Our product is future proof!

You say “Our product is future proof” or they say “is your product future proof?”. Can we future proof a product?

To say your product is future proof must mean that you understand your customers future needs. Do you understand your customers that well? Surely customers needs change and adapt to the rest of the world around them, or have you planned for every need and want of your community.

Does looking to the future needs of your customers create a product that is not adequately fulfilling today’s needs in the here and now?

Product cycles are getting smaller all the time. We can change our iPhones every couple of years. We can change our Android devices and laptops whenever we want. Software updates can make the product feel like new again.

Should we then just stop future proofing, or could we look at our products as vessels which can be updated just like the software on an iPhone to accommodate new needs and technological evolution.

If we build in flexibility then maybe we don’t have to guess our customer needs but actually provide what they want when they want it. An added bonus is maybe we can extend the life of a product and build things that last.