Innovation of the Software Industry

1. Innovation of the Software Industry William Lancaster Daniela Prajea Alba Gamboa EgorGerasimenko Stephen Armstrong

2. Table of Contents • Introduction • Case Study: Google • Case Study: Facebook • Case Study: Microsoft • Similarities • Case Study: Kryos Systems Ltd. • Case Study: Nortel • Conclusion

3. Case Study: Google

4. History • January 1996 • Larry Page and Sergey Brin • Stanford University

5. The difference • Location/Frequency Method vs. Page Rank

6. History Server in the earlier days

7. Employees • Innovation allowed to bloom • Outside Work Activities • Many other benefits • Medical, Dental, Vision, Counseling • Free Food! (and many other things)

8. Philanthropy • Google.org • Committed to developing technologies that help address global challenges • Annual Salary of Larry, Sergey and the CEO x2

9. Company Philosophy • Space not for sale • Ads clearly marked • “Don’t be evil” • Allow innovation to flourish • Acquired over 100 companies • Constantly expanding

10. Case Study: Facebook

11. History • Social networking website • Launched on February 4, 2004 as “Thefacebook” by Mark Zuckerberg • Succeeded “FaceMash”

12. FaceMash • Compared Harvard student’s faces by votes • Popularity exploded, but was shutdown – photos were retrieved illegally • The main idea persisted: get rid of Internet alias’

13. Facebook • Took Zuckerberg ~1 week to code • There was no complicated research necessary, Zuckerberg simply appealed to our social instincts

14. Distinguishing Features

15. Social Network Concept • Facebook users do not use an alias • People see what you do and say, not what superjackedguy63 does and says • People can stalk others that they know • Appeals to human nature

16. User Experience • Limited but clean profile customization • Eases profile browsing • Small businesses have free advertising • Groups, fan pages, like button • Ad space is incredibly small • Contrast: MySpace

17. Exclusivity • Facebook initially restricted to: • Harvard, then… • Ivy League Universities, then… • Universities, then… • Everybody • Facebook became exciting before many could even use it

18. Not Focused on Money • Bidders tried and failed to make Zuckerberg rich: • “We're not really looking to sell the company... We're not looking to [release an initial public offering] anytime soon. It's just not the core focus of the company.” • Core focus: connect people • This is the “Internet” culture • Inadvertently followed Paul Buchheit’s “Don’t Be Evil” philosophy

19. Go Open Source • Related to the previous point: nearly all Facebook software is open source • HipHop – a php to C++ conversion compiler • Cassandra – a versatile distributed file storage system • Thrift – a cross-programming-language framework • Scribe – a flexible logging system. • Benefit humanity’s creativity

20. Creative Environment • Employees: • Love the product • Can work from home or in the open social environment at work • Less management • Follows the philosophy that people are capable

21. Case Study: Microsoft

22. History • Established in the United States in 1975 • Develop and sell computer programs for microcomputers • Dominated home computer OS by 1980s

23. Today • Develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of products

24. Differentiated Factors • Employ smart people • Organize small work teams • Constant integration • Emphasize creativity • Motivate enjoyable workplace environment • Always learning and adapting

25. Differentiating Factors • Develop accessible solutions • Provide customer support • Demos, tutorials, guides • Help centers

26. Summary • Goal: advance and improve software • Encourage small work teams • Provide enjoyable and inspiring environments

27. Common Factors • Primary focus is on letting skilled and creative developers code freely • Eliminate superfluous management • Garners pride and passion for projects • Serve the customer first • Google and Facebook’s unobtrusive ads • Microsoft’s progression towards helping other developers build Improving company image > “Making money”

28. Case Study: Kryos Systems Ltd.

29. History • Founded in 1995 • Based in Calgary • Develops mobile enterprise application development platforms

30. Success Story • Sykes Assistance Services Corporation • Mobile GPS app to locate customers during roadside assistance requests • Developed for BlackBerry Smartphones

31. Development Model • Non-Agile Development • Slow, expensive and linear • All Terrain Development • Fast, flexible and adaptive

32. Development Cycle • Bug and feature backlog • Assignment of tasks by experience • Self testing of code • Unfinished bugs and features returned to backlog to be completed next cycle

33. Work Environment • Relaxed environment • Development team in close proximity • Work from home • Flex time • Lounge area

34. Comparison • Unsuccessful compared to • Google • Facebook • Microsoft • Despite • Agile Development Model • Good work conditions

35. Case Study: Nortel Networks

36. History • Incorporated in 1895 • World leader in 2000 • Stock down by 26,000% in 2002 • Bankrupt in 2009

37. Why Nortel failed • Poor internal security • Inexperienced management • Financial malpractices

38. Poor Internal Security • “Once you were on the inside of the network, it was soft and gooey”. – Brian Shield • Hackers had access for 9 years • Seven stolen employee passwords, including former CEO

39. Inexperienced Management • Security concerns ignored • Lack of technical knowledge • Infected machines sold to other companies

40. Financial Malpractices • Top 3 get $12 million bonus • Financial statements off by ~$3 billion • Top 3 fired, charged with (serious) fraud by RCMP

41. Conclusion • Successful companies share many important qualities • Creative employees • Focus on customers • “Don’t be evil” • These could be necessary, but certainly do not guarantee success • Frustrating truth: What you make matters

42. Questions?