Hapgood

Prometheus, holding a torch, enters a small office in a corporate IT department. At the desk is Fred, who looks up when he enters.

Prometheus: Behold, I bring you fire!

Fred: Great! We’ve heard about the fire market. Very exciting. So is that it? That flaming stick you’re holding? That’s the product? How many do we need?

Prometheus: Well, no. By “bring you fire”, I mean a set of skills by which you can create your own fire at will.

Fred: Yeah, sorry, that’s not going to work. What if our personnel changes? They’ll take these skills with them, and we’ll be stuck looking for skilled workers to replace them. How much does a firemaker cost? Do we have to pay relocation? You see the problem…

Prometheus: Yeah, but I mean, it’s fire. I’m bringing you fire.

Fred: What if we ASP it? When we need fire, we’ll have an SLA with you that you’ll bring us fire within 20 minutes.

Prometheus: But it’s not a product or a service — it’s a set of methods. The amazing thing is anybody can make their own! I can teach you..here, you take two sticks like this…

Fred: Oh, there we go! Why didn’t you say so? The sticks are the product, right? How much are the sticks?

Prometheus: Um, nothing. Free. You can use any sticks you want.

Fred: That doesn’t sound very safe. Can you supply approved sticks?

Prometheus: No, but I can show you how to select sticks that are appropriate for…

Fred: Once again, there you go with all these skills. What happens if the person you show how to select sticks leaves? We don’t want firemakers. We want a firemaking product.

Behind Prometheus, A Systems Vendor enters, holding shrinkwrapped box.

Vendor: Behold, I bring you the Fire Management System.

Fred: Finally!

Prometheus (sulking off): I’m going back to my rock…