Adapt, Adopt, Thrive, or get Kicked in the Butt

I hit a nerve. Good thing I like to argue. Mom always said I should have been a lawyer. We are going to get into Software as a Service again, because the feedback I received was interesting, to say the least… People are falling rather neatly into groups: I call it Adapt, Adopt, Thrive, or get Kicked in the Butt.

Wow, talk about arguments… Sorry to all the old school, traditional technology companies that don’t want to hear the truth, but putting your head in the sand does not make a disruptive force go away. It just continues to sweep along and instead of punching you in the nose, it kicks you in the butt. Adapt, Adopt, Thrive. These folks are still trying to figure out if they even need to adapt. Enjoy your last sweet taste of success.

IT/IS folks are a mixed bag. New technology is cool, SaaS can make their lives much easier, but as companies adopt SaaS solutions, they will not need as much of an internal IT/IS presence. Jobs are going to be lost. This has already happened to some extent with the rise of the outsourced IT/IS staff. Someone that comes in for a half-day on Fridays. This trend will continue and I think that these folks see this. They are adapting, but finding their place and adopting is still a work in process. Some have found a way to thrive. IT/IS folks still have a place in a SaaS world, and we need them. In fact if you are good, come work for us. Denver is a beautiful place to live. (I’m serious about this, we are growing fast.)

SaaS customers or prospective customers are excited. They are looking forward to a new way of dealing with software. The whole process of buying software, buying servers, maintaining everything, testing updates, etc., it was all a massive headache. It took them away from their real reason for having a business - To satisfy a need and make money. Customers are past adapting, that was easy, the old way of dealing with software stunk. They want to adopt if they can find the right product, but that is more my problem then theirs… What I would give for more visibility! Once they find the product that works for them, and this may not be the first one they try, (beauty of an On-Demand subscription instead of a huge up-front purchase), then they thrive. They sell more product, they make more money, they hire more employees, they simply thrive!

Who are you, and where are you at? Are you Adapting, Adopting, Thriving? Hopefully you are one of the three. That means you are at least trying. The alternative is the kick in the butt, and that simply hurts.

Keep the feedback coming.

Kevin Reynolds
Velocity Inventory™