[danjl]

> The reality of the world is that product holds the money and software development is seen as a cost center to be minimized towards zero.

This is only true for mediocre companies. Software development is really a force multiplier, not a cost center. A good optimization for a proprietary app saves time for everyone at the company that uses the app, or for your customers if the app is a product. Also important is that the developers can dramatically alter the cost structure both for the current set of features, as well as the future support and additional features. Product faces outward, helping prioritize features for customers. Development faces inward, minimizing tech debt and future work for the company. Both halves are needed to design and build a good product in a reasonable amount of time.

[shreddit]

In a "perfect" scenario the product would not require any more development and thus development could be reduced to zero.