We Are All Software Makers Now
I think Joi Ito's TED talk about NOWISM is correct and a tsunami trend few understand or address. Right after the NOWISM wave comes the, "We are all software creators" wave.
We love this line, "It is decidedly non-trivial for a company in a non-tech traditional industry to start thinking and acting like a software company." Damn skippy it is hard to become a "softwareist".
Software engineers speak a different language, think differently than left brain creatives (most marketing people are left brain creatives) and want to engineer the world.
The subtext of this well written and intelligently conceived post is find blue oceans or die. I'm mixing metaphors since the post doesn't contextualize using Kim's great Blue Ocean Strategies book, but the implication hangs in this post like a line separating winners from losers.
An article that reminds us that software is everywhere and that all companies should focus on making this trend part of their strategic plan.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
The article focusses on 2 key elements: timing and focus. These are essential as not all industry move at the same speed. Case in point: book sales and grocery. Probably two ends of the spectrum, book sales have moved to online early and in a big way. Grocery: not so much. Actually, not yet. Because we all know it is coming, we will buy our staple grocery cans from a website in the coming years. Question is when.
And when this happens, when customers are ready and retailers find a way to remain profitable even when they do more work, then it will become a game of choosing the right products at the right price. Same as today. But with a different distribution channel. Focus will remain being a great grocer, not a great technology company. Or will it?