For years, I got my start in this business of computers as an application developer / analyst. Meaning I worked as an employee for several small to large sized companies designing, developing and supporting in house home grown software. Usually it ran on big mainframes, but often on smaller machines as well. For many years, it would have been unheard of to even consider buying off the shelf software that could handle the day to day business operations of any reputable company. Things were just too complex and customized, both in terms of how the business was run, and how the software was crafted to support those business processes. Well, little did I know how much things would change in a few years.
A company called PeopleSoft (now owned by Oracle) came to call with the business areas, and gradually over the years, it became obvious that our jobs were to change drastically. The era of off the shelf business software for companies of every make and size was about to become the standard. Companies like SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and even Microsoft dynamics software were about to become major players in what would be a highly lucrative field. The time leading up to the year 2000 turned out to be overblown hype for the most part, but it did cause grave concern for a lot of businesses. Many of these third party vendors had a hay day during that period which would skyrocket their sales, and ensure them a permanent foothold in the IT strategy of pretty much every business worldwide.