Design in Enterprise Software Companies

Chris Jones argues that enterprise software companies often underinvest in product design because they assume only end users benefit from it, when design also drives buyer decisions. He contends that the product itself must communicate value to buyers, not just the sales force. Using the early history of Vontu and the growth of Slack, he shows how design shapes positioning, defines core value, and opens new go-to-market paths. The piece concludes that teams should treat the customer as an ecosystem of users and buyers rather than optimizing for either alone.

01Key takeaways

• Treat design as a buyer-facing investment, not only a user-experience concern, since the product must help sell itself.
• Use prototypes and demos to shape how buyers conceptualize a new problem and frame competing solutions.
• Involve design early so it can influence architecture and core value rather than being bolted on later.
• Assess whether bottom-up, product-led adoption could open a market path that a direct sales motion would miss.
• Map the full customer ecosystem, including users, buyers, and supporters, and design for all of them.

02Key sections

The Misconception About Design in Enterprise

Many enterprise vendors treat design as a luxury for end users that can wait until commercial success. The author argues this misunderstands how products win buyers.

Design Communicates Positioning

Vontu used its product design and demos to frame how buyers thought about a new category, making its concepts the yardstick for competitors. The product itself told the story alongside sales and marketing.

Design Is Fundamental to Core Value

Design insights shaped architecture and the core value proposition rather than merely decorating finished requirements. Validated prototypes revealed the feature customers most cited when buying.

Design Enables New Go-to-Market Paths

Consumerization of IT lets departments adopt tools bottom-up, so user experience drives adoption. Slack grew organically through a frictionless product experience with little marketing or direct sales.

Think in Ecosystems, Not Silos

The customer should be understood as an ecosystem of interests spanning buying, using, and supporting the product. Enterprise software, on this view, is not fundamentally different from other products.

03From the post

“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.