In our production and product development meetings we have passionate discussions about how our software should evolve.  One question that came up recently was around improving certain aspects of our technology.  It sparked an interesting discussion around the question:  when does software technology matter?  We came to a consensus as a group but it wasn’t as simple as the obvious response “yes it matters”.

Of course when you’re buying software the technology has an impact.  As a group here at Web Active Directory, however, we were pretty strong in our feeling that new technology just for the sake of new technology isn’t worth it unless there is real value behind what something new can bring.  Someone made the good point that aspirin has been around a long time and is relatively cheap.  They take it because it works not because there are countless other pain medications that have been introduced since.

When Does Software Technology Matter?  When It Adds Value.

Identity and Access Management Software (IAM) has been around a long time as well.  The first tools date back to the early 2000’s.  Our company has itself been in business for about twenty years at the time of this writing.  Others from that era are also still around.  Looking at our software development history up close I can say unequivocally that our solutions have kept up with modern technology (AJAX/JQuery, REST services,  MVC) because doing so has made sense and added value for our customers.  The newer technologies and development environments also make us more productive as a company and hence more responsive to our customers.  It’s useful to have functions available in the user interface also accessible securely via REST services.  It’s useful to have responsive web interfaces that look great on mobile devices and large screens alike.

I can say anecdotally that some of the tools that other companies offer still use the technologies that were available back in the early 21st century.  This is something to look at when considering IAM solutions.