The role of the developer has significantly grown and evolved over the past 30 years and the software procurement process has evolved with it. Until about 1999, the developer role sat under the IT department, responsible for all the software purchased and used throughout a company. This created problems because the IT people were enterprise software buyers, but not software users. They didn’t know what users really wanted.

The launch of the first SaaS company, Salesforce, changed all of that, enabling business leaders to buy their own software. The subsequent rise of SaaS companies ushered in a new era of software deployments and a corresponding buying model in which software users – from both the business and technology departments – no longer had to ask IT for permission to purchase resources. With the ability to buy their own software, developers responded to user needs by creating better products. This set the stage for putting developers in a much more powerful position.

Over time, product teams and software creators have become early adopters and trendsetters. Today’s technologists are primary decision-makers and business leaders, influencing and overseeing some of the most powerful technology companies in the world.