Product Development in Service Oriented Company

Bangladeshi Software companies probably prefer service providing approach over own product
development because service brings money quickly. Sometimes we see that service oriented
companies also develop products. This happens in different ways. Some patterns are as below:
 Companies build their own product while they are working on client projects: Say, we are
building a Reporting Tool for a specific company. But while implementing it, we realize
that this tool can be made generic by making minimal changes and we can sell this to
other clients.
 Invest separately for product development: This is more ambitious pattern. Some
companies invest portion of their profit in building product by assigning dedicated
teams. I think people who see dreams and have faith on themselves to bring their dreams
into reality are more eligible for this pattern.

A service oriented company might face different issues that may promote not to develop
products. Let me enlist few issues among them:
 Many times people cannot think outside the scope of client products that they are
working on. Management and Think Tanks of the company fail to generate new
meaningful ideas.
 The culture and practice of providing service to clients is programmed to the mindset of
employees. Developers involved in any client project may not be interested to give
enough time to build product.
 Company might have specific conditions in contract that do not allow to go for selling
similar product built for the very client.
 Management wants to get instant profit which hinders thoughtful minds to proceed.
Sometimes even if initiatives are taken management becomes reluctant to share profit
with people whose brain, mind and time are invested to make the product ready.

Good Product can be presented by people who really have belief on themselves, who have the
mindset to change themselves at any moment, who can take risks, who not only see dreams but
also can create dreams for others. If we want to enjoy the passion for product, then main
stakeholders of the company should show the path. And all stakeholders must stay on that same
path.

Now let me share some ideas through a very few words:

  App for all: Target mass people in building product and try to understand their real
need. Say Uber. They have got popularity too fast because they really have tried to solve a
problem of majority people around the world. I don’t believe we need some extreme
geniuses to build such product in Bangladesh. But intellectual minds of course required
who have ability to make positive contribution to a bigger society.
 Digital Bangladesh: In the name of digital Bangladesh, now a days Govt. is allocating
bigger budget to embrace technology in a large manner. Even some stupid people are
developing government projects. Good companies also may get chance to be engaged on
such government projects. Government and Western world are imposing some rules for
organizations and various industries that also encourage big investors to leverage
software products in their companies. Like garments and knit industries are purchasing
ERP software. Some of them are even planning to build their own IT team to implement
ERP. Software companies might have opportunity here as well.
 Social Platform: Many large organizations help or invest in building social platform.
Say we are building an e-Learning platform for school children where expert teachers
can upload their class materials and pupils will be benefited by looking into lectures of
something that was not very much clearly explained in their school classes. Let’s think of
another social work. Everywhere in this world we waste a significant amount of food in
restaurants. Say in a Pizza shop one person buys a 6 slice pizza. S/he could eat only 4
slices. Now rather than throwing the rest in bin, if this could be left for any orphanage,
then think how much food can be collected from only one pizza shop per day. Someone
can build a platform and manage a team that would facilitate to collect food from
restaurants, offices, community halls and even from homes and distribute to right places
like orphanages. Food can also be sold to needy people in much lower cost. Bigger NGOs
also might show interest in such products. Such social platform can assist to open more
ideas and to create more products.

There could be tons of ideas, these are only few examples. Bringing any new idea in US and
European market is very difficult I guess, but don’t underestimate the local market in
Bangladesh. We have many opportunities in Bangladesh if we can work with honest and
intelligent teams. We first need to sketch our dreams and then plan to build teams who can work
in the long run without any critical barrier.

Now I am going to throw some ideas on building teams and creating path towards product
development:
 Service oriented work might bring quick money which may discourage to develop a team
for product development only. If we cannot build team with too strong developers, no
 problem. Just have one or two strong developer(s), and hire some mediocre type quick
coders. They will not work on client project, but only on product development. Their will
have lower range salary but they may enjoy profit share from product sale.
 People who have no strong mindset for product development should not work or be
involved in such project. Because they destroy other peoples’ passion.
 People who are involved in client projects can also be involved in product development.
Management may promise them some benefit like profit share to encourage improving
their productivity in developing product.
 Every time we try to develop something, we start implementing it without doing proper
market analysis, like estimating probable cost of implementation, ROI, etc. We must do
proper market analysis and prepare realistic plan before we try to invest our significant
time.
 If we have one good and realistic dream, then go only for that. Do not try to implement
multiple stuff at a time. Develop just one product that would prove that we really can
develop and sell product.

Hope all these make sense.