While playing the software game was lucrative, this blog helps software companies sidelined by innovation to re-enter the game and to win.
Once upon a time it was lucrative to play the software industry game. We sold functionality at excellent margins. Annual maintenance was steady money for (rather) little work. Technology advanced at a manageable pace. The peer community dispensed recognition. Growth was steady and life was good.
But then the software game changed. In many niches FOSS has turned functionality into a commodity. SaaS upsets perpetual licensing, while annual maintenance is increasingly suspect. The community scattered as global players bought and consolidated. Innovation quickened. New business slowed.
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Forcing our code generation worldview on prospects just lead to heated arguments and late nights cranking out emergency fixes.
For many years I built, sold and supported application generators that generated platform-specific code from abstract problem statements. We generated Java, C++, C, SQL, HTML, COBOL, PL/I and many other languages.
Our worldview: generated code is efficient and works. Our ideal prospects shared our worldview. While they were often experts, they had no expectations about how the generated code should look. Just that it worked and that they were more productive.
Not all prospects shared this worldview. If someone said “I would not have written the (generated) code like that” we knew there would be trouble.
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The waterfall model for content creation is too slow. You need an agile process to create and ship your storytelling content.
To sell a product you must know what your target audience wants, not just what they need. Wants changes; worldviews are not static. Every message and conversation with peers has an impact, moving the story along.
The software business is quickly picking up qualities of the fashion industry. Both satisfy wants, not needs. Does anyone need designer sneakers? No. Do they want them? Yes!
Worrying about the slippery slope of fashion isn’t new. Windows 3.0 lead business users to want GUIs for their apps. They didn’t need a GUI for their B2B apps, but it was obvious they wanted one. They got what they wanted.
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Future employers won’t need you, but they might want you. Your product is now your skills and the stories to go with them.
Many B2B developers are anonymous workers in a software factory, with little or no connection to customers. Perhaps they get a customer visit here, or a user conference there; but typically not much more.
As products become software and the stories to go with them, previously backstage developers have a new role. Your target audience cares who produces your software, where they are and how they do it. These all contribute to the stories customers tell themselves about how they expect your product to make them feel.
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Epic stories don’t grow on trees; you must design, build and ship them. Success depends on shipping these spreadable software stories.
Software that meets a need (horizontal or vertical) is a commodity. There’s always a cheaper or quicker supplier out there somewhere. Being just a little cheaper, or just a little quicker, cannot work for you long-term.
Focus on your target audience’s wants, not needs. While companies have needs and wants, talking about wants means talking about people and their emotions.
We decide on what we want based on how we think we’ll feel. And not just B2C; B2B buyers are also telling themselves stories about how your product will make them feel.
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