Mindset of Companies

First thought, do companies too have mindset? Entirely based on my own experience, I agree, companies have mindset. I am being lucky to work in companies with different mindset.

Second thought, Is it possible to categorize the mindset? It could be based on size, domain, geography, business model and vision. Most popular or known to me ;) categorization is based on business model like Product, Service and End user companies. Another popular one is based on size like Start ups, mid size or large Enterprises.

Now further talking about the Mindset based on business model. We all agree that Product and Service companies have different way of working. What about End user companies? These companies who don’t have IT as there core business and still build there own IT systems. If I put the Product and Service companies on opposite ends and now want to put End user companies between these two ends. Will End User Company aligns more to Product or Service Company? Thought is still vague, context and taxonomy is missing. Lets define in next paragraph.

Product companies generally have better vision and strategy. They have more focus on non functional aspect of IT system like extensibility, flexibility, modifiability, manageability, scalability etc. Service companies generally have wider experience of domains & technologies. They maintain the resource pools. They have more focus on delivery. Due to this non functional aspect gets less attention unless conveyed and agreed before signing off. Any changes after delivery means more revenue for Service Company.

Now, lets again think about End User Company, they are building systems for themselves in competitive market. This means they have to focus on Time to Market and aligns more to Service Company. But they have to maintain the system after delivery too. They can’t ignore the truth; maintenance & enhancements cost is much more than original development cost. This is fact and leads to conclusion that End User Company should be more aligned to Product Company Mindset.