Are You Buying a System or a Solution?

March 2nd, 2009

Martin Fowler, one of the most respected thinkers in the software engineering field, once wrote that the language used to write software is relatively irrelevant. The architecture of the system, and how intelligently it’s implemented, is of much greater importance. Thus his classic book on architectural patterns – the language used is irrelevant.

The analogy has some application to information technology systems as well. When you look at a system’s feature list, can you really assess how well that system will solve your business problem? The more complex the problem, the more relevant the question. Ultimately, features are irrelevant. Solutions are all that matters.