In the Digital Economy, Your Software Is Your Competitive Advantage
Summary
Many companies respond to digital competition by embracing methodologies like agile, building “innovation centers,” acquiring startups, or outsourcing app development to consulting firms. Other common responses include building “innovation centers” separate from the parent company, acquiring startups hoping to disseminate their DNA throughout the organization, and outsourcing app development to consulting firms. Instead of begging Giant Software Co. for a new feature and then waiting months or even years to get it, you spin up a team of in-house engineers who get code into production in a matter of weeks, or even days. In 2018 small team of ING engineers developed a bespoke program to replace an expensive packaged software system used by the bank’s customer service representatives. But these principles provide a framework for building a world-class software development organization, so you can respond faster to customer needs, adapt to a constantly changing market, and keep up with the Amazons of the world.