In my previous post, “Software Is Necessary For Your Business- PERIOD!” I made a case that because we’re living through the fourth Industrial Revolution (IR-4), all businesses need software to stay competitive. This is not an earth-shattering idea to anybody in the high-tech industry, it is “obvious” to all.
While things continue to rapidly advance, high-tech software based business is not the goal of this post. My goal is to help real-world businesses in industries other than high-tech; industries that interact with the “real world” not just the virtual world, the industries that are too often being overlooked. I’m speaking to you… LISTEN UP!
“In some industries, particularly those with a heavy real-world component such as oil and gas, the software revolution is primarily an opportunity for incumbents. But in many industries, new software ideas will result in the rise of new Silicon Valley-style start-ups that invade existing industries with impunity."
Marc Andreessen, the creator of the now historic Netscape web browser, wrote an article titled, “Why Software Is Eating the World” discussing this very topic. Andreessen claims, “Over the next 10 years, I expect many more industries to be disrupted by software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption in more cases than not. That software is also eating much of the value chain of industries that are widely viewed as primarily existing in the physical world.”
Marc is plainly saying industries that are not typically considered high-tech will be disrupted by software. If business owners of these “lower-tech” companies don’t take action soon, it will be “world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption ... eating much of the value chain of industries.” This is why it is of the utmost importance to start considering mobile platforms now, to fight the Silicone Valley expansion into your own backyards.
First it is important to understand why software is going to disrupt your business and how. Marc Andreessen states, “Six decades into the computer revolution, four decades since the invention of the microprocessor, and two decades into the rise of the modern Internet, all of the technology required to transform industries through software finally works and can be widely delivered at a global scale.”
He goes on to say, “Companies in every industry need to assume that a software revolution is coming.” However, as a man who has worked for years in this growing industry, I can tell you that the revolution is here and it will affect your business. The effects may not be obvious at first, but things are changing fast, and if you do not adapt your competitors may come out on top. Your competition is most likely already implementing new software into their businesses, and you don’t know it because all this is happening behind the scenes and behind closed doors. When they have the upper hand, they will start beating you in the marketplace.
In the past three years Software Ops has helped visionary non-high-tech businesses in many different industries, to build mobile software platforms that are positively impacting their businesses top and bottom-line. They are achieving even greater ROI on their software investment than they could have ever anticipated. This is because building customer software is radically less expensive than it was 10 years ago. Marc even comments and expands on this very idea, “In 2000 ... the cost of a customer running a basic Internet application was approximately $150,000 a month. Running that same application today in Amazon’s cloud costs about $1,500 a month.”
Today if you are in any industry and you are still using 1990’s software technology such as email, word processors and/or spreadsheets to manage your business, you are going to start seeing yourself losing to the competition. If you are using off the shelf mobile SaaS software systems with the hassle of working around the features to get it to work for your business, then you are letting the competition cut you in line. If you want to win in the ever-changing marketplace then you must adapt. Building your own custom software that provides your business will give your business the competitive edge it needs to flourish.
Software Ops goal is to help businesses that want to win in the marketplace. Let us help give you the edge you need in the world's fourth Industrial Revolution.