Why “step change” sounds appealing by Ezekia’s CEO, Joseph Blass

Step Change or Continuous Improvement?  When speaking with potential clients, we occasionally hear that they are waiting to make a decision regarding a new vendor because their current vendor is planning some step change improvement or ‘re-platforming’.  It made me think about the concept of a step change vs continuous improvements, especially in software. At Ezekia, our approach is of continuous improvement. Firstly, continuous improvement allows us to obtain customer feedback which is integral to the development process. However, the main reason for continual progress is why delay? Clients are rightly seeking to have improvements as soon as they are available, so why wait? It would be like going to a restaurant and not getting served the entrée before it can be served together with the main course and dessert.  I would also question any software company offering a step change approach about what they plan on doing once the new version is released, if clients are unhappy, how long will it be before the next step change? And what was so fundamentally wrong with the existing solution that it required re-platforming?  

There are certain industries where there is a product so innovative that it is a step change from anything before it (such as the first iPhone), but for an existing software, it makes more sense for improvements to be introduced as they become available. This says something about the agility of the vendor and is a benefit to the clients.