---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether the lens used is market…"
description: "\"“Whether the lens used is market conditions, or the performance of bellwether software entities, or even individual products, the trend is the same: it..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/stephen-o-grady-17153_investing_whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditio_1826939.jpg"
---

#  Whether the lens used is market conditions, or the…

![“Whether the lens used is market conditions, or the performance of bellwether software entities, or even individual products, the trend is the same: it is growing more difficult to sell software up front, on a standalone basis. More important, however, the market appears to be pricing this into its…” quote by Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/stephen-o-grady-17153_investing_whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditio_1826939.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/stephen-o-grady-17153_investing_whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditio_1826939.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/stephen-o-grady-17153_investing_whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditio_1826939.jpg)

> ““Whether the lens used is market conditions, or the performance of bellwether software entities, or even individual products, the trend is the same: it is growing more difficult to sell software up front, on a standalone basis. More important, however, the market appears to be pricing this into its valuations, favoring models that make money with software over those attempting to make money from the sales of software.””

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Software sales are shifting from upfront licensing to revenue‑based models, and valuations now favor recurring‑revenue businesses.

**In simple terms:** Software now sells via subscriptions.

Key Takeaway

Adapt to recurring revenue models.

Themes

business transformation valuation trends software economics

Mood

analytical cautious

Type

strategic forecasting

When to use this quote

- product strategy
- investment decisions
- pricing negotiations

Key Concepts

subscription models market pricing financial forecasting

Questions to Reflect On

- How will your company shift to subscription?
- What risks exist in recurring revenue?

A Different Perspective

Transition can be costly and complex for legacy firms.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/)

## Related quotes

> [We have experienced highly challenging global market conditions in the past quarter with significant steel price decline in all regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakshmi-mittal/we-have-experienced-highly-challenging-global-market-conditions-in/)

[Lakshmi Mittal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakshmi-mittal/)

> [It certainly was difficult to sell NAFTA because it's always difficult to sell open markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/it-certainly-was-difficult-to-sell-nafta-because-it-s-always/)

[Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/)

> [If the economy is bad, I might be bringing a lot of things in, but it's difficult to sell, and the opposite when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-harrison/if-the-economy-is-bad-i-might-be-bringing-a-lot-of-things-in-but-it-s/)

[Rick Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-harrison/)

> [If you're at the top, people worship you wherever you go. But when you're dying down, it's difficult to sell tickets!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atif-aslam/if-you-re-at-the-top-people-worship-you-wherever-you-go-but-when-you/)

[Atif Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atif-aslam/)

> [What I have learned over hundreds of campaigns is if you have lost voters who have supported you in the past, you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beckel/what-i-have-learned-over-hundreds-of-campaigns-is-if-you-have-lost/)

[Bob Beckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beckel/)

> [If Australia and England are finding it difficult to sell their broadcasting rights you can't blame BCCI for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-thakur/if-australia-and-england-are-finding-it-difficult-to-sell-their/)

[Anurag Thakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-thakur/)

> [I got nice rejections explaining that historical fiction was a difficult sell. But I kept trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/i-got-nice-rejections-explaining-that-historical-fiction-was-a/)

[Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/)

> [Limit use of shareware and public domain software to systems without fixed disks. If you do use them on fixed disks, allocate separate subdirectories...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/limit-use-of-shareware-and-public-domain-software-to-systems-without/)

[John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/)

> [Writing code means always having to say you're sorry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ford/writing-code-means-always-having-to-say-you-re-sorry/)

[Paul Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ford/)

> [One of my most productive days was throwing away 1,000 lines of code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-thompson/one-of-my-most-productive-days-was-throwing-away-1-000-lines-of-code/)

[Ken Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-thompson/)

> [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/)

[Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/)

> [“Check the program before you two start undressing and...well, doing whatever freaky shit you talked Harley into.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cox/check-the-program-before-you-two-start-undressing-and-well-doing/)

[James Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cox/)

> [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/)

[Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/)

> [When we shipped 'Borderlands 2,' we didn't ship it with a plan of how the level cap was going to increase. We didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pitchford/when-we-shipped-borderlands-2-we-didn-t-ship-it-with-a-plan-of-how/)

[Randy Pitchford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pitchford/)

> [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/)

[Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/)

