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Simple Is Better
Most of the companies featured here subscribe to a philosophy that simple is better, although none more so than 37signals. Jason Fried, CEO of 37signals, believes that people often choose software that’s too complex. They look at a list of features with 300 items and say "We could use that," instead of trying to figure out what they need to have to succeed, and then choosing software based on those needs.
Fried believes what people need is just enough to get the job done: "And ’just enough’ is a lot less than other companies are promising. Our products do less than the rest, but that’s because people need less. They need simple. We do simple."
This attitude is fairly typical of the new breed of applications rising up to meet the demands of the new types of distributed teams that are emerging—teams that may be distributed across continents, countries, states, or even just inside a single city. In fact, city-based teams are increasingly common—allowing the flexibility of working from home combined with the efficiencies in being able to meet face-to-face without requiring it.