product offerings which will help our cause.
WahooRGT Cycling
MyWhoosh
WhiizU
Kinix - gamifying the way we ride our indoor bike trainers
As the team leader, my focus and work are to create positive experiences and connections through such activities in bringing people around the world closer. Zwift has always remained close to my heart as it is the platform that helped me achieved a personal dream of building a team for the world. So I really hope they get off the launchpad and reach for higher goals than continually test fire the rocket boosters without liftoff...
Ascenders Team on Zwift - Cycling, Running, Social
With all that mentioned, I shall leave it as that now...
Thank you for reading, PatBot.