The science of appliance

20 April 2007

Technology vendors have long sold the benefits of 'plug and play', but it's only recently that users have actually been convinced. Today, complexity is seen as an unnecessary overhead for an IT department - it's all about making your technology work with the minimum fuss.

That's certainly the view of Mike Clark, the subject of our most recent 'In the Boardroom' feature. Clark is CEO and founder of ApplianSys, whose entire raison d'etre is building appliances that make things simpler for network managers at large corporates. While in the past the company had to educate the market about the benefits of the appliance approach, today, he says, it's a given.

Equally, at the other end of the market, there's been a noticeable take-up among smaller businesses of unified threat management security devices, which work pretty much out of the box. Once plugged in, they automatically update themselves to ward off the latest anti-virus and spyware threats.

Appliances are everywhere, and it's probably because we're so accustomed to them at home that Clark no longer has to worry about the educational sale at the office. We have set-top boxes for TV and broadband, games consoles that just need a cartridge plugged in, and PCs that are pre-loaded with software and come with all the bits and pieces you need to get them up and running.

For entrepreneurs, the skill is in replicating this approach and applying it in specialist areas. Clark's company's success comes from piecing together components (hardware and software) to make specialist appliances for caching, DNS management, security and so on.

But the same principles can be applied to any technology solution. One entrepreneur told me that when he was rolling out a new web-based software application to a chain of shops, he used Amstrad's E-m@iler appliance. It was so simple to set up and use, it significantly reduced installation and maintenance costs - you just plug it into a phone socket and right away you have e-mail and limited web access. With a little work on the user interface, the machines were delivered to the shops ready to go.

Sometimes, it's just a question of thinking laterally..

By David Longworth, Webster Buchanan Research