5 ms·
Having worked on desktop software, I much prefer the services model. There were endless conversations about a support matrix and patching older versions for cu
by DontGiveTwoFlux 8y ago
Having worked on desktop software, I much prefer the services model.
There were endless conversations about a support matrix and patching older versions for customers who refused to upgrade. We were hamstrung by old design decisions and backporting fixes making any change onerous. We couldn’t add value for new customers as fast because we spent a majority of the time supporting older customers. Now those older customers probably preferred it that way. They had software that worked (until a new vulnerability was discovered at least) and that they had paid for and liked. But as the decades (literally software that old) dragged on they became like technical debt that we couldn’t detach.
As a developer, the incentives were clear. If I’m spending half my time supporting people who had already paid and weren’t likely to pay again, then I can be more productive elsewhere, creating more additional value at a company that had a services model. So I left.
- reaperducer 8y agoHaving worked on desktop software, I much prefer the services model. I think that's one portion of how we ended up where we are now: The companies thinking more about what is easier for the company than the needs of the customer.
- int_19h 8y agoThe companies will always think about their bottom line. They will think of the needs of the customer to the extent that actually affects said bottom line. But customers demonstrated, through their behavior in the marketplace, that they also prefer the service model - or at least they don't care enough to preserve the old model. And so, here we are.
- TeMPOraL 8y agoSoftware tends to spread from person to person, and any given piece of software in context is usually non-substitutable - therefore I believe consumers weren't really given an option to voice their opinion on product vs. service. Companies started to migrate to service model, and customers had to follow suit, because they didn't have any choice.
- int_19h 8y agoCustomers had a choice in many cases. For example, Office is still offered as both a boxed product, and as a subscription service. Every time I see a discussion on one versus the other online, most people prefer the service, because it's cheaper (even long term).