Paul Downs, the NYT blogger and small business owner, had an interesting post about IT today. He compares software to his business, cabinet-making. He’s always tried to make things that last forever, and writes that software “…operates on the opposite premise.”
Is that really true? I was curious – so I broke down software products into a few categories. Here’s what I have:
1. Products like Intuit Quickbooks, that “sunset” (ugliest euphemism since the ‘final solution’) and force you to upgrade every few years.
2. Products like ACT!, that stop supporting older versions of their software, thus requiring you to upgrade if you ever have an issue.
3. Products like Microsoft Office that release mostly useless new versions, but don’t force you to upgrade for a few years.
4. Cloud software providers like Salesforce.com that upgrade silently and seamlessly. But you pay a subscription.
So it is true, it seems like software is not really built to last. But why?
Sure, there’s the obvious, “because that’s how they make money, stupid”. But I think there’s something deeper here. Software is not an object, it’s a tool. Paul’s other analogy, comparing software to his old trusty hammer, is more apt.
But then why doesn’t he ever have to replace his hammer? The reason is that he what he can build with a hammer and nail hasn’t really changed in 5,000 years. What you can do with software changes every day.
