Our managers process hundreds of applications every month, and a large proportion of these applications have to be rejected. We filter out customer requests for creating sites on popular engines with package functionality and faceless design. 

Why is that? Firstly, we don’t want to take away bread from novice developers. Secondly, we have a clear understanding that such tools are of limited business benefit. If the development does not bring results, then it’s rather an unsuccessful development, and we want to make successful projects and thereby strengthen our good name.

IT offers businesses fantastic opportunities, say, automation, monitoring everything, data analytics, risk reduction, a new level of customer relationships. But all this is possible only when digitalization goes the right way, when the accents are placed correctly, and the technologies are chosen well. Finding the right way for a business to go digital is thoughtful analytical work. The processes in the client’s company need to be thoroughly studied and fully clarified.

Ultimately, business is not only the passion of the entrepreneur or the mission of the company but also the source of making money. Our clients view IT solutions in the same way as other useful tools, meaning, through the lens of profitability and return on investment.

How we look for solutions

Our task is to find the most profitable digital tool for the business together with the client. And if a client comes with a detailed plan or terms of reference, we at least audit those ideas.

An important role here is played by the first call or meeting with the client (the kick-off meeting). At the first contact, our experts don’t just ask for details regarding the product creation. They are more interested in the general state and processes of the company, offer expertise in a niche, share relevant cases from their own practice. 

At such a meeting, no one sells anything, cos it’s more like brainstorming, where the parties get a more complete understanding of the main task and development requirements. Let’s say a client wanted to develop a cumbersome ERP system for a food delivery service, and we offered a flexible SaaS platform solution that better suits the scale of his business. Or a client came for a cross-platform application built on Flutter, and we understand that native development will best complete his tasks. 

When the project’s preliminary requirements are collected, the team moves on to the internal audit phase. An early concept shall be transferred to a team of project managers and business analysts who study similar cases, conduct market analysis, and analyze the potential of the product. Their task is to assess the overall viability of the idea. If the concept has a future and potential, analysts suggest substantive ways to implement it. 

The request is digitized and presented to the client in the form of a mind map which is a simple and visual scheme of the project. If necessary, the team can also create the first visual prototypes of the future product. 

The best solution is always the best compromise between current technology, customer capabilities, and business case. The creation of marketplaces, mobile applications, or any other product should solve specific problems of the client and give him new opportunities. We try not to use simple “box” technologies, instead, we offer custom development at a reasonable price.

Selection of IT solutions for business: three life hacks

Finding such a solution is always a creative process. It all depends on the specifics of the market, the situation in the client’s company, the availability of technologies and specialists. In industries such as logistics and retail, trends are rapidly changing, so what worked a few years ago turned out to be useless today. 

But 20 years of relevant experience helped our analysts to form a couple of general secrets of choosing the most optimal tools. These are hacks that always work. 

• Focus on the essentials

The so-called Pareto law works in digitalization as it does in other areas of life. It says that 20% of efforts give 80% of results. The only question is where to invest these overvalued efforts. 

Our experience shows that the basic steps at the start of digitalization give a quick and significant result. A company that moves from spreadsheet accounting to CRM and EDI is likely to see, say, a 20% increase in efficiency. The profitability of digital software for business, in this case, is very high.

But as you go deeper into the figures, the return is gradually reduced. There is a need to develop more complex and expensive products, and the effect of their implementation no longer produces the effect of an exploding bomb. 

• Pay attention to data

Working with data is the cornerstone of IT, and the trends and technologies of recent years make this stone precious. 

Any business digitalization project, one way or another, addresses the problem of combining disparate databases. An online store needs integration with a 1C database, a logistics company needs to monitor stock balances and delivery of goods in real-time, retail needs an updated customer database. 

AI and Big Data technologies, flexible approaches to data processing (DataOps) are applied to turn plain information into valuable business assets. In the coming years, the value of these tools will grow. This means that the digitalization of business can be safely started with data. This will not be superfluous. 

• Take into account the human factor

Attempts to calculate the impact of the introduction of a digital tool can fail when people start to take advantage of new technology. Going digital is often accompanied by a radical restructuring of processes that have not changed in the company for years. Don’t underestimate the inertia of human psychology. 

The use of new tools may meet with rejection and even open resistance from some employees. We have seen companies where even IT directors resist the transition to a new CRM! Simply because they are familiar with the old system, and they don’t want to get used to the new one.

When selecting technology for business, we always keep in mind the image of the person who will use it. At the same time, it’s important for the company to cultivate digital maturity in the team, meaning, to pay attention to training employees, to motivate them to work in a new way. 

Let us help you find a solution

Even the most brilliant manager cannot be an expert in everything. If you are looking for new business opportunities in IT, contact us for a discovery phase service and we will help you succeed.