MAXIMIZE RESULTS: PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING THE BEST IT SOLUTION FOR YOUR COMPANY

Key Takeaways

Deep Business Understanding is Fundamental

Success in implementing IT solutions begins with a detailed understanding of your business processes and challenges. Mapping processes and understanding your specific needs ensures that technology acts as a true driver of results

Strategic Choice of IT Solution

The decision between off-the-shelf and custom solutions must be based on a careful analysis of your company's needs, budget and objectives. Evaluating ROI and considering long-term impact is essential for making the right choice

AI and the Future of IT

Artificial intelligence is transforming the IT landscape, requiring companies to rethink their processes and system architectures. Keeping people at the center of this transformation is crucial for success in the AI era

In an increasingly competitive business scenario, the optimization of organizational processes and the strategic use of information technology (IT) have become fundamental pillars for the success of any company. Whether to optimize value delivery to the customer, improve customer experience or drive innovation, optimizing processes and investing in smart and efficient IT solutions is essential to ensure the growth and sustainability of your business.

The Importance of Business Understanding

When considering an IT project, one of the first steps your company must take is to invest time and knowledge in clearly defining and documenting the challenges faced and what is sought and expected from a solution involving information technology.

Your company needs to have a deep understanding of the business. Process mapping allows for a detailed analysis of how work is or will be performed in the company, identifying activity flows, responsible parties, eventual bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement. The adoption of new technologies itself already triggers a need for review and change in the processes that will be supported by the new information technology architecture.

It is based on this understanding that identifying problems, opportunities, needs and requirements becomes possible. By understanding business processes, it is possible to identify the specific needs that the IT solution must meet. This ensures that the solution is designed in a way that is more aligned with your business processes, solving real challenges and problems and streamlining the exploration of opportunities.

Process mapping also helps define the scope of the IT solution—that is, which functionalities will be included and which processes will be impacted. This prevents the solution from being too broad or too limited, ensuring that it meets your business's priority needs.

An important result obtained is that process mapping promotes effective communication between business teams, IT solution development teams and business stakeholders. By visualizing processes clearly and objectively, the generation of new ideas and the identification of opportunities is encouraged, and everyone can understand how the solution will impact work and what benefits it will bring.

Suppose a company wants to develop a system to manage customer service. Process mapping can be used to analyze the current service process, from the moment the customer contacts the company until the problem is resolved (Customer Journey Design). By mapping the process, it is possible to identify bottlenecks, such as service delays or a lack of customer information, and define the requirements for the new system, such as the need for an integrated CRM system or the automation of certain service steps.

This investment in deep business understanding, as well as the identification of challenges to be faced and possible solutions involving process improvements, employee training and IT, are a vital part of a strategic process that will lead your company to adopt the options that best meet the current and future needs of your organization.

Comparing Available Options

Starting from the business understanding, it becomes possible and necessary to make a fundamental decision: develop internally, seek off-the-shelf solutions available on the market or hire a company with expertise for development?

Internal development of an IT solution by the company's own teams may run into unfavorable conditions, such as work overload with other internal developments, maintenance and support; a lack of specific knowledge and skills for developing the required solutions, considering the new technologies involved; and, in the event that an internal development team does not exist, would it be worth building a team for a specific project?

Time-to-market is crucial in decision-making.

When your company, based on business understanding and identified needs, compares solutions available on the market and the option of hiring a company for the development of a custom solution, some considerations and questions can help your analysis.

Off-the-shelf Solutions

Pros:

• Lower initial cost: The initial investment may be lower since the software is already developed and ready for use.

• Faster implementation: The learning curve can be shorter and deployment can be faster, considering basic functionalities.

• Support: Many ready-made solutions have robust technical support and active online communities.

Cons:

• Less flexibility: Functionalities are pre-defined and may not meet all the specific needs of your business.

• Customization costs: If it is necessary to adapt the solution (customize), costs can increase significantly.

• Vendor lock-in: The company becomes dependent on the vendor for updates, support and the development of new functionalities.

Custom Solutions ("tailor-made")

Pros:

• High flexibility: The solution is custom-developed to meet the specific needs of your company.

• Seamless integration: The solution integrates perfectly with existing processes and systems or those to be implemented in your company.

• Return on Investment (ROI): In the long run, the return on investment tends to be higher because the solution is optimized for your company's processes.

Cons:

• Higher initial cost: Developing a custom solution requires an initial investment that can be larger.

• Development time: Development time is longer compared to adopting ready-made solutions.

• Maintenance: Maintenance of a custom solution requires a specialized technical team, which can be and usually is considered in the proposals.

How to Resolve

Vlad Khononov¹ presents us with an interesting consideration:

“Inability to understand the business domain results in a sub-optimal implementation of the business software. Unfortunately, this is quite common. According to studies, approximately 70% of software projects are not delivered on time, on budget, or according to the customer's requirements. In other words, the vast majority of software projects fail. This issue is so deep and widespread that we even have a term for it: the software crisis.” (page xix – Introduction)

This author proposes, as a solution, that organizations consider their business domains and subdomains: Core, Generic and Supporting. Based on these premises, Khononov considers that companies should make the following resolutions:

• Software that serves core processes (value chain) should be developed internally

• Software that serves generic company processes should be purchased from the market (public domain)

• Software that serves supporting processes could be developed internally or have its development outsourced

However, the world shows us that this can be a bit more complex…

Currently, a company's value chain takes into account not only core processes, but all the organization's processes (core, generic and supporting), as the customer is directly or indirectly affected by any internal failure.

With the advent of AI (Artificial Intelligence), all processes and software must be rethought, taking into account all the changes in system architecture, the way of doing business, the valuation and efficient management of databases and, primarily, how to keep people at the center of these transformations brought about by the adoption of AI.

We can consider that off-the-shelf solutions may be ideal for situations with basic needs and limited budgets. They are a good option for companies looking for a quick and simple-to-implement solution that is not a differentiating factor in the company's business (public domain).

In contrast, custom solutions are more suitable for situations that need a highly customized solution, with complex integration and that seek a high long-term return on investment. Often, the business model itself and its market differentiator reside in an offering sustained by a custom and exclusive IT solution.

Taking into account the size of the business, for small and medium-sized companies, a combination of off-the-shelf and custom solutions can often be the best option. It is possible to use a ready-made solution as a base and customize the most critical functionalities for the business. When choosing between the two options, it is important to consider the size of the company, the available budget, the complexity of processes, the need for integration with other systems and the time available for implementation.

And how to financially evaluate the available options?

In this context, Return on Investment (ROI) stands out as an important metric for evaluating the feasibility and profitability of IT projects. By calculating ROI, it is possible to compare different options and determine which one offers the best cost-benefit and long-term impact.

If you want to better understand how to financially evaluate your IT choices, check out our white paper on “ROI in IT Projects” and make safer and more informed decisions.

Count on the help of a specialist.

References

1. KHONONOV, Vlad. “Learning Domain-Driven Design: Aligning Software Architecture and Business Strategy”, O'Reilly Media, 2021.