On the Importance of Lean Architecture

I love on-demand delivery services like Instacart, Postmates and Magic that allow you to get various products and services delivered extremely fast. Magic is fascinating to me in that they have the leanest architecture imaginable and use SMS messaging as their communication platform.

It is this "lean architecture" that intrigues me the most because it enables the fastest interaction possible - no need to scroll through pages of inventory, or to have sign-on hurdles to overcome. I want something, I send a text, confirm it's what I want and it arrives.

And given their "lean role" in matching buyer intent to seller and leveraging third parties for fulfillment they don't suffer from the scale challenges of Instacart and Postmates. Magic is available everywhere in the US today.

I admire Magic for the easiest, fastest and most seamless way for me to have a specific need fulfilled.

And then I read this blog post at Google and a small thunderclap went off inside my brain. Is there any more "leanly architected" user experience than a Google Search?  

When I read the blog post these were a few of the concepts that popped out at me...

• "This feature will begin rolling out on Chrome for Android this month, with iOS to follow in the coming months." (Cross-platform!)
• "Conversational search is also really important - we're seeing more shoppers literally asking Google to help them learn more...we're rolling out new experiences that answer them right back." (Artificial Intelligence!)
• "...we launched local inventory ads, which show shoppers when the product they want is available at a nearby store." (Location awareness!)

And then I started imagining Google leveraging integration to Maps, AndroidPay, Google Now and Google Shopping Express. Now you turn the Google Search bar into an even more fascinating entry point onto the Internet than it already is. 

The use cases are limitless. With concepts like deep linking you can imagine how a simple Google Search entry can result in an enriched experience for shopper and merchant without ever having to launch an app or webpage. I'm sure Google would be happy to use the ultimate service provider's brand and even host the experience to make it as fast and snappy as possible so you never even need to leave the Google experience.

"Purchases at Google" makes them an instant force in the On Demand economy focused on "micro-moment purchases" of not only products but a range of services - transportation, home care, personal care, auto care, etc.

The complexity of the sale will determine whether it can be fulfilled through a Search or if it needs more functionality better fulfilled through an app or web page but there are "billions of micro-moments" that Google can fulfill from nothing more than a simple Search - the same way Magic fulfills from a simple SMS.

The future is looking really interesting!