Definitely software. I was reading a book on fortran and was… in disbelief that the American government was spending billions of USD on software alone in the 1970s or 80s (pre 2000s)–when a billion USD brought a lot more than it does today. It just seemed absurd. It’s still absurd, because organizations still pay for things that are essentially free: operating systems and Microsoft Office like software. The orgs I’m thinking about aren’t even asking for bespoke solutions or contacting any commercial support-provider. They need a word processor so they just spend money on Microsoft. They’ve only ever known Microsoft Word. It’s just what you do. Money down the drain on a perpetual fee that will only increase over time. It’s so pointless and wasteful.
Definitely software. I was reading a book on fortran and was… in disbelief that the American government was spending billions of USD on software alone in the 1970s or 80s (pre 2000s)–when a billion USD brought a lot more than it does today. It just seemed absurd. It’s still absurd, because organizations still pay for things that are essentially free: operating systems and Microsoft Office like software. The orgs I’m thinking about aren’t even asking for bespoke solutions or contacting any commercial support-provider. They need a word processor so they just spend money on Microsoft. They’ve only ever known Microsoft Word. It’s just what you do. Money down the drain on a perpetual fee that will only increase over time. It’s so pointless and wasteful.