What Customers Want from their Software Vendors
Maryann Jones Thompson interviews Sybase CEO John Chen in an Op-Ed in SandHill.com. Thompson artfully takes the reader through the strategy and growth of Sybase and allows Chen to discuss his stewardship of the company from 1998 to the present. What I found of particular interest was Chen’s response when asked why Sybase was slow to embrace SaaS, Open Source, and other new technologies. Chen responded as follows:
“In the 1980s during the transition from mainframes to UNIX, everyone forecasted the death of mainframes. Then NT arrived and the end of UNIX was proclaimed. Now people are talking about open source or SaaS in the same way. But the reality is that every new technology and every new method will have its audience – but it won’t wipe out the previous ones.”
To me this answer is right on and makes good business sense. Chen’s approach seems to fit quite nicely with another SandHill.com Op-Ed piece written by M.R. Rangaswami entitled Old Rules for a New Era. It appears that Rangaswami has a similar view vis-à-vis Chen’s recognition that new methods come online and attain their own audience. I think implicit in Chen’s comment is what Rangaswami discusses regarding the fact that today’s IT Buyers struggle with the ever-changing new models and technologies such as SaaS, Cloud, and SOA. Yes, the future does look bright as these new products come to market and affect the technology strategies of today’s global enterprises. However, the proliferation does have its drawbacks. Just how can the software vendor get its products noticed? In essence the question becomes ‘Just what is it that the IT Buyer wants’. The answer to this question is alluded to in the subtitle to Rangaswami’s article, “Software vendor success will not be determined by a specific technology or model but by meeting customer expectations”. Here are those expectations as developed by M.R. Rangaswami:
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Reliable – Products will be expected to work out-of-the-box and continue to do so as they interoperate with other products. Heavy integration work will not be expected or tolerated. -
Secure – Software must be secure beyond today’s acceptable levels. Vendors must provide guarantees and incentives to convince buyers of this heightened security. -
Fast – Solutions have to be able to be deployed quickly and offer a speedy time-to-value. If it can’t be on-demand, then it needs to be close. -
Simple – The hallmark of next-generation software will be its ability to be intuitive for its users – as intuitive as an online application aimed at consumers. No training should be required. It must also be simple to purchase and deploy. -
Innovative - Buyers will expect vendors to continue to innovate their solutions. They will value new approaches to solve the same problems as well as attempts to solve entirely new business problems.
