The Farmers’ Market for Development Teams

Some people are perfectly happy buying and eating pre-made microwaveable meals.

These meals are rarely amazing. They’re never innovative. But they’re quick, perfectly consistent, and they get the job done. The only flexibility on the part of the consumer is which pre-made meal to pick. The decisions about what’s inside have been made for them, and there’s almost no risk of food poisoning. It’s a perfect example of “Good, fast, cheap. Pick two.”

Other people however, prefer the farmers’ market. The best chefs in the world are artists. They need selection. Choice. Flexibility. It’s that combination that allows for culinary innovation and creativity.

For them a Red Delicious apple just won’t do. They want an organic Honey Crisp from a particular grower in Washington state. Sometimes what these taste artists create is epic. Sometimes it’s awful. But given the freedom to pick their ingredients and try new recipes, they can experiment. Innovate. Create new taste experiences.

For some apps and application development teams, the service catalog approach (pre-made meals) is exactly what they need. Give them a curated set of services and packages to pick from, and they’re good to go.

Other app teams are the artists. The innovators. The farmers’ market-shopping executive chefs of tech. They need the flexibility and selection that direct access to cloud resources gives them.

Blended cloud to the rescue. Don’t force pre-made food on your executive chefs, and don’t ask someone that doesn’t know the difference between quinoa and couscous to cook you a Michelin-star quality meal with their microwave. Give the right access and flexibility to the right teams. You’ll be happy you did.