An Age of Higher Expectations
- Posted January 12th, 2007
- Filed under: Technology
Software and its users have entered an age of higher expectations. Although business software is hardly leading the charge, it’s starting to catch up.
Once upon a time, business software was business software. Nobody got too excited about it, if by “excited” we understand something positive. Except, of course, for the people whose business it was to sell the software and a few pointy-haired analysts who knew what to do with the numbers it was increasingly possible to wrangle.
As more companies realized the competitive advantages of computerizing aspects of their day-to-day workflow, the market for business software grew exponentially. Competition was fierce for this new market. Alongside aggressive sales, the makers of business software relied on vendor lock-in to keep their customers buying their products and related upgrades whether the customers wanted to or not.
Nobody was too happy with this arrangement, if by “nobody” we understand anybody besides the makers of business software. Those in charge of buying decisions had to negotiate upgrades and additional licenses with effective monopolies. And those on the user end too often found themselves wrestling with obtuse interfaces, inscrutable user manuals and cryptic error messages.
Then, the Internet happened. While it didn’t change the old, bad ways of business software all at once, it caused people to understand computers and their use in a new light.
