Why the best time to develop software in Idaho is now

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When you scan our world right now, it is easy to spot the doom and gloom. You’ve got two wars and numerous revolutions in the Middle East; health-care costs are skyrocketing; budget pressures are creating chaos and gaps in education; and, clearly, the global economy is in very slow recovery. All in other words true, however as I said at the Idaho Research Council’s highly successful develop.idaho 2011 event, I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to be a software developer in Idaho.

The innovation industry is moving —

The innovation industry is moving — at a characteristically rapid pace — toward cloud computing. That’s a platform shift for software companies to exploit. As software professionals, we know that every five to eight years, there is a platform shift, which at the time reveals a new set of market leaders. Legacies die away, and new companies emerge.

Devices are taking over the market right now. It seems everyone is walking around with their iPads, talking on their Androids and driving with the use of their GPS systems. Gadgets are coming out our ears. The combination of new devices, explosions of data and some shifts in the industry all point toward possibility for software developers.

New opportunities will arise for sales and marketing professionals, business leaders, economists and others with skill sets that work to promote research. We need people who understand not just how to build and commercialize, however also how to scale.

Special skill set

Scaling information is a special skill set; it requires an understanding of the economics of the business, where the sweet spots in the market are, where the bottlenecks are, how to flank the enemy and create a business model to build a company around. Each of our successes in Idaho breeds more success, and that energy can last forever.