Software Becoming a Commodity Business?

Is Software Becoming a Commodity Business?

Has software development become a commodity business? If John, your mid-level server-side java programmer leaves the company, can you just swap in Jane, another developer with 5 yrs java experience?

As I said before, software is a lot like medicine. Some doctors treat the ordinary cold, others specialize in brain surgery. True, ever since antibiotics were discovered, treating many illnesses must have become a pretty mundane business (I have no idea, of course, just guessing). It might appear that all doctors do these days is prescribe either painkillers or antibiotics. But does it mean that medicine is a commodity business? If only!