When your tech stack needs more support, who do you call?

Committing to an off-the-shelf product (COTS) should not only involve an evaluation of the features, functionality, and upfront costs; it’s equally important to understand and evaluate the underlying technology stack that the software was built upon.

• Does it use current, industry-standard frameworks and tools or is it built on arcane, legacy tools that will hold you hostage at some point?
• How well does it fit into the roadmap adopted by your in-house technology team?

Rushing into a purchase to solve a current pain without considering the long-term implications will virtually guarantee that you are accumulating “technical debt” that will demand payment in one form or another in the near future.

However, with the potential to have such a large impact on how businesses approach Information Technology, ?application-as-a-service could hold the key to true #digitaltransformation in every stage that will be customers' journey. It's the underlying technology that allows rapid development of innovative applications to revolutionize the way the intra-business teams work and deliver new services and products. Historically, private sector has employed the 80/20 rule when considering a 'build vs buy' decision. If you failed to discover a product that satisfies at least 80 % of requirements, building a tailored solution or accept a COTS would be good enough. Speed becomes critical to success.

• Will the tailored solution take too long to build?
• What percentage of functional requirements are truly critical to business success? 20?

The traditional custom solution approach, and underlying technology, make changes a time consuming and costly effort. While the COTS solution provider's approach to supporting a customer base means slow, generic changes over time which are not necessarily aligned with your needs. What would you do?

Legacy applications from multiple vendors could also be consolidated into a single platform view, with a single sign-on for employees that provides a common operating picture and better user experience. Does this sound possible? Yes! No! Not this year? All of this could require fewer budget dollars and eliminate expensive modernization efforts.

Are you curious to find out more? Let me get you in touch within an expert today!