yeah, good luck with dat. Here's why I think the idea of holding software companies liable for bugs and glitches (and I mean the everyday stuff, not the major full blown outage), enterprise software is complex and the burden for successful implementation and management rest equally on the vendor, the systems integrator, and the customer. It's not like buying a toaster or an electric toothbrush and plugging it into the wall.
If I was going to do a deal where the customer wasn't going to idemnify me as a vendor, then I'd want protections with regard to their end of the deal. Stuff like minimum training requirements, an agreed upon escalation procedure, and monetary damages in the event that I, as a vendor, was unfairly saddled with blame for a problem related to implementation (by 3rd party) or IT management by the customer.
Link: WSJ.com - Companies Seek to Hold Software Makers Liable for Flaws.
One sure way to destroy innovation in enterprise software is to make it more like the healthcare industry. Can you imagine software engineers needing to get the equivalent of medical malpractice insurance?
Posted by: Ivan Chong | Feb 24, 2005 at 08:41 PM