So the real business opportunities are in enterprise solutions we’re told but no one is building for enterprise. Why is that you ask? Well the title gives it away, it’s not sexy.
Apple is sexy. IBM, not so much. IBM is in the enterprise market and makes lots of cash and feeds lots of families but you don’t hear anyone talking about IBM as their ‘must have’ job. At least you don’t hear them talking about it out loud.
The thing that most developers think of (this totally accurate statement is was validated by polling myself) when it comes to enterprise is bureaucracy. I don’t want to deal with it, so I have no plans on building software solutions that will bring me in to contact with it.
2 responses to “Of Course People Aren’t Building for Enterprise – It’s not Sexy”
You’re right Curtis, the enterprise isn’t sexy, but the other problem is that the tools that the enterprise would require developers to use aren’t nice either.
Think you can walk into your new job in ACME Ltd. and bust open MacVim to code some Ruby? Think again.
Many large companies use proprietary software like ERP systems that require developers to use a limited selection of tools.
Who wants to work in a job where you’re told the tools you will use?
Not all companies are like this, but there are a fair share of them out there.
I’ve been lucky never to work in a company like that. Any time I’ve been coding at a ‘large’ company they had no idea what I did and I was the only developer so when I told them the needed tools they had no reason to say no. No one knew any better/different.
The whole mandated tools thing is just another way enterprise works to make itself unsexy.