In my introduction to this series, I wrote about the surprising way my last two posts connect to Martin Hofmann’s ideas in The Agentic Enterprise.
[ https://www.amazon.com/Agentic-Enterprise-Building-Organizations-Autonomously/dp/3033118356 ]
Part 1 now asks a simple question:
👉 Why do so many SMEs get stuck with their software in the first place?
It’s rarely because SMEs “don’t understand tech.”
Most of the time, the processes were never intentionally designed — they just grew around whatever tool happened to be adopted at the moment.
👉That’s exactly what happened in our company.
We didn’t map a workflow; we inherited one. And when one key system couldn’t integrate, everything else had to adjust around it. Over time, the tool shaped the process — not because it was good, but because it was there.
⏳ And meanwhile, time is wasted, and talented people end up doing the same mindless, repetitive tasks just to keep things moving.
➡️ This is where Mark Cuban’s comment that “software is dead” makes sense. He’s pointing at this old pattern: choosing tools for their features and then bending your work to match them.
➡️ Martin Hofmann adds a deeper insight. He argues that the real problem isn’t the software — it’s the inertia in how work is structured. His line puts it clearly:
“Disruption is not caused by technology. It is caused by inertia.”
In SMEs, inertia looks like:
— tools chosen for convenience,
— undocumented processes,
— and workflows that quietly follow software limitations instead of business needs.
So Part 1 names the real issue:
👉 When no one owns the workflow, the software takes over — and usually not in a way that helps the business.
💥Up next in Part 2:
What Mark Cuban really means by “software is dead” — and why SMEs should care.
📜 Created by Duane March
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#KMU #Digitalisierung #Automatisierung #Integration #AI #MarkCuban #AgenticEnterprise #WorkflowDesign
