Enterprise Tyranny Of The Or
There is an interesting battle going on between the Enterprise Irregulars vs. Robert Scoble and Nick Carr about the lack of sexiness in enterprise software. In Scoble's original post, he asks if anyone knows how to make business software sexy. Fellow Irregular, Michael Krigsman, responded in his blog:
Enterprise software is all about helping organizations conduct their basic business in a better, more cost-effective manner. In software jargon, it’s intended to “enable core business processes” with a high degree of reliability, security, scalability, and so on. These aren’t sexy, cool attributes, but are absolutely essential to the smooth running of businesses, organizations, and governments around the world.
Nick Carr then jumped in with his response:
I'm sorry, but I think Krigsman is the one who doesn't understand enterprise software – or at least doesn't understand what it could become. The distinction he draws between business and consumer applications is specious. Are we really to believe that making software engaging is somehow incompatible with making it reliable and secure? That's just baloney.
Besides the fact that I respect Krigsman and believe that he does indeed understand enterprise software very well, I actually agree with Mr. Carr on this one. Too many times people go down the dangerous path of the "Tyranny of the OR", which Jim Collins warns about in his book Built to Last. Just as Steve Jobs did with Apple, he didn't choose between form OR function or even form OVER function, he decided to embrace the "Genius of the AND" and strive to deliver both.
The enterprise question is not whether to choose between either process over people OR people over process. The answer is to be the genius that realizes that it can be both people AND process. Without this realization, you will see a change of heart in SAP's users of tomorrow that Dan talks about. If you leave people out of your priorities and omit them from your equation, they will find better tools to get their jobs done, even at the cost of your money saving, business process integration. If you want proof, go read my recent experiences with our new global procurement application or the pains of working with data in BI. This isn't a fantasy land, it's reality.
I actually believe some at SAP understand this and that's why you have initiatives like the SAP Developer's Network and SAP's Imagineering Group. You can also see this in new products such as Business by Design, where SAP is trying to make enterprise software accessible for small businesses. It's an internal struggle between the old school German engineering mentality vs. the new school Silicon Valley start up attitude. Only time will tell if they will find balance and harmony of both by embracing the "Genius of the AND".
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December 10th, 2007 at 2:50 am
Eddie, I agree with you (suspect you would have expected that
, risking the wrath of my fellow EIs 
- Interface layer can be separate from the "boring" transactional engine, so no excuse there I say for not being on top of things in shorter cycles than 15 years.
- Allowing "new ways" of "doing things" – i.e. rethinking and tweaking existing processes is not only possible but I think a must pretty soon. And that's a tad non-boring for the public as well.
- Accept that more than half the business processes are barely repeatable and very people-centric and currently not covered by enterprise systems. Not accepting this is a bad excuse for not starting to do something for more than half the market – actually not so smart from an earnings standpoint either. And once such processes are covered enterprise systems will be in-the-face of everyone (that works). That day the public interest and Scoble's hits on enterprise software posts will increase! (Post brewing on that last one BTW)
December 10th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Absolutely Sig. That's why I have been intrigued with the drive towards simplicity of Thingamy since we first spoke about it at TechEd 2006 in Amsterdam. If business processes were created by people, then why do they have to be polar opposites.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:19 am
didnt we have this discussion about six months ago?
http://theotherthomasotter.wordpress.com/2006/12/04/sap-uis-and-what-is-enterprise-software-for-anyway/
December 10th, 2007 at 11:19 am
sorry gosh it was a year ago