OnEnterpriseSoftware

In response to a discussion about getting a new technology past naysayers, a friend penned an accidental essay on "Enterprise Software" that, without saying so directly, lays down a system of effects to explain a lot of what we see in the market.

Exerpt:

"Enterprise software is software that gets sold to a so-called enterprise. If you know English well, you might think an 'enterprise' is something brave, noble, and dangerous, like starting a small business, but in this case, 'enterprise' is used to mean the opposite: it means a large, risk-averse company, whose executives use the term to flatter themselves by pretending that they�re engaged in something brave, noble, and dangerous."

--DaveSmith 2005.04.08

It turns out that the differences (between enterprise and other software) are entirely social, not technical, and one of the major differences is that �enterprise software� is under much less pressure to have any technical merit.

True? False? I don't know. I'm not sure what to make of this observation. Let's flip it 180 degrees. If software is entirely technical, does that make it better? I have experienced products whose authors consider them technical masterpieces. The quality is often just as egregious as many enterprise packages.

I think the best intentional products, regardless of whether they are software, are created for an intended customer. And, like a good suit, they are consciously and continuosly tailored to fit the customer's shape whether it's technical, social or a combination of both.

SteveSmith 2005.04.11

Updated: Monday, April 11, 2005