Satjiv S. Chahil has been described as a pioneer, visionary, innovator, multimedia guru, and a "make it happen" marketing wiz who was credited with keeping the Apple brand alive during it's darkest days. Wall Street Journal technology columnist Walt Mossberg described him as "one of the most clear thinking and creative people." He is now working very closely with Palm Chairman Eric Benhamou to separate the company into two independent entities.

Brief excerpts from an Interview given to Techieindex on the strategies he is adopting to expand the market for handhelds and stay ahead of ruthless competitor Microsoft.

On emerging markets for integrated devices particularly wireless products.
Today, most mobile professionals are interested in wireless products and the benefits of wireless technology. There are three wireless product choices in the market today - voice centric, such as the Samsung i1300, data centric, such as the Palm i705, and the two-piece Bluetooth solution, which includes and Ericsson T68 phone and a Palm m515. It's hard to say where the largest critical mass of the market will be. We are in the early stages of converged wireless devices.

On Microsofts plans to penetrate the mobile space and how Palm plans to counter the threat by the Redwood giant.

Microsoft has indeed been pursuing this market for years. They have changed the name of their OS three times, from Windows CE to Pocket PC, and now to Pocket PC 2002. None of their OS's are backwards compatible. As a result, their market share remains below 20%. However, nobody should underestimate the power and resources of Microsoft, and that they can create what in the industry is known as FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt).

In the mobile space, Microsoft has jammed a lot of very impressive functionality in the Pocket PC and the iPAQ. But the consequence is that the product is large and heavy, and the battery drains in less than half a day. The user is left with the age-old problem of laptops - looking for a power source. Actually, name Pocket PC is an oxymoron - it doesn't fit in the pocket. Additionally, accessing basic information takes two or more steps than with a Palm handheld.

An interesting fact is that when you look at the broader consumer market, the Palm brand is more appealing than Microsoft. A Fortune publication poll revealed that the most preferred brand for mobile devices was Nokia, followed by Palm and Sony. Microsoft was much further down the list. Our focus on simplicity, design elegance and usability seems to have struck a chord with consumers.

On the strategy adopted to counter Microsoft.
We intend to stay ahead of Microsoft by staying focused on the mobile user's needs. We will excel by continually providing the optimal balance between functionality, usability and wearability. The smart strategy is not to take Microsoft head on, but to acknowledge them as the defacto desktop environment. Our products have always been compatible with the Microsoft corporate systems. A third party software called Dataviz even allows people to have their Excel spreadsheets, Word documents and Power Point presentations on their Palm handhelds. We can not only nicely co-exist with Microsoft's desktop environment, but also provide richer solutions and a much better user experience.

On the spin off its OS division into a new outfit and its advantages.
Palm Source (the OS division) is being created to expand our addressable market and drive growth. It is very challenging for a hardware company to continually grow at a rapid pace as it demands a huge cash outlay and large inventory risks. This is precisely what we experienced last year. Furthermore, we become more attractive to licensees from around the
world if we are not competing with them in the hardware business at the same time.

Due to the versatility of the Palm OS, we can venture into new markets. Already today Palm OS addresses the mobile professional handheld market (Palm), the consumer multimedia market (Sony Clie) and the phone space (Samsung and Treo). Microsoft has three OS's to cover this same spectrum (CE, Pocket PC and Stinger).

On the market sentiment against Microsoft and how it is helping Palm.
It is encouraging that most people want Palm to win. From industry experts to industry watchers, from technologists to customers, everyone wants there to be an alternative to Microsoft. We've all been frustrated with Microsoft somewhere in our life. At Palm we are committed to rising to the occasion and providing truly useful and usable technology - technology that not only improves our lives but puts a smile on our face.

A key requirement for any OS to be successful is to have wide spread developer support. Palm Source has excelled on this front. There are over 200,000 developers who have created over 15,000 applications that can be sold to upwards of 21 million users. Even in the enterprise market sector Palm OS has a 2-1 development preference vs. the Pocket PC. Besides there being a much larger addressable market, it is a much easier OS to develop applications for


On the agressive pricing strategy adopted by Palm.
The current economic environment is all about affordability. How many people can pay $500 for an iPAQ? For $200 more they'd rather get a PC for the family. Today you get Palm products from $100-$200 and you have access to about 15,000 applications. For all of us, software does matter. We intend to continue to provide the best value proposition to the largest customer base possible.

On building a brand awareness for Palm Hand-helds.
Even today, many people refer affectionately to their handheld as "their Palm Pilot". Brands influence all of us, whether we are marketing people or finance people, academics or students. You see people from all segments from around the world wearing "Polo" brand shirts. They often pay a premium for the privilege, but at the same time may not acknowledge that they are influenced by the brand. A powerful brand insures a steady purchase stream. 97% of Palm customers say they would recommend our product to others!


On marketing as a career option.
Master the basics and boldly innovate. Understand that you've got to do things out of the ordinary to make a big impact. I've been very fortunate that I have worked with some of the world's best engineers at IBM, Xerox, Apple, Sony and here at Palm. It is the combination of teamwork between the engineering and marketing teams that helps in creating and spreading the message. I think one of my unusual attributes is that I'm not a technologist - I'm passionate about what technology can do for people. All marketing people should always remain the champions of the customers and be devoted to providing the best value proposition to them. At the same time fiscal responsibility to the corporation is a must.

My suggestion to anyone starting out on their career would be to follow your passion as early as possible. 


On major accomplishments.
I don't believe I can lay claim as an individual to any successes I've been associated with. I have always been surrounded by extraordinary teams. Together we introduced the first multilingual computer system and the Unicode standard. We established Apple as the most preferred computer brand in Japan. We drove important multimedia standards, such as CD-Rom, QuickTime, Firewire/iLink, DVD, and now the worlds leading mobile OS.


On the the people who have influenced him.
I've had gurus and mentors all my life. Family, teachers, bosses and fellow workers. I learn something new almost every day from someone around me. By best ideas have been most often sparked by others. From a marketing standpoint, my mentors have included my marketing professor Dan Kaufher, Apple CEO's John Sculley and Michael Spindler, PR legends Regis McKenna and Harold Burson, Hollywood impresario Jeff Berg and Sony President Kunitake Ando.