What business are you in ?

This is a very simple question, is it ?

You go to automobile company and ask same question. They will answer that we are in business of selling cars. Ask an IT company same question, and they will say something about providing IT services.

Now, take a close look at how they generate revenue from their business. Automobile company might be making almost 50% of its revenue from after sales services. So, they are not just selling cars, but also lot of after-sales service. If you do same exercise with an IT services company, you might wonder about large chunk of revenue coming from maintenance contracts - maintaining the same IT systems which they helped them build in first place.

Now, what would stop Automobile company to make well-functioning cars, which requires less after-sales service ? What is stopping an IT company to execute IT projects with excellent quality, thus requiring much less maintenance afterwards?

So, are you really in business of solving customer's problems/unmet needs ? That requires honest answer.