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Depends on the niche, but a decade ago I remember talking to someone who worked on TopProducer, which is a Canadian-made business management software suite for

by eps 7y ago

Depends on the niche, but a decade ago I remember talking to someone who worked on TopProducer, which is a Canadian-made business management software suite for RE agents. It was an absolute junk by this dev's own assessment. Slow, bloated, buggy. Development was disorganized and perpetually behind the schedule. It was also really expensive, but it endured because the industry is really conservative (they like their crappy tools regardless) and the vendor lock-in is a major factor. Lots of hidden complexity too, including the nuances of business flow. Don't know what niche you have in mind, but do talk to the target clients before making a decision. You may discover that they don't really see a problem where you see one, nor that they are excited to see it fixed and pay you for that privilege.

carlmr 7y ago
The important thing is talk to your customers. The people using your tools aren't necessarily your customers. They may hate it, but the purchaser is in another department and doesn't care. Large organizations often by subpar tools without listening to their own engineers, and you will have a hard time convincing someone who doesn't have any issues but makes the decision to buy.
dirktheman 7y ago
This. I did consulting for a while and sales people don't seem to understand the amount of time, money and effort it costs to switch software suites. Sure, your product does x better and is cheaper, but the current suite is painstakingly shaped to match our needs over the years. To recreate the same situation in a new software suite will take 6-12 months (while running the outgoing suite as well since business has to continue as usual), meaning double workload on the staff involved. And don't even get me started on teaching Jen from accounting how to use the new software because the old software was 'running just fine' and 'she's been using it for decades'... To most organizations, the cost of a software suite is a factor when they're in the market for something new. But when you're offering an alternative to something they're already using the price isn't really a factor.

by eps 7y ago

carlmr 7y ago

The important thing is talk to your customers. The people using your tools aren't necessarily your customers. They may hate it, but the purchaser is in another department and doesn't care. Large organizations often by subpar tools without listening to their own engineers, and you will have a hard time convincing someone who doesn't have any issues but makes the decision to buy.

dirktheman 7y ago

This. I did consulting for a while and sales people don't seem to understand the amount of time, money and effort it costs to switch software suites. Sure, your product does x better and is cheaper, but the current suite is painstakingly shaped to match our needs over the years. To recreate the same situation in a new software suite will take 6-12 months (while running the outgoing suite as well since business has to continue as usual), meaning double workload on the staff involved. And don't even get me started on teaching Jen from accounting how to use the new software because the old software was 'running just fine' and 'she's been using it for decades'... To most organizations, the cost of a software suite is a factor when they're in the market for something new. But when you're offering an alternative to something they're already using the price isn't really a factor.