## More by Stephen O’Grady

> [“Developers are the most-important, most-valuable constituency in business today, regardless of industry. Technologists newly empowered with tools, hyper-connected via specialized collaboration and communication networks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/developers-are-the-most-important-most-valuable-constituency-in/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“full stack startups are those whose focus extends to each layer necessary to deliver the desired user experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/full-stack-startups-are-those-whose-focus-extends-to-each-layer/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“The fact is that the majority of software businesses today are leaving money on the table by focusing strictly on the production and delivery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/the-fact-is-that-the-majority-of-software-businesses-today-are/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“Given two technologies, the one that’s easier to obtain, configure, and use will usually be the one that wins. Convenience trumps features — even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/given-two-technologies-the-one-that-s-easier-to-obtain-configure-and/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“The ascendance of open source is not altruistic; it’s simply good business for contributors and consumers alike. But the reason it’s good business is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/the-ascendance-of-open-source-is-not-altruistic-it-s-simply-good/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“With the cost of development down by an order of magnitude or more, the throttle on developer creativity has been removed, setting the stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/with-the-cost-of-development-down-by-an-order-of-magnitude-or-more/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“Open core/hybrid source Probably the most common model today, open core describes an open source project that is partially, even mostly, open source, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/open-core-hybrid-source-probably-the-most-common-model-today-open/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“As such, the company’s value from a technology perspective isn’t software, strictly speaking, but rather outsourced effort. Any business can download and run software…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/as-such-the-company-s-value-from-a-technology-perspective-isn-t/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“So if open source is cannibalizing the commercial software markets, it’s all smooth sailing for those who commercialize open source, right? Well, not exactly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/so-if-open-source-is-cannibalizing-the-commercial-software-markets-it/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“By combining software with another, more readily monetized product — services, in this case — Amazon is able to efficiently extract profit from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/by-combining-software-with-another-more-readily-monetized-product/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“It is a paradox that the economic value of software is falling even as its strategic value rises, and paradoxes are by definition challenging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/it-is-a-paradox-that-the-economic-value-of-software-is-falling-even/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“There are many potential explanations for the less-than-robust performance, but IBM’s current strategy suggests that one component at least is a challenge to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/there-are-many-potential-explanations-for-the-less-than-robust/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“In such a climate, the more appropriate way to think of software is as an organizational asset: nothing more and nothing less. Looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/in-such-a-climate-the-more-appropriate-way-to-think-of-software-is-as/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“Where businesses once saw outsized returns from the code they wrote, today it’s merely a means to an end. It’s often not even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/where-businesses-once-saw-outsized-returns-from-the-code-they-wrote/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

> [“Whether we’re looking at Apple or Google, then, the lesson is that software is once again a means to an end as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/whether-we-re-looking-at-apple-or-google-then-the-lesson-is-that/)

[Stephen O’Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

[Explore all 38 Stephen O’Grady quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/)

## More Investing quotes

> [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/)

[Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/)

Michael Fishman

> [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/)

[Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/)

> [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/)

[Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/)

> [“The market was king, that much was clear. Share worth had replaced human worth. And it wasn’t so much a question of what that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-dahl/the-market-was-king-that-much-was-clear-share-worth-had-replaced/)

[Arne Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-dahl/)

> [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/)

[Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/)

> [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/)

[Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/)

> [“Wed don't need to live like the elites of California, New York, or Washington, D.C. We don't need to work a hundred hours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/wed-don-t-need-to-live-like-the-elites-of-california-new-york-or/)

[J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/)

> [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/)

[Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/)

> [That's one of the things about the NFL is that you have small-market teams, big-market teams. I feel like the bigger market teams do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-kelce/that-s-one-of-the-things-about-the-nfl-is-that-you-have-small-market/)

[Travis Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-kelce/)

> [In China, people are moving from bigger cars to small hatches, and interestingly, the Indian market is graduating to bigger cars and sedans. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winfried-vahland/in-china-people-are-moving-from-bigger-cars-to-small-hatches-and/)

[Winfried Vahland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winfried-vahland/)

> [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/)

[Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/)

> [“a select group of high-performing companies have managed to close the strategy-to-performance gap through better planning and execution. These companies—Barclays, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mankins/a-select-group-of-high-performing-companies-have-managed-to-close-the/)

[Michael C. Mankins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mankins/)

> [I'll invest my money in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-keith-kellogg/i-ll-invest-my-money-in-people/)

[Will Keith Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-keith-kellogg/)

[Browse all 13,164 Investing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Whether the lens used is market conditions, or the performance of bellwether software entities, or even individual products, the trend is the same: it is growing more difficult to sell software up front, on a standalone basis. More important, however, the market appears to be pricing this into its valuations, favoring models that make money with software over those attempting to make money from the sales of software.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen O’Grady"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditions-or-the-performance-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Investing"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditions-or-the-performance-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/stephen-o-grady-17153_investing_whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditio_1826939.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/stephen-o-grady-17153_investing_whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditio_1826939.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/stephen-o-grady-17153_investing_whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditio_1826939.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Whether the lens used is market conditions, or the performance of bellwether software entities, or even…” — Stephen O’Grady",
                "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": "Stephen O’Grady",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-o-grady/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Whether the lens used is market...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditions-or-the-performance-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-o-grady/whether-the-lens-used-is-market-conditions-or-the-performance-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
