Powered by Innovation
The software industry has entered a new spectrum of innovation that will create the foundation for value in the next era.
By M.R. Rangaswami, Sand Hill Group
Mar. 18, 2007
When you think of "innovation," what companies come to mind?
Apple might be near the top of the list. Nike. Google. Procter & Gamble. Southwest Airlines, perhaps. But would any enterprise software companies appear?
A few years ago, I would have wagered against it. Enterprise software companies have not historically been thought of as innovative. Although their products were very often unique and built to deliver new functionality to businesses, the companies did not innovate quickly and their business models were intransigent.
Today, everything has changed. Software's concept of innovation has broadened far beyond that of a novel application. Today, innovation in business models, delivery methods, marketing, development and customer care is the rule for software success - not the exception.
The software industry is powered by innovation. The next generation of successful software vendors will think about innovation holistically and will work with their customers to foster innovation throughout their business.
Not Just For Products Anymore
The fact is that companies of all types are thinking differently about innovation today. A new study from Saugatuck Technology finds innovation is on the minds of senior business leaders worldwide. Even longtime innovation leader, Procter & Gamble, has adopted a new innovation philosophy.
"Innovation" used to be synonymous with "invention." Business innovation dealt largely with new products or product features.
The same was true for software. Innovation was always a rallying cry for the industry, but the term applied almost exclusively to products: the cool new features in Vista, what's incorporated in the next SAP release or the cool new technology offered by a startup. Away from the product side, very little innovation took place.
And if you asked customers, very few would call their vendors "innovative." New releases took a long time to come out and often included a bloated list of features which only a small handful of clients cared about. Incorporating these new releases required expensive services contracts. Offerings from smaller vendors seemed cool but scary to support and deploy. All the while, the business practices of vendors remained intractable.
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Apple might be near the top of the list. Nike. Google. Procter & Gamble. Southwest Airlines, perhaps. But would any enterprise software companies appear?
A few years ago, I would have wagered against it. Enterprise software companies have not historically been thought of as innovative. Although their products were very often unique and built to deliver new functionality to businesses, the companies did not innovate quickly and their business models were intransigent.
Today, everything has changed. Software's concept of innovation has broadened far beyond that of a novel application. Today, innovation in business models, delivery methods, marketing, development and customer care is the rule for software success - not the exception.
The software industry is powered by innovation. The next generation of successful software vendors will think about innovation holistically and will work with their customers to foster innovation throughout their business.
Not Just For Products Anymore
The fact is that companies of all types are thinking differently about innovation today. A new study from Saugatuck Technology finds innovation is on the minds of senior business leaders worldwide. Even longtime innovation leader, Procter & Gamble, has adopted a new innovation philosophy.
"Innovation" used to be synonymous with "invention." Business innovation dealt largely with new products or product features.
The same was true for software. Innovation was always a rallying cry for the industry, but the term applied almost exclusively to products: the cool new features in Vista, what's incorporated in the next SAP release or the cool new technology offered by a startup. Away from the product side, very little innovation took place.
And if you asked customers, very few would call their vendors "innovative." New releases took a long time to come out and often included a bloated list of features which only a small handful of clients cared about. Incorporating these new releases required expensive services contracts. Offerings from smaller vendors seemed cool but scary to support and deploy. All the while, the business practices of vendors remained intractable.
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