Universes Of One

For years, the accepted mantra was that general purpose application software targeted to handle specific functions was the best approach. Promulgated first by Microsoft in the form of productivity applications, the concept was later extended by SAP and Siebel to the enterprise space. SAP, as an example, argues that it has amalgamated the best practices of a given set of industries to create the best set of business logic possible for all customers.

The problem is that approach invariably requires a customer to adjust their business to fit the way their software works. Any customization usually has to be done by brute force, resulting in rollouts that are almost always done but never quite completed.

Last week at his company's partner conference, Sage Software President and CEO Ron Verni called on solution providers to reject that approach in favor of focusing on products that address universes of one. He argues that since every customer is unique, solution providers need to take a holistic approach to application software. Verni contends that the industry has created an artificial distinction between front-office and back-office applications that in no way reflects how businesses actually work.

As an indicator of Sage's future product strategy, Verni's comments are intriguing. But he's not alone. IBM has taken steps that will ultimately lead to specific versions of its software for different vertical markets. How long will it be before it extends that approach all the way down to the individual customer?

Lawson Software, meanwhile, has announced it will rebuild its applications using a domain-specific language approach, code-named Landmark, that generates application-specific Java code. The core idea is to generate less code per application, thereby reducing costs while making it easier to secure the application, and to create a series of reusable components that can be easily recombined for the specific needs of the customer.

It'll be a few years before we find out if this latest software revolution has any real potential. But given a rising tide of general dissatisfaction with applications, maybe it's high time we tried another approach.

What's your view on application evolution? I can be reached at (516) 562-7477 or via e-mail at [email protected].