Use new "APP-etite" to create capabilities, Simon says

“The pieces are getting smaller. Think of the smallest piece of value, the smallest edge, you can add in the innovation world.” This was MYOB CTO Simon Raik-Allen’s advice to entrepreneurs in his animated and interactive talk “Innovation in the Cloud” at TiECON Australia 2011.

Simon said the days of big urls are giving way to smaller urls. Posing some thought provoking questions to the audience, he said there was a new “APP-etite” for apps.

“In software, you look for the proof that its going to be good. Find out the value (you can add to the company). Do your research. Prototype that research. And sell me that research. That makes it a proposition,” he said, in response to a question from the audience.

And Simon said:

Apps begat the Channel – examples of these were companies like 37 Signals, Zoho and Taleo which managed resumes on the website. And the Channel begat the Platform, citing Facebook, Salesforce and the AppStore as examples of this.

Identifying reaching clients as one of two pain points (the other being hiring), Simon said there was a “land grab” for that space. “You’re not building product, you’re building capabilities,” he said.

Simon’s presentation can be viewed in Entrepreneur’s Corner at http://sydney.tie.org/sites/default/files/sydney/article/image/s-raikallen-myob.pdf