Downloading and installing the new revision of SAP HANA is not innovation.
Porting your application to in-memory column store technology is not high tech.
This is not the bleeding edge.
Here we are in commodity land.
No custom-made hardware. Just off-shelf software. Technology from decades ago.
What’s new than about it?
It’s probably you being new to it.
This is not a new insight or something that did not occur to anyone before.
It’s just one of these standing myths of IT industry to always be ahead of the curve and to drive technology.
The reality, however, is none of us is working at the bleeding edge.
That’s very similar to the fashion industry.
Most folks there are not Karl or Stella but rather work for H&M, Target or some other chain at the other end of the spectrum.
Does it render the retain section of the business less important? Surely not, as this is where revenue is generated.
But we cannot deny that we’re indeed all just wearing off the latest cerulean sweater, something that we were presented with.
Now, if we accept this we can find that this actually changes the game.
Imperfections and flaws cannot be excused anymore by brand-new technology.
The innovation cannot be the scapegoat for bad project management and false hope planning any longer.
It also allows to slow down and step out of the hustle to always use the latest toy and do things properly.
The question now is: what story are you willing to tell yourself, your boss or your customers?