Something you are unfortunately missing is that extracting user requirements is much harder when you are both remote. Asking someone to share their screen is far more disarming than asking if you can watch them complete a task in person. As is asking them directly versus bringing it up over lunch. Both remote options are also less informative without face-to-face communication. In so many ways, humans communicate and bond more effectively in person.

These interactions are critical for building an in-house software team at a small company that does not focus solely on software. My expectation is that the trend of outsourcing software will accelerate. This will help B2B technology-only companies but hurt innovation within industry. Because of the breakdowns in communication I first described, B2B technology-only companies rarely have insight on the largest challenges that can be solved by software.