Read a great post by Joe Kraus, founder of the late Excite and now founder of JotSpot, about the long tail of software. Fascinating ideas here. Essentially, my reading is that there is a convergence happening with software development and the internet in which it will be possible, using new SOA (service oriented architecture)software development standards to create inexpensive applications that incorporate the idiosyncrasies of individual business models. I have put in enough NetSuite and Oracle implementations in my life to know that every business has some outlier requirements, especially in regards to how they interact with the customer. The interface between the business and its customers is usually the point of contention when we implement new systems. Think of the differences between a company that does mortgages and a medical office. Huge difference in the way that prospects and customers are handled in the business process. The way that software development has handled these differences has been to create custom programs for these two market segments. But now take the example one level deeper. What do you do with the difference between a General Practitioner office and a Orthopedic Surgery practice? Are they the same? You would be surprised at the difference, actually. Completely different requirements as they deal with patients. Software development, to date, has split the difference. The software meets the business model of each example, but not completely. The functions that it cannot perform are done in outlier systems, normally spreadsheets. The Long Tail of Software argues that it is these outlier systems that new development will attack, by creating small, integrated, bolt on systems using SOA. The core system can be the same, but the add-on can change by business model. The key issue here is the core system must be amenable to these new technologies. Software offered in the Software as a Service model, using the Internet for delivery, and open to Web Services, has the best chance to really take off with bolt-on additions. These seamless bolt-on additions will help lower the Total Cost of Ownership of the core system by eliminating tons of duplicate, manual effort is spreadsheet systems. Software as a Service, the SOA model in practice, gives us a new opportunity to master vertical applications, affordably and with greater respect for individual business models than ever before. | 
