Technology: Revolution or Evolution?
Recently I've been seeing a lot about virtualization being this revolutionary technology that will completely change the way we use computers and it's got me wondering why there is often this expectation of technology. Perhaps I'm imaging it, but at times it seems as though the common consciousness is just waiting for some breakthrough technology that will completely change everything, revolutionizing the way people behave, interact and generally live their lives. Surely the revolution has already happened though - the Industrial Revolution (the clue was really in the name) - have you heard of it?
Actually, come to think of it, even that was a pretty slow process given the suggestion of incisiveness and explosiveness in its name. The thing is, technology doesn't tend to just appear overnight and create a sensational about-face in The Way Things Are Done. Rather it's an endless process of refinement and one good idea building on another, ironing out issues, improving on the steps taken before, until something that once seems ground-breaking can become utterly obsolete. Even if something arrives in a form that is a complete departure from what existed before, total adoption will never be rapid enough to represent an instant cultural coup.
That said, we can all think of numerous technologies that certainly seem to have changed the way things are done so completely that they must surely be described as revolutionary. For example, working in an office all day, I literally can't grasp how business got anything done without email, let along - gasp - without the telephone. No really, how? From what I can gather, it was a matter of burning barely enough coal to keep the employees from hypothermia (or a really nasty cold) while they sat around and waited for a carrier pigeon to turn up.
Even these technologies were continually evolving though, and adoption was a process, not an over-night phenomenon. Now virtualization is being hailed as the next revolutionary technology, transforming the way we use computers, setting the Earth on a collision course with the Sun and bringing about the total destruction of our galaxy. OK, maybe that's not exactly what the industry analysts are saying, but you get the gist. It may not be as big as the telephone or the Internet, but many industry commentators reckon it will result in a mighty big change in the way we use computers, and not just the ones in our employ. Commentators I mean, not computers.
Maybe I shouldn't be flippant; perhaps for some virtualization has already transformed the way they do things. I'm sitting here writing this on my MacBook after all; something I would never have been able to get had it not been for software like Parallels Desktop for Mac addressing the Apple/ Windows compatibility issue. That's a big change, and very cool even if I do say so myself, but it's hardly revolutionary. Rather, Apple took the evolutionary step of making their computers Intel-based, refining and building on what they already had.
Parallels responded to this development with software that directly addressed a user problem: incompatibility between platforms. This again was developing the capabilities of technology and by extension, the way it is used. Macs now see far greater traction in the enterprise than ever before; in fact, new figures from Forrester Research show that Apple's share of the corporate OS market has almost quadrupled in the past 18 months. Again, this is not a revolution - heads at Microsoft won't be rolling (though there may be some short haircuts) - but it is an interesting development given that Microsoft recently announced it will spend $300m in ads for Vista to challenge Apple's growing influence.
The great thing about "evolution, not revolution" is that it doesn't stand still. It's a continual shift, and ongoing mission - as the saying goes; "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step". For technology companies like us, continued development is our responsibility to our customers and also the key to perhaps finding new customers. Evolving the product line is a necessity to stay in business and keep up with your peers (just ask VMware, they'll tell you), and it is imperative if we are going to continue to meet customer needs.
It's common knowledge that we're working on the next version of Parallels Desktop for Mac, though our lips are sealed about what's coming up. I like to be mysterious... you can imagine me twirling my mustache, but I'm not confirmed whether or not I have one. Mysterious indeed.
You can rest assured though that our development is aimed at evolving the product to meet evolving customer needs and concerns. We set up our forum so people could tell us what they are looking for, what improvements they are after, what problems they are facing. I'm extending the invitation here. Tell us what's bothering you or what you want to see. Are you frustrated that you can't play the games you want? Is security something that worries you? Do you just want everything as super-speedy as possible? I'll be continuing along this theme with a regular series of posts on common issues I'm hearing about. Watch this space.
