Last week, Bill Gates bemoaned the fact that tech bloggers (is he talking to me?) don't cover enterprise software enough.
Robert Scoble (an ex-Microsftee) picked up the glove, and in his post explained that even though enterprise software such as SAP, Oracle, Siebel etc. is used by millions,the purchase decisions are made by a limited group of people in the organizations - sometimes just one (the CIO).
As such, it loses interest for the multitude of users, who have no say and are basically "stuck" with that software. And since his blog is intended to appeal to the masses, he'll keep covering "sexy" software, that the rest of us can decide whether to buy or not.
Immediately after his post being published, came a reply from Michael Krigsman, who blogs about enterprise software for ZDNet. He claims Scoble "Does not understand enterprise software". Enterprise software should not be sexy, claims Krigsman, just do its job. And users of enterprise software do not want to be "thrilled" by it, just get the job done. There is crowd for such blogs (of course he'd say that, or he might as well quit).
Other than the fact that I like blog feuds as much as the next guy, this argument resonated with me. I work for a company that manufactures enterprise software. And, unlike many such apps I see out there, ours is really SEXY (believe me - I'm trying to be as objective as I can). But blogging about it to the masses? I didn't think it fitted into this tech-n-travel blog. Not to mention the fact that in order to talk freely, this blog has to be completely disconnected from my employer (and I had to add a disclaimer).
But since I like blogging, and the software and sharing knowledge, I've decided to start another blog dedicated to said software. I realize the crowds of the two blogs may differ: this blog can be read casually, books bought, downloads downloaded - no commitment. The other will be more involving, containing plenty of details and technical material.
At present, I'm filling it up with articles, but once it's ready for prime time, I'll include a link.
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“Whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that all ingenious people might be informed thereof.” - Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (inventor of the microscope) |
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2 comments:
To be precise, I never said that enterprise software should not be sexy -- I said being sexy is not its first priority. Thanks for weighing in with your comments.
Michael Krigsman
http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures
Wow, that was fast. I didn't think anyone is reading my blogs on weekends :)
Sorry for misquoting you, sir. But I do agree with both yours and Mr. Scoble's opinions: Enterprise Software has to be good, robust, scalable... with sexiness coming in at number 60 or so.
That being said, most people would rather read about the nifty new Web 2.0 service, than Siebel's new CRM software.
I would like to ask though: the title of your post ("Scoble does not understand enterprise software") - is this your real opinion, or was it used to generate traffic and debate (it got me :)).
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