Making a difference where it counts: how selecting the right technology generates the maximum value from IT

IT teams must deliver the impossible: new innovations that offer greater productivity - and all delivered in less time.

To succeed in this, a strategic approach is needed. The right technology must be carefully selected to reflect where it can deliver the most value.

In this newsletter, we’re going to look at this challenge more closely and see how progress and innovation can be ‘unstuck’ by applying the right solution for the right situation.

All technologies have their own strengths and ideal use-cases, but one of the biggest game-changers has been the application of low-code technology as an accelerator for innovation. As we’ll see, by using custom coding, low-code, and commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) to deliver the most value at the right time, an organization can continuously adapt to retain a competitive edge.

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Under pressure?

Organizations are constantly being asked to fulfill new demands and requirements.

Whether they come from customers, colleagues, partners, suppliers, or government – these demands reflect our shifting expectations in an ‘always-on’ age.

What’s interesting to consider, is that these (really high) expectations are set by a handful of digital leaders, mostly in the business-to-consumer domain, and everyone is increasingly measured against this stratospheric benchmark for convenience and speed.

These expectations include:

• Agility - Organizations must adjust their processes at a moment’s notice. Software innovation is a key feature in enabling and supporting greater agility.
• Time-to-market - Competition is fierce, with a narrow window for maximum profitability. Any delay is unacceptable, so the IT environment must allow the shortest possible time-to-market for solutions.
• Operational excellence - Always on, and always running at peak efficiency. Organizations are under pressure to deliver more efficiency, productivity, and resilience via productive working methods and automated processes.

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If you can’t keep up by delivering shorter development cycles, quicker turnarounds, and rapid development of new capabilities, you’re at a disadvantage.

As a result, digital transformation has become a repeating cycle - one where each cycle seems to only get shorter.

How to accelerate your innovation

Both business and IT teams want to accelerate their progress and obtain the best results for the organization.

But, the fact is, more than 80% of the typical IT budget is spent purely on maintaining current systems – basically just keeping the lights on.

How can we get beyond this sticking point – to overcome this inertia and generate real momentum towards continuous progress?

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There’s no ‘silver bullet’ for every situation?

At USoft, we believe that there’s no single solution that meets the needs of every organization, in every situation.

Instead, it’s important to recognize that each use case is unique, and requires the best technology (or combination) for the maximum value.??

When is COTS the right choice?

The big advantage of commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) is that it’s based on tried and tested standards. If you are an accountancy firm, for example, an off-the-shelf solution made for this industry will probably suffice for all your needs.?

The same is true for departments that use essentially the same analogous processes in any organization, such as HR or Finance.??

However, the greatest pitfall with COTS is when you start customizing - because this makes these systems more rigid, inflexible, and expensive to maintain.

The best use case for COTS is when it (almost) completely meets your needs, and when these needs are not subject to change.

Provided you don’t need to stray from the ‘tried and tested’ standards of COTS, you can stick with it.??

If, however, you operate in an industry like manufacturing, you might want to use your own predictive algorithms to enhance design or procurement processes – in which case, COTS becomes less suitable with each customization.

The more unique or competitive your business process is, the less fitting COTS will be.?

In line with this principle, we see an increasing demand for a ‘best-of-both-worlds’ approach: applying COTS for the tried and tested standards, and complementing these systems with low-code for the more unique and competitive digitization initiatives.

When custom-coding is best

Custom coding gives you total ownership and control over functionality. It’s also very flexible and free from vendor lock-in.

But… custom coding is resource-intensive and not very fast.?

And there’s a risk of a different kind of lock-in – one where knowledge and resources are difficult to transfer between systems because the custom solution is so intricate and unique.

Finally, maintenance typically becomes harder over time with custom coding, often requiring extensive background knowledge in the specific solution you’ve created and specific programming expertise.

Given the ever-increasing shortage in IT developers, it will become increasingly hard for organizations to acquire and maintain the well-skilled developer community needed to support custom-coded solutions.

And low-code technology?

This combines the convenience and speed of COTS with the precision, flexibility, and control of custom coding: a ‘best of both worlds’.

All ‘low-code platforms’ offer the possibility of increased development speed, but not all will meet your requirements. Many low-code platforms are made for much simpler use cases, and will struggle to cope with your demands.?

It’s more important to identify the right platform for your specific needs, for example, one that can deal with the complexity of your business processes and can deliver robust performance at scale.

Then, ensure it can leverage low-code technology as just one of its productivity tools.?

With low-code technology, much of the legwork of custom coding is then taken over by the platform, using automation to drastically accelerate development and leveraging advanced development tooling to provide all the advanced functionality and integrations you need.

The solutions you can build this way can be as powerful as any off-the-shelf solution, but with the adaptability to fully customize to your needs.?

For example, in the case of Schiphol Airport, the organization was able to use low-code to rapidly build sophisticated and reliable solutions for Intelligent Process Orchestration across one of the world’s busiest airports, working on top of their pre-existing systems.

How to decide when to use COTS, custom-coding, or low-code

It’s vitally important to select software that reflects your organization's focus, and where you can digitally make a difference to win.

For processes that are identical to the rest of the industry, a COTS package will probably meet your needs - it’s not fruitful to reinvent the wheel here by custom-coding an analogous solution.?

Instead, it makes more sense to look at where your organization can stand out.

The more your uniqueness and competitive advantage increase in importance, the deeper you get into a domain where you can really make a difference with technology.

If your needs are relatively unique, then the right solution will rely on either combining technologies, or selecting a specific technology that enables you to stand out.??

The right development platform should give you the option to rapidly build the framework for unique software using low-code technology and create the special components you need to sharpen your competitive edge with minor custom coding.

This approach not only accelerates innovation - it also gives you the flexibility to apply just the right proportions of each technology to get the best results and boost efficient use of IT budgets.?

The result is a greater business focus, a lower maintenance cost, and many more options to integrate with (new) business processes in the future.

For 30+ years, USoft has helped organizations to master the complexity of their unique operations. The USoft application development platform is used across every sector; from government to manufacturing, and from financial services to logistics. Learn more about the platform here.

Psst!

Get a sneak peek at the latest updates with the release of USoft 11 here.