(I could not attend Software 2005 due to a last minute change in my travel program – This viewpoint is based on all published information available – Sandhill sources, videos, presentations, transcripts, my conversation with MR after the event and a few participants and almost all related writings about the event.)
Software 2005 is perhaps the best event of its kind to bring together the best in the industry and this time assumes greater significance given the significant shifts that the industry is in for – Consolidation, Open Source, SaaS, Offshoring & Quality issues with software
The overwhelming set of opinion that came out of the Software 2005 event indicates:
- Getting budgets for new technology spending is becoming tougher and tougher as existing investments suck more and more resources for maintenance and enhancement.
- Opensource is not seeing the adoption as the publicity engine suggests and the so-called promise of Opensource is yet to show up.
- Customers have woken up to software quality issues and are beginning to demand more reliable enterprise applications.
- Big vendors are trying to push consolidation more and more – while the promise of small and niche vendors continue to be noticed
- Internet’s disruptive power is bringing to the fore, questions of real value add by analysts given the fact more and more information is beginning to be freely available. A new type of analyst firm based on a different business model needs to emerge
- Funding and Investments are still happening big time in the industry – but innovation remains an open question
- Initiatives to take technology more and more global shall continue to gain momentum
- Offshoring is a business compulsion and thinking and discussions point to how to make more and more of offshoring.
- The CIO’s believe that the software industry needs a fresh business model, better quality control, and closer product development ties with customers.
- Discretionary and trial budgets are becoming less and less and CIO are looking for more and more value are getting very choosy and highly selective.
- Software companies taking protection under warranty provisions minimizing potential liabilities for software flaws are coming in for severe fire. Software quality and support are becoming top concerns for the CIO’s.
- CIO’s are beginning to get asked by the business about BVIT & ROI as so much resources get sucked by IT The software security issues are consuming too much time and money and vendors are being asked about this. A variable model( thought to be more apt for consulting) has been floated for discussions where software product companies could be paid based on business outcomes.
- Sarbanes – Oxley came in for severe criticism in the CEO panel. No wonder as several CIO’s struggled in not being able to define a budget for enforcing SOX compliance.
M.R’s view that in five years, we'll look back and we're not going to recognize the software industry that existed looks quite likely to happen. Clearly across the spectrum customers are beginning to demand far more value than what the industry is offering. Read the complete article here
Category :Software 2005
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