Comments on: The Culture of Complexity http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/ Jeff Nolan's take on investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and the technology industry Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:27:53 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: » The Game of Leapfrog, SAP Style | Enterprise Anti-matter | ZDNet.com http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/comment-page-1/#comment-116314 » The Game of Leapfrog, SAP Style | Enterprise Anti-matter | ZDNet.com Tue, 22 May 2007 22:30:13 +0000 http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/#comment-116314 [...] fourth analyst conference has come and gone, and my fellow bloggers (Farber, Nolan, Howlett, among others) have already weighed in extensively on the medium and the message that will [...] [...] fourth analyst conference has come and gone, and my fellow bloggers (Farber, Nolan, Howlett, among others) have already weighed in extensively on the medium and the message that will [...]

]]> By: Venture Chronicles http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/comment-page-1/#comment-51868 Venture Chronicles Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:17:30 +0000 http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/#comment-51868 [...] One of his later initiatives is the d.school at Stanford in partnership with IDEO, a design firm without equal. This is a very innovative initiative because it attempts to bring together disciplines outside of technology for the purpose of designing better technology products, although one could also argue that this is further evidence of the pervasiveness of technology across a broad spectrum of industries and research areas as well. I expect we’ll see some amazing things from d.school, and Hasso’s other projects in this area, but it’s overstating the case to suggest that this is going to be a watershed moment for enterprise software because the problem our industry has is that we want complexity and just don’t want to admit it - it’s the Culture of Complexity thing I wrote about last week. New companies will embrace these advances in usability and design because it’s a way to be disruptive but the incumbents will not, at least not in the core, because they have too much to lose. [...] [...] One of his later initiatives is the d.school at Stanford in partnership with IDEO, a design firm without equal. This is a very innovative initiative because it attempts to bring together disciplines outside of technology for the purpose of designing better technology products, although one could also argue that this is further evidence of the pervasiveness of technology across a broad spectrum of industries and research areas as well. I expect we’ll see some amazing things from d.school, and Hasso’s other projects in this area, but it’s overstating the case to suggest that this is going to be a watershed moment for enterprise software because the problem our industry has is that we want complexity and just don’t want to admit it – it’s the Culture of Complexity thing I wrote about last week. New companies will embrace these advances in usability and design because it’s a way to be disruptive but the incumbents will not, at least not in the core, because they have too much to lose. [...]

]]> By: Sanjath http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/comment-page-1/#comment-50255 Sanjath Tue, 05 Dec 2006 18:20:38 +0000 http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/#comment-50255 You have hit the right point here. I do agree with your basic question on complexity. However, I also feel that some of it is to do with the IT department that comes between enterprise software vendor and the actual users. Some of the complexities are etched in the minds of IT people that they are hard wired to think in one way only. More over, complexities of enterprise software is their raison d'etre. In my previous company we kept saying that we'll simplify the interaction and help users, but we could never accomplish that, SCs were pulling us into adding complexity giving customer gripe as the reason, but when we looked at it, customer kept giving examples of established enterprise software techniques, they were not taking our suggestions of alternative ways of solving the problem. (Anyway, why we did not succeed had lot of other things in it, but main thing was we missed this fact that there is a middle man, whom we had ignored). I guess it is the same thing with the SAP, SAP consultants were huge because the system was complex, it is not that it needed to be complex on the technical side, but it was. So, those high earning consultants remained loyal and kept pushing SAP where ever they went, because that was their domain and helping SAP was helping themselves. You have hit the right point here. I do agree with your basic question on complexity. However, I also feel that some of it is to do with the IT department that comes between enterprise software vendor and the actual users. Some of the complexities are etched in the minds of IT people that they are hard wired to think in one way only. More over, complexities of enterprise software is their raison d’etre.

In my previous company we kept saying that we’ll simplify the interaction and help users, but we could never accomplish that, SCs were pulling us into adding complexity giving customer gripe as the reason, but when we looked at it, customer kept giving examples of established enterprise software techniques, they were not taking our suggestions of alternative ways of solving the problem. (Anyway, why we did not succeed had lot of other things in it, but main thing was we missed this fact that there is a middle man, whom we had ignored).

I guess it is the same thing with the SAP, SAP consultants were huge because the system was complex, it is not that it needed to be complex on the technical side, but it was. So, those high earning consultants remained loyal and kept pushing SAP where ever they went, because that was their domain and helping SAP was helping themselves.

]]> By: Starked SF, Unforgiving News from the Bay » Blog Archive » Talk of the Town: Tuesday http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/comment-page-1/#comment-50224 Starked SF, Unforgiving News from the Bay » Blog Archive » Talk of the Town: Tuesday Tue, 05 Dec 2006 14:44:34 +0000 http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/#comment-50224 [...] Enterprise software and the culture of complexity. [...] [...] Enterprise software and the culture of complexity. [...]

]]> By: Phil Wainewright http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/comment-page-1/#comment-50203 Phil Wainewright Tue, 05 Dec 2006 10:51:55 +0000 http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/#comment-50203 > I continue to be a amazed that implementations like this are actually profitable for businesses (they must be, or SAP and others like it wouldn’t have any customers…). Businesses only need to *believe* them to be profitable for SAP to have customers. And I continue to be amazed that they do ... > I continue to be a amazed that implementations like this are actually profitable for businesses (they must be, or SAP and others like it wouldn’t have any customers…).

Businesses only need to believe them to be profitable for SAP to have customers. And I continue to be amazed that they do …

]]> By: Steve Dispensa http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/comment-page-1/#comment-50131 Steve Dispensa Tue, 05 Dec 2006 02:30:51 +0000 http://jeffnolan.com/wp/2006/12/04/the-culture-of-complexity/#comment-50131 This is a huge problem; with all due respect for the size of the problem they're trying to solve, the sheer scope of the *solution* is awe-inspiring. I continue to be a amazed that implementations like this are actually *profitable* for businesses (they must be, or SAP and others like it wouldn't have any customers...). Clearly this is a market that is begging for a simplified solution to these problems, and there will be real money in it for the one that can deliver. Your Google example is a good bet. Amazingly enough, I just posted on a closely related topic yesterday: http://kernelmustard.com/2006/12/02/dont-make-a-rembrandt/ This is a huge problem; with all due respect for the size of the problem they’re trying to solve, the sheer scope of the solution is awe-inspiring. I continue to be a amazed that implementations like this are actually profitable for businesses (they must be, or SAP and others like it wouldn’t have any customers…).

Clearly this is a market that is begging for a simplified solution to these problems, and there will be real money in it for the one that can deliver. Your Google example is a good bet.

Amazingly enough, I just posted on a closely related topic yesterday: http://kernelmustard.com/2006/12/02/dont-make-a-rembrandt/

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