Another approach is to deliver your software as a service. While you might run up against some silly patents (e.g. amazon's one-click), it would be a lot harder for people to recognize, much less prove, patent infringement in the heart of your server-side code.
Actually AC, your problem is basic human competition. If you do not produce better/faster/cheaper than your competitors, you lose. You lose. I say again: You lose.
You lose customers, you lose deals, and your employees lose jobs. No amount of socialist hand-wringing changes that basic equation.
Guess who gets blamed (and rightfully so) if a company fails?
Wow, that's really funny. I mean, I was sitting here, bored out of my mind when I read your post. I couldn't stop laughing, crying, clapping my hands and shouting "Glory glory!". Thank you Mr./Ms. AC for your clever twist on the "in russia blank blanks you!" riff....privacy busts your back door...No, really...I'm still giggling.
Oh, I know you could've added a profound comment or even no comment at all. But you saw your chance...and by golly, you seized it. Carpe Cliche!
So on behalf of all slashdot readers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
(cough) unless we're offered a free iPod or iPhone, a date with Kari Byron, or a complete DVD set of "The Simpsons". This bribe^H^H^H^H olive branch would be considered a way for us to become ambivalent wrt 2clix once again.
Who cares? I'm sure folks at IBM are probably using XP machines, and probably MS-Word to write up the stinging, anti-Microsoft press releases... Ha! Take another gulp of your own closed-source medicine, you MSFT cretins! Sweeeeeet Justice!!! [cue maniacal laughter]
I know quite a few CEO's and I don't know any that are as shortsighted as you say. It's generally the board/investors that are looking for the quicker turnaround, but even they will be patient if a plan is laid out and you make your benchmarks along the way. If this wasn't true it wouldn't be as easy as it is to get venture money for ideas.
On the contrary, installation will be required every time. If the source is down, you have no software and you cannot work.
Sorry, but this is just silly. Are you suggesting that desktop applications never fail? At least if my disk crashes I can go to another machine and keep working. FWIW, disk failures have happened to me a lot more than my SaaS app not being available and they consume a WHOLE lot more of my time to fix.
Good IT departments...
Not everybody has the dollars or people available to do the maintenance you suggest, and the unique customizations you speak of are indeed responsible for lots of bugs and upgrade hassles. The best way to limit that problem is to do small updates often and to tightly control customizations.
You are seriously saying that an app on some web server somewhere...
Yeah, seriously. Most business people simply do not have the option of fixing their own stuff and don't want to have to wait for IT to do it. What is the difference between being reliant on an overworked IT staff or being reliant on a vendor whose existence relies on the application you're trying to use? I'd rather pay money to the vendor than to an internal resource. That way I can focus on MY business (not IT) and let the Vendor focus on theirs.
The whole "you don't have control" argument is just FUD. You have to manage risk. What happens if a flood/whatever hits your office? Most decent SaaS companies are in data centers geographically distributed to prevent such disasters. What happens if your bank goes under? Do you hide your money in the hall closet? What if your credit card processing agency or payroll company goes defunct? Do you have control over your electricity flow? Aren't those considered critical to your business? If the shrinkwrap software has a bug in it (remember the ghastly problems with MS-WORD?), do you have ANY more control than the user using the online app? I can bet the online app will be fixed faster!
This isn't a theoretical exercise to me. My company has saved a ton of money and hassle by outsourcing some enterprise apps and the more we can push off the better. We keep outsourced critical data independently backed up (just as we would with a internal app). We know how to extract what we need from that data too.
I'm not suggesting that every company should use software as a service; I just know I'll outsource any software I reasonably can.
What software are you talking about that replaces $1000+ apps with online apps?
Compare a CRM system from Salesforce.com versus on-premise Seibel for example. Big big difference in price.
if you are talking about inhouse, intra-net apps, for security reasons, the only way you should be able to access it from outside the network is through VPN
Again, think about a CRM app. Do you want your top sales guy or exec to have to mess with getting through the VPN from his home computer? Or futzing around with some hotel's internet connection? Or from Starbucks? etc etc etc.
3) No desktop installation required - no screwing around with what build works on your particular OS.
4) IT maintenance - while not a big issue for most of us that post here, for all those mere mortals keeping the software up to date, or upgrading to a new version can be a major headache. With software as a service, its done for you.
5) Accessibility - what if you're outside the firewall and can't get thru the VPN? Again, a bigger deal for mere mortals that/.-ers. (of course the disadvantage is no working offline)
6) less start up risk. If I can start with a couple of seats a month for $50/seat versus having to kick out hundreds or thousands of dollars per desktop copy, it's a better deal (well, legally anyways).
7) Generally the Software as a service providers have better backup/recovery processes than the average SMB (think law firm, not software house).
There's lots more reasons of varying importance. I think the parent's point #1 is probably the most relevant of all tho.
Slashdot Mirror
what place this article has on a technology news site?
Well Dennis Kucinich is clearly from outer space. Have you seen his ears? Total trekkie, totally nerd-chic.
Stop! He had me at "Hello Kitty"
Another approach is to deliver your software as a service. While you might run up against some silly patents (e.g. amazon's one-click), it would be a lot harder for people to recognize, much less prove, patent infringement in the heart of your server-side code.
Or so I'd think anyways.
Let me be the first to welcome our Amiga-friendly, Commodore-centric, TI-99 riding robotic overlords.
They visit our earth once more.
This has got to be an awesome project to work on...I'm jealous.
That means one of the admins found out his online girlfriend was a 50 year old guy from Brooklyn.
You say that like that's a bad thing.
...are the lawyers.
