In the philosophy of mind, there are many examples of how we can’t notice, let alone talk about something when words for it don’t yet exist. In the Odyssey, Homer describes the sea, not as the “blue sea” or the “dark green sea” but as the “wine-dark sea”. Why? Because the greeks did not have a good word for blue. The cones in their eyes were no different than ours. Yet, without words to differentiate shades of blue and green, and purple, we instead get tortured analogies.
I face a similar challenge in talking about what fragile does. “We help companies manage hardware subscriptions.” “It’s like leasing but there is a bigger service component.” “No, you don’t buy the hardware.” “Sure, you can think of it like renting”
Then there is the acronym hell. Everyone knows SaaS (software-as-a-service). It’s one of the most recognizable acronyms in Silicon Valley. It’s not surprising there are a lot of copycats that have taken the form - putYourFavoriteLetteroftheAlphabetHere-a-a-S. For example:
Stop Stop Stop! What a mess. Most of these acronyms are met with the same blank stare you would see trying to describe the color of the sky or an adonis butterfly to an ancient Greek.
The world must do better so let’s take a stab.
Firstly, service is a common word across all these examples. It has a lot of recognizable contexts. It’s defined as — the action of helping or doing work for someone. Service is a common word across all the Romantic languages. service, servicio, servizio, service, serviço etc. We all pay for services. Economies move from manufacturing-based to service-based. Services are good so let’s keep it.
In this service, the hardware product plays an integral role. Hardware differentiates nicely from software but without context, the word is vague. Product is even worse. In the same way that anything can be a service, a product can also be anything. We need more emphasis that this is a physical thing. How about device? This usually makes me think of something electronic but the actual definition is broader — a thing made or adapted for a particular purpose, especially a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment. I like that a lot.
Have we arrived? DaaS - Device as a service. It’s not bad but it’s yet another aaS acronym. I think we need something catchier with more intentionality.
…device enabled service.
…device powered service
…device-driven service
I like this one. Not just because of the alliteration. I think it captures the correct philosophy. It’s a service, but the device plays an integral — perhaps even inseparable part.
D2S?
Dice?
Help me out. Acronym suggestion to thomas@tryfragile.com