Software – the digital challenge of the future
Social media and e-commerce instead of magazines and shopping arcades – anyone who relies on digital communication and sales channels using new technology or software places additional demands on factors such as security, interoperability, flexibility, scalability or the maintainability of different software solutions.
With the digital challenges of the future in mind, companies have to ask themselves the question: Is standard software already sufficient for their own requirements or are individual variants required in order to be able to act successfully? “Depending on the degree of maturity of their own customer organization, companies need simple or more complex solutions”.
In particular, the combination of different programs provides significant support in mapping company-specific specifications and efficiently accompanying or driving the technical transformation process. While standard software is limited in terms of its adaptability in structural, architectural and conceptual areas, project-specific adjustments and extensions are possible with almost no restrictions using individual software.
Success factor – Agile software interaction
Companies that want to position themselves for the future in the long term should be aware that success entails constant analysis, adjustment and evaluation. Setting a status quo and pursuing it is no longer an alternative these days. That approach only ties up resources, with much more relevant factors such as current market changes, processes and situations being lost from sight and only taken into account afterwards, which in turn revisions.
Standardized solutions can be used for all non-relevant core processes. This reduces the amount of support and the associated costs, while at the same time creating stability for further action. Individual tools and programs are used to increase company performance and promote development and growth. Depending on the industry and specialization, an individual decision must be made as to whether standardized online shops or merchandise management systems are sufficient or whether individually designed solutions such as high-end customer service software are required to generate added value.
Success factor – software combination of “make” and “buy”
In particular, companies with demanding applications benefit significantly from these combined infrastructures, so-called meshed services, as they noticeably simplify the communication channels and the interaction of the individual components. As a result, the focus is on the value-adding, performance-enhancing or customer-critical features. Individual solutions are developed for those features and then installed in order to act as a sustainable driver of innovation.
A data memory with standardized interfaces that acts in the background is a decisive advantage here. “All the data comes together here and allows programs that are no longer required to be easily exchanged. Not only can migration costs be reduced in this way, but the so-called lock-in effect, a dependency on the software manufacturers, can also be avoided in one’s own IT structure,” says Andreas Köninger. As a result, companies can become faster, more efficient and more effective in the development of a digital business model, and at the same time benefit from the holistic view.
In summary, it can be said that “make” should be used for the value-adding, performance-enhancing and customer-critical features, while “buy” is relevant for all other factors. With this approach, responsibilities can be reduced in the future, operational forces can be focused on the relevant topics and resources can be used for the essentials.
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