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Middle information technology as a way out of crisis

The global economic crisis, which coincided (but not caused) with the pandemic, requires transformation of the participants in the economic life, and rethinking of the principles and approaches of development from the whole of humanity. This crisis will require transformation from the Russian IT industry, which today is also affected by the traditional crisis difficulties: difficulty in finding customers, non-payments, struggle for profitability.

What should we do when money again disappeared from citizens and small businesses? Are there any lessons in history, having learned which, we can develop steadily in the current conditions?
How to adapt IT companies to new realities? How to combine these two needs for transformation - business and IT industry?

Perhaps, Ernest Friedrich Schumacher, a prominent German economist and philosopher who introduced the term “Buddhist economy” into European scientific discussion, was best aware of effective ways of development in conditions of poverty. In his 1981 work, “Small is Fine,” he, discussing the problems of the so-called “third world” - countries in which poverty and technological backwardness were combined in his time - suggests introducing “medium technologies”. We prefer to call them “median,” since it more closely reflects the essence of the term Schumacher, which came to the Russian reader in translation.

What is median technology


Here is how Ernest Schumacher describes median technology in this book: “Let's determine the level of technology by the cost of technical equipment for one workplace. Then the traditional technology used in a typical developing country can be arbitrarily called "technology - £ 1", and technology in developed countries - "technology - £ 1000". These two technologies are so different from each other that a sharp transition from one to the other is simply impossible. Judge for yourself: attempts by developing countries to introduce technology - £ 1000 in their economy will inevitably lead to the destruction of technology - £ 1 and its jobs much faster than modern jobs appear. <...> To provide real assistance to these people, a technology is required that occupies an intermediate position between technology - £ 1 and technology - £ 1000. We call it conditionally “technology- £ 100”. <...>Such an “average” technology would be incomparably more productive than traditional technology (which often has already exhausted itself), but at the same time would be much cheaper than the complex and very capital-intensive technology of modern industry. With this level of capitalization, it is possible to create a large number of jobs in a fairly short period of time. In addition, it would be affordable for local entrepreneurs, not only financially, but also in relation to their education, organizational and other abilities. ”With this level of capitalization, it is possible to create a large number of jobs in a fairly short period of time. In addition, it would be affordable for local entrepreneurs, not only financially, but also in relation to their education, organizational and other abilities. ”With this level of capitalization, it is possible to create a large number of jobs in a fairly short period of time. In addition, it would be affordable for local entrepreneurs, not only financially, but also in relation to their education, organizational and other abilities. ”

The idea of ​​median technology is very simple and has been repeatedly applied in the world and in Russia throughout the twentieth century. So, during the Great Patriotic War, the government of the USSR placed a stake in tank forces on the T-34 - the tank is much lighter and less armed than the German Tigers and Panthers, but it is so simple, maintainable and inexpensive to manufacture that it can be It was released in the thousands. The result of the application of median technology in this case: the T-34 tank is recognized by historians as the best tank of the Second World War.

Similarly, the Indian metallurgical and engineering company Tata Motors acted by introducing the Tata Nano model into the domestic market - a car less comfortable than Japanese cars, but much cheaper and much more maintainable.

Key features of median information technology


The middle technology approach is applied not only in the East and not only in mechanical engineering. Thus, the authors of the acclaimed book “Rework”, the founders of the IT company 37 Signals, recommend introducing a similar approach to the development of IT products. Their principle: make half the product, not a complete low-quality product. 37 Signals products - Highrise, Basecamp, Campfire systems - delight the user with a combination of simplicity, reliable performance of their basic function and price.

Translating our considerations into a practical plane, we define the key features of median IT:

  • Wide coverage. Technology should be distributed to a wide segment of the population or to an entrepreneurial audience;
  • The obvious benefit. The technology should significantly (according to Schumacher, 3-5 times) simplify the current way of performing a particular function;
  • Financial availability. Medium IT should be 5-10 times cheaper than the most expensive and most functional technologies of Western origin.

These three simple criteria allow you to completely redefine the approach of IT entrepreneurs to their business.

How the IT industry can apply the “mid-tech” approach


For the comfortable and fruitful work of IT companies in the light of the need to develop median technologies, it makes sense to consider the following organizational and structural measures:

  1. Implementation of Agile at the prototype stage, development and testing;
  2. The transition to the model of "cost leadership" - the rapid development of simple products by small forces;
  3. Refusal of the idea to make “the coolest” in favor of doing “the most necessary and accessible now”;
  4. Active listening to the client when compiling a roadmap of products;
  5. Implementation of “sales with a human face” - the implementation of a transparent and understandable pricing policy, quality customer advice and free or low-cost user support.

Of course, state support in implementing this approach - targeted programs, subsidies and assistance in organizing distribution - could accelerate the implementation of median technologies in Russia, which would help the country reach a new technological level in no more than 10-15 years.

If the most promising Russian IT companies accept this promise, our country, I am convinced, will pass through the crisis period quite easily and with great mutual benefit, having emerged from it as a technological power.

Posted by: Andrey Mayboroda

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