Monday, April 21, 2008
Backwards Compatibility - Are You Prepared To Bear The Costs Of All Those Innovations?
Everyone who has recently bought A Fistful of Dollars new (version of a) operating system may encounter this. After installing your new operating system T Shirtsadlpihyr buying a new notebook or Tv Showszyxpbsr one or more external devices do no longer function properly. In best case you will have to buy new software in the worst; new equipment.
Besides your operating system you need drivers Schoolhouse Rock software for peripheral devices like printers, scanners, USB-drivers for a external hard disk, en fin, a lot of additional tools that serve a wide range of devices. Backward-compatibility is about supporting software and hardware that was design earlier when the new software was not yet available.
Backward Pennsylvania Lemon Laws is a very powerful feature that requires special attention. Software that is not backward compatible will not support previous versions which you need to connect to additional devices. This might mean that when you have bought new computer or operating system you also have to invest in extra software and hardware for these devices. This last is often not part of the (innovation) plan.
For producers of software and hardware the incompatibility of software is a big advantage. In this way a product life cycle shortens which is profitable because consumers need to change more often. Partnership between software and hardware companies could collaborate to offer incompatible solutions, but they could also loose if instead of buying from your previous software manufacturer consumers switch to others.
This mechanism of backwards (in)compatibility is one of the main drivers for companies be careful with innovations. Innovations often cost more than they deliver. But if you want to walk on the edge you have to bear these costs.
Hans Bool is the founder of www.astorwhite.com/Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management tools. Have a look at some of our www.astorwhite.com/en/service_online_statistics.phpfree management tools
