The as been a lot of talk about enterprise software and how it differs from consumer software. Bill Gates apparently bemoans that enterprise software is not sexy.
This dichotomy has been with us since Windows became ubiquitous. Microsoft is just one of its exponents.
Enterprise software:
- Feature-rich
- Requires training to use or implement
- Requires customising before use
- High price
- Maximises overall revenue from corporate customers by generating training and consulting markets
Examples: Windows NT, 2000, Server. Major ERP suites.
Consumer software
- Features adequate for the domestic consumer
- Without key features enabling use in corporate environment, such as networking aspects
- Designed for out-of-the box usability
- User interface has higher priority
Examples: Windows 98, Me, XP Home, Quicken, MS Works
Consumer software is purchased for the direct value to be obtained from its use. Enterprise software has direct benefits too, but is often implemented to obtain a second-order effect. For example, standardization of business processes throughout a corporation, or among newly merged parts of a corporation. Business benefits may arise from the performance of the software in its specific functions, but equally or even more important may be the reworking of business processes that an implementation project can generate.
Requiring customisation is not new. A senior systems programmer colleague advised me his rule of thumb a few decades ago: If any of IBM’s default parameter values is unchanged the system is probably working suboptimally.
