←back to thread

Has the cost of building software dropped 90%?

(martinalderson.com)
413 points martinald | 3 comments | 08 Dec 25 19:00 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
nine_k ◴[08 Dec 25 20:15 UTC] No.46197061[source]▶
Had the cost of building custom software dropped 90%, we would be seeing a flurry of low-cost, decent-quality SaaS offering all over the marketplace, possibly undercutting some established players.

From where I sit, right now, this does not seem to be the case.

This is as if writing down the code is not the biggest problem, or the biggest time sink, of building software.

replies(28): >>46197121 #>>46197162 #>>46197191 #>>46197790 #>>46198132 #>>46198182 #>>46198282 #>>46198425 #>>46198498 #>>46198608 #>>46198655 #>>46198747 #>>46198991 #>>46199214 #>>46199310 #>>46199646 #>>46199706 #>>46201118 #>>46201177 #>>46202111 #>>46202477 #>>46202670 #>>46203360 #>>46204030 #>>46204863 #>>46204917 #>>46207989 #>>46214063 #
1. zahlman ◴[08 Dec 25 22:42 UTC] No.46198655[source]▶
> Had the cost of building custom software dropped 90%, we would be seeing a flurry of low-cost, decent-quality SaaS offering all over the marketplace, possibly undercutting some established players.

Don't forget the second-order effect of clients deciding they could do it in-house.

replies(1): >>46198807 #
2. PaulHoule ◴[08 Dec 25 22:55 UTC] No.46198807[source]▶
In fact that is where AI could win. An in house system only needs to serve the needs of one customer whereas the SAAS has to be built for the imagined needs of many customers —- when you’re lucky you can “build one to throw away” and not throw it away.
replies(1): >>46199049 #
3. zahlman ◴[08 Dec 25 23:19 UTC] No.46199049[source]▶
Yes, that was my point. It gets hard for the new SaaS competitors to "undercut" the established players when the underlying market disappears.