The Need for Speed

"So what do you do if a vendor comes in tells you it will take 18 to 24 months for your new deployemtn," I asked a group of industry people today. The question was followed by the expected gales of laughter. "I think most people would tell this vendor 'bye bye'" was the most printable response I recieved amidst all the mirth.

Enterprise IT managers--whether in government, private business, or somewhere in that grey area one finds here--cannot wait. Period. Even in an economic slowdown, growth in China is breakneck. Branding is important, but branding is something that can be created quickly here as well. A Chinese corollary of "no one ever got fired for buying IBM" existed during the early stages of the current boom, but no more.

"We need flexibility, so that we know that what we build today will still work six months from now, a year from now, two years from now," was what I heard more than once. The market faces critical needs to integrate application silos and islands of information, just as in what Westerners think of as "traditional" markets.