--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most important thing was the creation…" description: "\"The most important thing was the creation of a... a standard, where hundreds of companies build hardware that can all run the same software.\" — Bill Gates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/bill-gates-137_company_the-most-important-thing-was-the-creatio_570097.jpg" --- # The most important thing was the creation of a... a… ![“The most important thing was the creation of a... a standard, where hundreds of companies build hardware that can all run the same software.” quote by Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/bill-gates-137_company_the-most-important-thing-was-the-creatio_570097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/bill-gates-137_company_the-most-important-thing-was-the-creatio_570097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/bill-gates-137_company_the-most-important-thing-was-the-creatio_570097.jpg) > “The most important thing was the creation of a... a standard, where hundreds of companies build hardware that can all run the same software.” [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Standardization enables diverse companies to create compatible hardware, fostering innovation and market growth. **In simple terms:** Common standards let many build the same software. Key Takeaway Promote open standards for broader collaboration. Themes technology collaboration innovation Mood optimistic analytical Type strategic informative When to use this quote - software development - hardware manufacturing - industry standards Key Concepts interoperability network effects Questions to Reflect On - What benefits arise from shared standards? - How might standards limit creativity? A Different Perspective Standardization can stifle unique designs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [There's 20 companies that I have investments in - some batteries, some solar-thermal, one big nuclear thing. We need hundreds and hundreds of companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/there-s-20-companies-that-i-have-investments-in-some-batteries-some/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Software is more important than hardware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-is-more-important-than-hardware/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [When you write a piece of software you assume a certain type of hardware. If you assume hardware that's too powerful then you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/when-you-write-a-piece-of-software-you-assume-a-certain-type-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [All you have to do is take a look at Carrier air conditioning in Indianapolis. They left - fired 1,400 people. They're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/all-you-have-to-do-is-take-a-look-at-carrier-air-conditioning-in/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The greatest works are done by the ones. The hundreds do not often do much, the companies never; it is the units, the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon-2/the-greatest-works-are-done-by-the-ones-the-hundreds-do-not-often-do-2/) [Charles H Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon-2/) > [The greatest works are done by the ones. The hundreds do not often do much-the companies never; it is the units-the single individuals, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-greatest-works-are-done-by-the-ones-the-hundreds-do-not-often-do/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Hundreds of these companies I've seen since the beginning stages - including Dropbox and Airbnb - one of them has actually been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/hundreds-of-these-companies-i-ve-seen-since-the-beginning-stages/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [These were big ones. Those companies would then go in and build an electrical system or ports or highways, and these would basically serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perkins/these-were-big-ones-those-companies-would-then-go-in-and-build-an/) [John Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perkins/) > [The Treasury Department would use the interest from these securities to hire U.S. companies to build Saudi Arabia - new cities, new infrastructure -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perkins/the-treasury-department-would-use-the-interest-from-these-securities/) [John Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perkins/) > [I think that if companies build for diversity from the beginning from the ground up, that's definitely the ideal state for how to build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-bryant/i-think-that-if-companies-build-for-diversity-from-the-beginning-from/) [Kimberly Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-bryant/) > [Companies that build scale for the benefit of their customers and shareholders more often succeed over time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dimon/companies-that-build-scale-for-the-benefit-of-their-customers-and/) [Jamie Dimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dimon/) > [Companies that grow for the sake of growth or that expand into areas outside their core business strategy often stumble. On the other hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dimon/companies-that-grow-for-the-sake-of-growth-or-that-expand-into-areas/) [Jamie Dimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dimon/) > [“Companies that build and maintain databases in the cloud are snagging a growing slice of the $36 billion market.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/companies-that-build-and-maintain-databases-in-the-cloud-are-snagging/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the failures of technology companies is that they build technologies thinking everything else will work out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/one-of-the-failures-of-technology-companies-is-that-they-build/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [...Silicon Valley's success comes from the way its companies build alliances with their employees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/silicon-valley-s-success-comes-from-the-way-its-companies-build/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) ## More by Bill Gates > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-really-had-a-lot-of-dreams-when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-think-a-great/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/understanding-science-and-pushing-the-boundaries-of-science-is-what/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [We're focused on providing innovations in software, driving the continuous improvement for a much better experience, and there's a lot going on here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-re-focused-on-providing-innovations-in-software-driving-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Paper is no longer a big part of my day. I get 90% of my news online, and when I go to a meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/paper-is-no-longer-a-big-part-of-my-day-i-get-90-of-my-news-online/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Software will get to be somewhat more mature, ah, but it will never be as predictable as most areas of engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-will-get-to-be-somewhat-more-mature-ah-but-it-will-never-be/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Students