In the Digital Economy, your software is your competitive advantage.
That’s the mantra of Jeff Lawson, co-founder and CEO of Twilio, and also the name of his recent Harvard Business Review article.
He starts by recalling his time as a product manager at Amazon, when Jeff Bezos declared that they were not a retailer, but a software company. That their competitive advantage was not what was in the brown boxes, but the software they used to distribute those boxes.
It was a philosophy Lawson took to heart, and one that has driven the success of other high-profile disruptors like Uber, Airbnb, and Dominos. As he puts it...
How can you differentiate and gain a competitive advantage if you’re using the same software as everyone else?
The HBR article’s main focus is using software to create a unique customer experience, but similar thinking can be applied to any part of a business where the constraints of a one-size-fits-all packaged solution inevitably result in operational compromises and inefficiencies.
His answer to throwing off those shackles?
Become a software developer, not just a user. Engage skilled software engineers and empower them to be creative problem solvers.
How does this apply to Sage 300?
Don’t worry, we’re not suggesting that you ditch Sage 300 and develop your own ERP system from scratch. Fortunately, the Developer edition of Orchid Extender lets you experience the best of both worlds by fully integrating bespoke customizations into your existing Sage 300 environment.
As Jeff goes on to say…
The good news is that it is easier to develop software today than it was a decade ago.
Instead of writing apps from scratch, developers snap together microservices — small programs that each provide specific features like communications and billing.
That’s very much the case with Orchid Extender. The Configurator edition of Extender lets you tailor Sage 300 without writing a single line of code, but Extender Developer lets you take customization to the next level, thanks in large part to its use of the Python scripting language.
As it happens, one of the use cases we demonstrated in Orchid’s Collaboration in Action video showed Extender sending an SMS notification from Sage 300 using a Python plug-in from Twilio, Jeff’s new company.
Python’s reputation as the industry’s most popular programming language has created a virtuous cycle:
- Its popularity ensures an ever-growing community of skilled, enthusiastic developers.
- Every day, those developers are adding to the thousands of open-source microservice code libraries.
- This makes Python ever-more versatile and useful, attracting yet more developers.
Next Step? Talk to your Sage Solution Provider
If hiring an in-house development team is out of your reach, all is not lost. Talk to your Sage Solution Provider. As well as helping you identify and prioritize customizations, they should be able to engage a Python developer with the right skills and experience.
A Python developer using Extender Developer to tailor Sage 300 to your specific requirements could well prove to be not just a great investment, but a great differentiator.
