ABSTRACT
Expanding globalization has transformed the world into a global village. Against this background of global economic integration, no country can develop independently. To succeed, China’s software industry should keep its eye to the world and extend its perspective from the local market to abroad. Only through understanding the development trends of technology and the global software industry can China’s software industry seize new opportunities and innovate. During the past 50 years or more, the software industry, and with it increasingly sophisticated software and software applications, has been undergoing a huge transformation. It has shifted its focus from individual projects to more organized and large-scale software development. The scientific-engineering method is gradually taking the lead in software design and development. The methods of software production and operation are increasingly characterized by industrialization. The development of production methods in the global software industry during the past 50 years can be compared to the development of the global automotive industry during the last century. These two industries have a number of factors in common. Therefore, this chapter will begin with a description of the industrialization and globalization of the automotive industry, to be followed by a simple review of the history of innovation in that industry and the software industry’s production methods, and providing a comprehensive comparison of the two. Through this, we might gain a better understanding of the trend of innovating production methods in the global software industry. Finally, we will analyze the influence such innovation exerts on the value redistribution of the software industry as well as opportunities and challenges for China.