deserve great teachers. And teachers deserve the support they need to become great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/students-deserve-great-teachers-and-teachers-deserve-the-support-they/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The machines need to get faster. They need to get cheaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-machines-need-to-get-faster-they-need-to-get-cheaper/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Like many others, I have deep misgivings about the state of education in the United States. Too many of our students fail to graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/like-many-others-i-have-deep-misgivings-about-the-state-of-education/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Over time, yes, countries will need to look at specific GMO products like they look at drugs today, where they don't approve them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/over-time-yes-countries-will-need-to-look-at-specific-gmo-products/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Competition is always a fantastic thing, and the computer industry is intensely competitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/competition-is-always-a-fantastic-thing-and-the-computer-industry-is/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I don't think there's anything unique about human intellience. All the nuerons in the brain that make up perceptions and emotions operate in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-unique-about-human-intellience-all-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [At every juncture, advanced tools have been the key to a new wave of applications, and each wave of applications has been key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/at-every-juncture-advanced-tools-have-been-the-key-to-a-new-wave-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Software is more important than hardware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-is-more-important-than-hardware/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Talking to mothers, always brings it home because they're so anxious to do everything they can for their kids and so tragic for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/talking-to-mothers-always-brings-it-home-because-they-re-so-anxious/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) [Explore all 1,165 Bill Gates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) ## More Company quotes > [This welfare for wealthy companies wastes taxpayer dollars, harms the environment, and makes a mockery of the recent reductions in federal social spending programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/this-welfare-for-wealthy-companies-wastes-taxpayer-dollars-harms-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Subsequent to the original Quicken, the whole idea that we, as a consumer products company, could actually make business products, that was a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/subsequent-to-the-original-quicken-the-whole-idea-that-we-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The system in Germany is different, as you sign up with a company for two or three years, and you work exclusively with them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wlaschiha/the-system-in-germany-is-different-as-you-sign-up-with-a-company-for/) [Tom Wlaschiha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wlaschiha/) > [I've discovered special makeup by a company called M.A.C. You could wear it on the surface of the sun and it wouldn't move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smith/i-ve-discovered-special-makeup-by-a-company-called-m-a-c-you-could/) [Robert Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smith/) > [I'm also the chairman of the board of Symantec, which is the world's largest cybersecurity - software cybersecurity company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schulman/i-m-also-the-chairman-of-the-board-of-symantec-which-is-the-world-s/) [Dan Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schulman/) > [If you choose to work at a larger company over a smaller company, you are more likely to be higher paid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-sweet/if-you-choose-to-work-at-a-larger-company-over-a-smaller-company-you/) [Julie Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-sweet/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I won contest after contest until finally I realized, "Ok, I am the best in the world, but now what?" So I opened my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-hosoi/i-won-contest-after-contest-until-finally-i-realized-ok-i-am-the-best/) [Christian Hosoi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-hosoi/) > [To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [Companies are not charitable enterprises: They hire workers to make profits. In the United States, this logic still works. In Europe, it hardly does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/companies-are-not-charitable-enterprises-they-hire-workers-to-make/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [I don't think that a company should own a studio and the network, and program for their own network. It hurts the creativity -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bakula/i-don-t-think-that-a-company-should-own-a-studio-and-the-network-and/) [Scott Bakula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bakula/) > [Antidepressants are the biggest fraud in the world. Number one, Prozac gives you a royal soft-on like you wouldn't believe, and number two you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-evans/antidepressants-are-the-biggest-fraud-in-the-world-number-one-prozac/) [Robert Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-evans/) > [Live always in the best company when you read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/live-always-in-the-best-company-when-you-read/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) [Browse all 8,710 Company quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most important thing was the creation of a... a standard, where hundreds of companies build hardware that can all run the same software.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Gates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-most-important-thing-was-the-creation-of-a-a-standard-where/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Company" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-most-important-thing-was-the-creation-of-a-a-standard-where/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/bill-gates-137_company_the-most-important-thing-was-the-creatio_570097.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/bill-gates-137_company_the-most-important-thing-was-the-creatio_570097.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/bill-gates-137_company_the-most-important-thing-was-the-creatio_570097.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most important thing was the creation of a... a standard, where hundreds of companies build hardware…” — Bill Gates", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Gates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The most important thing was the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-most-important-thing-was-the-creation-of-a-a-standard-where/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-most-important-thing-was-the-creation-of-a-a-standard-where/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```