There was a time when enterprise software was cutting edge and state-of-the-art. In fact, until the last couple of years, enterprise IT was pushing adaption into consumer IT. Most people had their first experience with mobility, internet, email and document software in a corporate environment before becoming direct consumers.

At some point of time this changed. Technology innovation of today is driven by social media and mobile application stores. We consume way more advanced technologies in our private lives than we do as corporate employees. Is this because these innovations doesn’t fit in an enterprise setting? Or could there be other reasons?

The answer is clearly that enterprise software and IT has itself become the main barrier to progress. They have created walls - physical and virtual - between themselves and their users. Enterprise IT has become the “office of NO”, partly due to misaligned metrics and incentives but also through a value-destroying alliance with ERP vendors who collect rent on externalizing their customers own knowledge.

Why is it that the implementation of organizational best practices needs be owned by consultants and ERP vendors? In reality, what is happening now is that companies pay them to absorb their knowledge and then pay again to get the knowledge back.

The fundamental approach of current enterprise software is “top-down”. Vendors build practices into the system to be used by customers and partners. The vendor owns the wall. This is good for the vendor but not for the customer – and it is detrimental to innovation.

Imagine if all applications for the iPhone was to be developed by Apple themselves. Users would request new applications and (if Apple agreed it) would be put in the product backlog and be available a few years later. Obviously this would kill any innovation and engagement. But this is actually how ERP software is developed today.

I believe cloud computing will be the driver to tear down these destructive walls. As business processes is moved out in the daylight from its firewall shelter, the process owners themselves can be given the freedom and flexibility to control their own process through modular platform offerings. We will see cloud-based App Stores for enterprise software. Through this companies can catch up with consumer technology on innovation - and again contribute to economic growth.