Why (Enterprise) Software Is Bloated · The mailbox.my Blog
Bloated software uses much more resources than necessary to do its job, the most important resources being CPU time, memory, I/O, and disk space. Furthermore, software with lots of features can also be called bloated since it is harder to learn and use, and naturally requires more resources than software with only the desired features would.
I haven’t specifically focused on the “enterprise software stacks”, but it begs a question overlooked. Software bloat- unnecessary features or badly optimised software, is a major drain on productivity. For example, I have an i3 processor at work forced to run Windows Outlook for emails. It is the most horrendous application to run through- it spins up hard drive and brings it down to a slow grind. In their wisdom, administrators have forced Google Chrome for the “web-browsing”, which adds to the woes. If they had shifted to Linux, it would have been a breeze with the same applications.
Lack of alternatives? I don’t know how much licensing fees can be saved with a focus on providing customised backup solutions and on-the-fly computing with thin clients that would make the process efficient.
Something more:
An example of this: Many applications nowadays have to be multi-platform – they have to run on desktop operating systems like macOS and Windows, as an app on iOS/iPadOS and Android, and on the Internet. Only large companies can afford to have one dedicated team per platform. So the popular alternative are frameworks targeting multiple platforms with one code base, like Electron (used by VS Code) or Progressive Web Apps (used by Pinterest and Twitter). These frameworks are heavy-weight and need a full browser and JavaScript engine to run, which already take up a considerable amount of resources.
That’s also a complete recipe for disaster.
RadOncNotes 