Concept of Industry Standard

Industry standard means a product or service that is used by the most people in the industry. Using "industry standard" means you can be cost-effective on the things you buy, and spare parts will be easily available.

I was first exposed to this simple idea while my partners and I were working on our IT project in the 80s. Our supplier who is also our schoolmate, Rico Ho, taught us the importance of being "industry standard".

Rico, being a programmer, said that the industry standard (at that time) was dBase. The advantage of using dBase was that he could easily find other programmers who are well-versed in dBase to edit or build on his works.

If you buy expensive things like a house or a car, for example, it is important to bear this in mind. Say, if you buy a town house or some kind of duplex, you may find it difficult to sell because most people prefer standard things like terrace houses or condos. And, if you buy a house with a number 4 in your address, you will find that you can only sell to the Malay market.

If you buy a Toyota or a Proton, the price will be cheaper. Spare parts will also be cheaper because they are easily available.

This idea applies to other products like electrical items, furniture, computers, mobile phones and software.

So, next time before you make your purchase, bear in mind, "industry standard".