obstacle. Former NYTimes Design Director Khoi Vinh
captured this common frustration in his seminal 2007
article, If It Looks Like a Cow, Swims Like a Dolphin and
Quacks Like a Duck, It Must Be Enterprise Software,
saying: “If you work at a big company and you’ve ever had
to do something that should be simple, like file an expense
report, make changes to your salary withholdings - or,.. if
you’ve ever tried to apply for a job at a big company - then
you’ve probably encountered these confounding user
experiences. And you probably cursed out loud.”
The problem is that enterprise software has to support very
complex tasks, but software companies design it for a
general audience, not for specific users. Since it has to work
for a variety of companies, it’s designed as a one-size-fits-
all solution that doesn’t
actually fit anyone well.
try to alter their employees’ behavior to fit the flaws in the
software. This is wrong and it needs to end.
Enterprise software used to be about making existing work
more efficient. Today, the opportunity for software is to
transform the work itself. Here at TiZE we are passionate
about this goal. We are embarking on this journey with our
industry specific solution for the speciality chemicals
industry based on an entirely new approach to software.
The approach based on providing the simplest fit and
function, combined with ease of use. As Bessemer Venture
Partners state in their industry focus, occasionally
technology is so revolutionary that it can transform the way
an entire industry works. This is perhaps the most
compelling opportunity ahead of us.
A lot of enterprise software
was created a long time
ago when there wasn’t as
much concern for the user
experience. Now, customers
are more demanding of a
quality experience, but with
many existing customers, it’s
difficult for enterprise
software companies to do a
complete redesign. And with
little competition, customers
don’t have much choice.
There is also a darker, ulterior
motive behind this mess.
Having many features allows
enterprise software sales
professionals to engage in a conversation that allows for
incremental increases over time. Often enterprise software
is tiered in a variety of ways in order to extract maximum
revenue.
Because it’s so challenging to fix problems with enterprise
software, companies find that it’s easier to change their
work processes. Through training and documentation, they
40 August 2017
Software complexity kills its customer’s profits. We are
here to kill complexity itself. One industry vertical at a
time.