I'll Take a Layer of Software to go with that Business, Please

Hello again from cyberspace!

This post will examine leveraging a company's software layer to better do business, and references an article from the Kinsey Quarterly. We'll focus primarily on understanding and integrating the software layer.


To start with, let's define 'the software layer'. For the most part, the software layer sits around the core business, and represents the digital interactions between a company and its customers. This can be a corporate website, Facebook page, or mobile application. In the case of some businesses, like Amazon and IBM, the software layer may represent a large portion of the business. For companies in the first category, the software layer has become increasingly important in recent years. According to the article, this is not because of technological advancements, but due to customer behavior. According to Google's public data, upwards of 80% of Americans use the Internet regularly, as shown below:





While many companies are working on improving their digital presence, along with adding more ways to do business over the Internet, it isn't as seamless on the back end as it may appear from the outside. You may remember a few years ago when Starbucks received a black eye for not accepting gift cards at their Barnes and Noble locations. Even though a company appears to be the same to a customer, the mechanics of fulfilling an order online may be far removed from the store down on the corner.  Living with this divide in processing is something many companies cannot do for long. Despite the cost and inconvenience of updating business processes, it is necessary to continue to do business in the digital age.


As long as customers want to do business online, companies must address their software layer and integrate it into their core business. Certain industries, like retail, may have an edge in this, but every industry connected to their customers can benefit from improving their digital capabilities.