Confessions of an IT Manager_Phil Factor
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Section II: The Str<strong>an</strong>ge Business <strong>of</strong> S<strong>of</strong>tware 67<br />
punter who drifted past could not even be persuaded to accept the<br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware for free.<br />
One friend <strong>of</strong> mine, <strong>an</strong> <strong>IT</strong> contractor, came up with <strong>an</strong> interesting<br />
solution to the 'bad times'. He trained as a butcher as well as a<br />
programmer, <strong>an</strong>d just switched careers on every downturn. However, it<br />
is far from easy for a S<strong>of</strong>tware Vendor, with a large wages bill, to ride<br />
the wave.<br />
"Oh, I'm OK," I said coming back from my reverie, <strong>an</strong>d blinking at my best<br />
programmer, <strong>an</strong>d friend, who'd just told me he was leaving.<br />
He looked at me expect<strong>an</strong>tly. "Well, what do you think?" he asked. "After<br />
all, you've done it."<br />
"Bless you <strong>an</strong>d good luck" I said, shaking him by the h<strong>an</strong>d. "There will be a<br />
job here for you if it doesn't work out."<br />
I almost said "…when it doesn't work out", but checked myself just in time.<br />
I knew from experience that this was something that <strong>an</strong>y good programmer<br />
had to get out <strong>of</strong> his system. There is a deep-set fallacy that if s<strong>of</strong>tware is wellwritten,<br />
<strong>an</strong>d full <strong>of</strong> features, then it will sell. This is like saying that a wellperformed<br />
song will get to the top <strong>of</strong> the singles chart by sheer merit. The<br />
<strong>an</strong>alogy is fairly close, because in both cases one has to hit the zeitgeist, the<br />
spirit <strong>of</strong> the age. Quality helps one's ch<strong>an</strong>ces, but is, by itself, insufficient.<br />
I keep in touch with some <strong>of</strong> my contemporaries, who once r<strong>an</strong> successful<br />
comp<strong>an</strong>ies, writing <strong>an</strong>d selling s<strong>of</strong>tware tools. One breeds racehorses with only<br />
moderate success; <strong>an</strong>other is trying to get a local television station <strong>of</strong>f the<br />
ground; <strong>an</strong>other is a consult<strong>an</strong>t with a large ISV. None <strong>of</strong> them are still in the<br />
business. One <strong>of</strong> my friends, who once made good money from writing <strong>an</strong>d<br />
selling s<strong>of</strong>tware tools, confessed to me that once he counted up all the hours<br />
he'd spent, he worked out that he'd have earned more money babysitting.<br />
I keep wondering why I even think about developing s<strong>of</strong>tware 'on spec'. I<br />
suppose it is the giddy, unforgettable, excitement when that one application in<br />
the ten that you write takes <strong>of</strong>f. But easy it isn't.
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