Steve Jobs’ Legacy is Stronger than Ever

One year after his death, the world is still feeling the loss of Steve Jobs. Jobs became one of history’s greatest innovators by transforming complex computer hardware and software into user-friendly devices that people loved to use. An artist as much as a technologist, Jobs took chances that nobody else was willing to take. As a result, compact, sleek design, intuitive user interfaces and the concept of apps that Jobs introduced have become standards that competitors still struggle to match.

Apple, post-Jobs, is still the king of the market. Jobs left a template that current Apple leaders can follow for hopefully many years to come. But Jobs’ influence doesn’t end there. It extends into the innovation environment in all of Silicon Valley. App developers, mobile platform providers, UI designers and anyone else focused on a good user experience has been influenced by Apple’s user-oriented standards in some way.

Jobs’ focus on user design became a founding principle for GoodData – we made it our mission  to turn an archaic, complex business function — business intelligence (BI) — into something that people love to use. GoodData’s new Bashes, similar to the concept of Apple’s apps, use the cloud and an open platform to make BI accessible to everyone. We’ve opened up a field formerly relegated to PhDs and IT experts to everyone, truly democratizing data and offering deep business insights.

We maintain a firm belief that Bashes are the most user-friendly BI tools ever invented, and, in some ways, we have Steve Jobs to thank. He laid the groundwork for what user experience should be like, which is now (finally) being extended to the enterprise. Jobs may have passed on physically, but his legacy of positive, productive and user-friendly computing is more alive than ever. And here at GoodData, we try to live by it every day.