Over the past 30 years I have consulted to over 350 companies in helping them to leverage technology to improve their business processes and up until 2000 (Y2K) I did a considerable amount ‘hands on’ software development for many of those clients.
I am always pleasantly surprised when I run into a former client who tells me that they are still using the system on a daily basis which I put in place for them years ago. For me it is interesting that many of my systems have ‘stood the test of time’; for my former clients it is the gift that keeps on giving (without the bill).
I ran into one such high profile former client today who told me that the custom system that I developed for them in 1995 is still a critical part of their daily infrastructure and that they couldn’t run their business without it.