Ha. I'm "The Man". ha. funnee.
Actually AC, your problem is basic human competition. If you do not produce better/faster/cheaper than your competitors, you lose. You lose. I say again: You lose.
You lose customers, you lose deals, and your employees lose jobs. No amount of socialist hand-wringing changes that basic equation.
Guess who gets blamed (and rightfully so) if a company fails?
Buy low, sell high.
Will I buy it? Absolutely.
Not. (ok technically, that's about three things to say)
I'm surprised linkedin wasn't mentioned. It's getting a lot of use by the professional social networking crowd.
Wow, that's really funny. I mean, I was sitting here, bored out of my mind when I read your post. I couldn't stop laughing, crying, clapping my hands and shouting "Glory glory!". Thank you Mr./Ms. AC for your clever twist on the "in russia blank blanks you!" riff. ...privacy busts your back door...No, really...I'm still giggling.
Oh, I know you could've added a profound comment or even no comment at all. But you saw your chance...and by golly, you seized it. Carpe Cliche!
So on behalf of all slashdot readers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Sincerely,
lottameez
[gurgle] I'm not quite dead.
Two, not one, but two! summits to discuss Linux legal issues. SIGN ME UP!
It's an old George Carlin joke.
(cough) unless we're offered a free iPod or iPhone, a date with Kari Byron, or a complete DVD set of "The Simpsons". This bribe^H^H^H^H olive branch would be considered a way for us to become ambivalent wrt 2clix once again.
Who cares? I'm sure folks at IBM are probably using XP machines, and probably MS-Word to write up the stinging, anti-Microsoft press releases ...
Ha! Take another gulp of your own closed-source medicine, you MSFT cretins! Sweeeeeet Justice!!!
[cue maniacal laughter]
yawn.
Now that you've fixed the spelling error, perhaps ophcrack can help you with grammar too:
how Ophcrack is capable of generate immense tables of words
Yeah, I use textpad all the time. I haven't found anything better for doing multi-file text replacements.
I'd never get it back. This product has enormous toy potential.
If you haven't seen the IMAX movie on the rovers I highly recommend it. I saw it last year out at the Dulles Air and Space Museum. It was awesome.
No, really. This is funny: Evil and good are subjective adjectives given by opinionated pricks..
I know quite a few CEO's and I don't know any that are as shortsighted as you say. It's generally the board/investors that are looking for the quicker turnaround, but even they will be patient if a plan is laid out and you make your benchmarks along the way. If this wasn't true it wouldn't be as easy as it is to get venture money for ideas.
On the contrary, installation will be required every time. If the source is down, you have no software and you cannot work.
Sorry, but this is just silly. Are you suggesting that desktop applications never fail? At least if my disk crashes I can go to another machine and keep working. FWIW, disk failures have happened to me a lot more than my SaaS app not being available and they consume a WHOLE lot more of my time to fix.
Good IT departments...
Not everybody has the dollars or people available to do the maintenance you suggest, and the unique customizations you speak of are indeed responsible for lots of bugs and upgrade hassles. The best way to limit that problem is to do small updates often and to tightly control customizations.
You are seriously saying that an app on some web server somewhere...
Yeah, seriously. Most business people simply do not have the option of fixing their own stuff and don't want to have to wait for IT to do it. What is the difference between being reliant on an overworked IT staff or being reliant on a vendor whose existence relies on the application you're trying to use? I'd rather pay money to the vendor than to an internal resource. That way I can focus on MY business (not IT) and let the Vendor focus on theirs.
The whole "you don't have control" argument is just FUD. You have to manage risk. What happens if a flood/whatever hits your office? Most decent SaaS companies are in data centers geographically distributed to prevent such disasters. What happens if your bank goes under? Do you hide your money in the hall closet? What if your credit card processing agency or payroll company goes defunct? Do you have control over your electricity flow? Aren't those considered critical to your business? If the shrinkwrap software has a bug in it (remember the ghastly problems with MS-WORD?), do you have ANY more control than the user using the online app? I can bet the online app will be fixed faster!
This isn't a theoretical exercise to me. My company has saved a ton of money and hassle by outsourcing some enterprise apps and the more we can push off the better. We keep outsourced critical data independently backed up (just as we would with a internal app). We know how to extract what we need from that data too.
I'm not suggesting that every company should use software as a service; I just know I'll outsource any software I reasonably can.
What software are you talking about that replaces $1000+ apps with online apps?
Compare a CRM system from Salesforce.com versus on-premise Seibel for example. Big big difference in price.
if you are talking about inhouse, intra-net apps, for security reasons, the only way you should be able to access it from outside the network is through VPN
Again, think about a CRM app. Do you want your top sales guy or exec to have to mess with getting through the VPN from his home computer? Or futzing around with some hotel's internet connection? Or from Starbucks? etc etc etc.
3) No desktop installation required - no screwing around with what build works on your particular OS.
/.-ers. (of course the disadvantage is no working offline)
4) IT maintenance - while not a big issue for most of us that post here, for all those mere mortals keeping the software up to date, or upgrading to a new version can be a major headache. With software as a service, its done for you.
5) Accessibility - what if you're outside the firewall and can't get thru the VPN? Again, a bigger deal for mere mortals that
6) less start up risk. If I can start with a couple of seats a month for $50/seat versus having to kick out hundreds or thousands of dollars per desktop copy, it's a better deal (well, legally anyways).
7) Generally the Software as a service providers have better backup/recovery processes than the average SMB (think law firm, not software house).
There's lots more reasons of varying importance. I think the parent's point #1 is probably the most relevant of all tho.