Navigating the Storm: Introduction to solutions

Introduction:

As planned, I have started writing the article: "Evolving Towards Solutions: A Blueprint for Software Houses in Poland" – yet, after few days of preparations I have realized that I have created a behemoth of an article that nobody will want to read ?? As such, I have decided to divide it into 2 parts: Introduction to solutions – discussing background and reasoning behind them, as well as explaining what they are and aren’t, and in the second part ?- to post the actual action blueprint for software houses.

Also, as disclaimer, this article is meant for Software Houses which till now have generated even 95% of their revenue via TM model, it is not targeted at highly specialized, e2e project-focused companies.

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To start with, lets agree on one thing: body leasing and outsourcing of specialists as the core offered value to attract new clients is dead. At least in any meaningful way to grow business.

At the same time – YES! Body leasing and outsourcing of specialists remains the main revenue generator also in new projects.

How does that work then?

To understand this, we need to differentiate between: what actually attracts new business vs how does the new business really look like – and accept the fact that those two can and often are completely different.

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Understanding the perception shift:

Gone are the days when scarcity of software developers was the main driving factor for companies to start outsourcing cooperation.

Now, clients still want the same team – yet as all competition can provide them with the same service a very important question is being asked: Why should I choose your company?

So, main value – remains the same, but the buying decision is shifted to added value.

3 perceived areas of value: time, money, and security.

As we know that the actual development team is everywhere pretty much the same (value is the same) – lets look at those 3 areas from added value perspective. (as I side note, I recommend following and listening to Szymon Negacz , especially part 208 of his NSM Podcast )

Time – “we will give you developers extremely fast” – works only in very drastic cases, most clients perceive this in a way that we will push them anyone who is sitting on the bench (so not very suited for them). It is also market specific, in example of Germany – very often fast is associated with low quality.

Another aspect of time is promising faster project development time – its not really something that is popular from providers perspective, and in my opinion can only work only when we have a particular domain skilled team on hand – yes – it happens, but its rather a rare occurrence.

And so, targeting Time as value generator is tricky, and often can backfire. I don’t recommend doing that – being competitive in this regard is more than enough.

Money – “we are cheaper” – is problematic for providers as with the market in downfall many companies were offering development teams for as low as free for 3 months, 50% at start, or reduced their margins to 10-15% in the long run. Also, purely from client perspective – cheaper is again associated with lower quality and higher risk of project problems.

So, as we cannot target value in Time, nor Money then what is left? Security!

Now, ill be honest here – tackling Security aspect is not easy, as its very client specific as well as provider specific.

As this article is an introduction to Solutions – then understandably having a well defined and prepared Solutions is my proposed answer to target Security aspect of value.

To understand it further, lets answer a question- what is a solution?: In the context of software development, a solution refers to a comprehensive approach or set of strategies designed to address specific business challenges or opportunities using technology. Solutions typically involve a combination of software products, services, and expertise tailored to meet the unique needs of clients or end-users. They aim to deliver tangible business outcomes, such as increased efficiency, improved customer experiences, or revenue growth, rather than just fulfilling technical requirements.

Solutions are NOT simply products (like implementing SAP or Salesforce), solutions are a whole package of what, who, when, how and with what tools will something be done.

But first and foremost – solutions are 100% based on expertise. Only those who deeply understand the development process, the roles needed, timeline, budget, threats and how to avoid them and the expected outcome – can prepare a coherent-market-ready solution. Why does that target Security aspect? Because it convinces the client that we know what we are doing, we have done it many times before, we have a process in place and can deal with any problems. If we do our job well – the client selects us as we are perceived by him as “safest bet”.

As an example, me, as Marting Konieczny – I can offer few different Solutions:

• How to build and manage Sales Team,

• How to prepare and execute a modern go-to-market strategy,
• How to transform IT company from FTE to solution driven,
• How to grow existing business via Account Managers,
• How to build a hunting team and strategy,
• How to bring Sales + Marketing + Presale together to act in unison,
• How to manage an IT company to be sales driven etc.

All of them – are solutions – none of them are “products”. Yet all of them I have prepared to answer exactly what, who, when (timeline), how and with what tools, and what KPI’s will be delivered.

Now, going back to our software development solution example. What I would like to underline is that a Solution does not only evolve round technical aspects, but it also comes from the value of your organization.

Again, many companies want development teams, most providers offer the same development teams – the solution is something that is build on top of them with so called back office supplemented greatly (and its very important) by Presale/Delivery team which oversees the project.

Solutions are scalable, have been applied to many clients and can be repeated.

To put it into contrast: Placing most trusted Architect to a client; as we know he will do a good job – is not providing a solution. Having the same Architect design and describe whole project process, including roles, timeline and oversee it in multiple clients – is a good start to build a solution.

Conclusion

A solution in the context of software development transcends mere technical offerings. It represents a holistic approach that combines expertise, software products, services, and strategic planning to address specific business challenges or opportunities using technology.

Solutions start with technology aspects but are scalable, repeatable, and grounded in the value and expertise of the organization. By offering well-defined solutions, software houses can position themselves as trusted and capable partners in a given scenario – and once this perception has been established strive to grow within the client by answering to his other needs – but this is a material for a completely different article.