Jeff Chausse
Digital Strategy + Design
Iceberg On Demand
Iceberg On Demand is an Irish web startup which will enable users to build Enterprise-class web applications – via a Web 2.0 UI, natch – without writing a line of code. What’s really clever is that they’ll allow you, as a – well, developer’s not the right word, is it? – to sell applications that you have built using the service. The final end user pays a per-seat fee which is presumably to be split with the application’s creator.
This is, without a doubt, a useful tool. But I think what the company will find is a problem of perception. In my experience, “enterprise” software is almost invariably more clunky and awkward than “regular” software, yet it often costs orders of magnitude more. My conclusion: Companies like spending a lot of money on “enterprise” tools. Illogical? Yes, but humans are funny that way. Just as people feel good about themselves when they spend $5 on a bottle of water, companies feel good about themselves when they plunk down a good chunk of change for an “enterprise solution”, when a kid in Croatia could have cooked up a better custom built solution for $150.
Nonetheless, I wish these guys luck. While the blue chips may never bite, the tiny startups who can’t afford to play psychological games with their money, will – intelligently – eat this stuff up.
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Thanks for the interesting post. You do make a good point about blue chips wanting to spend money but we’re seeing that the days of software gouging their clients is coming to an end. One area that money should be spent in enterprises is in quality consultancy which Iceberg actually compliments by allowing almost instant implementation of suggested processes and best practices.
Pricing wise; those who sell their own apps on Iceberg will be able to charge what they want for each app.
Here’s hoping you’re right. Say, how about a beta invite? I actually have two applications in mind, which I would use in my company right now. I’ve started messing around with building them in RoR, but it would be great if it were even easier