Who needs longevity?

Seeking longevity of products seems to be an increasingly risky approach when the world is shifting to a portfolio / service based approach. In other words, we will stick with what works and toss out what doesn't work. The longevity of what worked may provide insights into future design, but designing for longevity will become increasingly less likely to work. Designing for open standards compliance is a safer approach, unless you belong to the league of Oracles and Microsofts!

Recent examples of Database Management companies depreciating existing products fully before releasing future products has led to their downfall. On the other hand, successful companies remain those that cannibalize their own product portfolio by releasing products that will meet customer demand, even if it means competing against sales of other products by the same company. Look at the Chip manufacturing companies as an example.

This seems to indicate that the traditional approach of managing 'Product Life Cycles' might be heading towards extinction. But that is a more tepid conclusion. To me, the more pertinent development is that once a product is released, the company should find ways of destroying it. After all, if somebody is going to do it sooner or later, the company should take a lead in initiating its own demise!