ContentsDriving Digital Transformation via Rapid App Development
3 Setting the Stage
5 Lesson 1: Erase the Lines between IT and the Business
8 Lesson2:HireAppBuildersDifferently
10 Lesson 3: Foster a Culture of Self-Service
12 Lesson4:ShapeApplicationDeliveryPlansbyPrioritizingApplications
14 Lesson 5: Strive to Measure ROI of Digital Transformation Initiatives
17 Conclusion:PuttingtheLessonsintoPractice
Share | 3
Setting the Stage
The pervasiveness of new digital technologies has transformed thewayorganizationsdobusiness—atrendknownas“digitaltransformation”.Technologynowtoucheseveryfacetoforganizationsand,asaresult,everybusinessisbecomingasoftware business. Driving this trend are the desires to increase operationalefficiency,agility,andproductivity.
Businesses are achieving transformation through the rise of applications that have become their lifeblood in competing for customers’attentioninadata-richandhyper-connectedworld.Newapplicationsareemergingdaily,andForresteranticipatesglobalSoftware-as-a-Servicerevenueswillreach$106Bby2016,increasing 21% from 2015.
IT is now faced with a broadening spectrum of applications. Once focusedonmissioncriticalinitiatives(e.g.,ERPsandwebsites),applicationsthat“delightthecustomer”(e.g.,CRMsandcustomerportals)andfocusonemployeeproductivityoroperationalefficiency(e.g,ticketing,projectmanagement,andbudgetingapps)areincreasinglybeingrequestedfromITbyinternalstakeholders.
Butnotalltechnologyleadersarereadyforthischange,asdigitaltransformationcontinuestoheapanever-growingbacklogofapplicationrequestsattheirdoors.Hereare5lessonsfrominnovativetechnologyleaderswhowereabletotransformthischallengeandintoastrategicgrowthopportunity.
Share | 4
Increasing operational efficiency
83%Increasing business agility (speed of reaction to market changes)
75%Increasing employee productivity
73%Gaining competitive advantage
72%New revenue growth
63%
Importance of Key Digital Transformation Drivers
critical / very important not important
Source:IDGResearch,“DigitalTransformation: CrossingtheChasmfromITtotheBusiness”,September2009.
Source:Forresterforecast,ForresterResearch,Inc.
$43$56
$72
$87
$106
2012 2013 2014 2015 20162016
Saas Software Subscription Revenue by Year(US$ billion)
Saas software will equal $106 billion in 2016, with over 20% growth in 2015 and 2016.
Share | 5
Lesson 1: Erase the Lines between
IT and the Business
Technology is now in every department and business users more thaneverhavetheknowledge,desireandcapabilitytomakemanyoftheir own IT decisions. The old approach of having ‘IT’ and then ‘the business’ascompletelyseparatedisnolongerthenorm,especiallywithheightenedexpectationsfromvariousstakeholdersthathasresultedinaneedforfasterdeliveryofapplicationswithuniqueworkflows.ManycompaniesareworkingtoerasethelinesbetweenITandthebusiness,andtwonotablewaysofdoingthisare:1.)startfromthetop,and2.)createhybridteams
1. Start from the topCIOsandITstaffusedtobethesolesourcesoftechnologyknowledge;theywereabletomakedecisions,inmanycases,unilaterally.Todaynotonlyhavenon-ITexecutivesbecomemoretechnologicallysavvy,buttechnologyhasalsobecomeanengineofmultiplelayersofgrowthandrevenuegenerationacrossorganizations.Notutilizingtechnologyisnolongerjustahindrancetoprogress;itleadstoasubstan-tivedecreaseincompetitiveness.Asaresult,technologychoicesaremorestrategicthanever,andplatformandappli-cationchoicesmustbedeeplyintegratedintocorebusinessplanning—fromrevenuegenerationtoprojectplanning.
Share | 6
“IhavebeenaCIOfor20years,andalot has changed. More and more people understandhowtoleveragetechnology,andsotechnologydecisionsarenotleftentirelyuptome.Infact,Isharethatrolewithprettymucheveryotherexecutivewithinmyorganization.” —Will Weider, CIO, Ministry Health Care
Forward-lookingCIOsshouldtakethereignsinengagingwiththeirC-levelpeersandseekamoreactivestrategicroleintheirconversations.Theycanandshouldhelpguidefarmoreofthebusinesses’planning.Tactically,thisformofmoreactivecontributioniscomingbycarvingouttimeatboardroommeetings,holdingoff-sites,andsendingseniormembersoftheITdept.toengageinfiscalyearplanning.
2. Create hybrid teamsAnotherapproachtoapplicationdeliveryhasbeentocreate“hybrid”teamsoftechnologyandbusinessleaderstoidentifyanditeratesolutionsaroundtheneedsofthebusinessfaster,moretransparentlyandmorecollaboratively.Inmanycompa-nies,thesearecomingintheformofContinuousImprovementteams,CentersofExcellence,andBusinessOperations.Theyarefocusednotonlyonimprovingtheday-to-dayofbusinessusers’operationalexcellence,butalsoontranslatingbusinessneedsintotechnologyrequirementsandidentifyingtechnologygapsinthebusiness.Theseleadersarebusiness-minded,firstandforemost,andtechnologists,second.Theseprocessleaders form a critical connection between the business and IT,allowingeachgrouptoactfaster.
Share | 7
“AtNorwegianCruiseLine,ourcontinuousimprovementteamworksalongside our 13 ships out on the fleettotrytostreamlineasmanyprocesses as we can.” — Jeffrey Wessels, Continuous Improvement Analyst,
Norwegian Cruise Lines“I” in CIO Means InnovationDuring the next two years, the primary role of 70% of CIOs will change from directly managing IT to becoming innovation partners.
From CxO to Strategic Planning PartnersBy 2017, 40% of CIOs will rise to the challenge of becoming strategic partners — and not just acts as CxOs.
How the CIO’s Role Will Change by 2018
40% become strategic partners
70% become innovation partners
Source:KarenFrankel,CIOInsight,“HowtheCIOsRoleWillChangeby2018”,January2014.
Share | 8
Lesson 2: Hire App Builders
Differently
Application development and deliveryusedtorequirecomplicateddevelopment environments for programmers to hand-code in languageslike.NET,C#orJava.Thetalentthatcreatesthesetypesof applications was and continues to be scarce and expensive.
Whiletheneedforthesetypesofdevelopersisnotgoingawayanytimesoon,thebroadeningspectrumofapplicationsandincreasing digital-savviness of constituents of the business creates anopportunityforassemblingadifferentkindofappbuildingteam.LighterapplicationsbuiltbylessexpensiveITpersonnelcanservethegrowingneedsofthebusinessfaster.ProgressiveITleadersare turning to cloud-based low-code platforms for rapid application development,whichdoesnotrequiretalentwiththesameskillprofile.
Manycompaniesarebuildingnimble,low-costteamswithinITthatcan deliver on the growing number of less-than-critical applications requestedbythebusiness.Applicationsbuiltonlow-codeplatformsalmostalwayshaveshorterturnaroundtimesandareorientedtowardenablingprojectsthatrequiredeliveryindaysorweeks,notmonthsoryears.
Share | 9
“Iuselower-skilledlabortoworkonthingsthatneedfasterdelivery.Let'sfaceit—mostapplicationdevelopment is under-invested in.” —Francois Tricot, CIO, Ceva Sante Animale
Source: Glassdoor.com
Salaries for Developers
$83k$91k
$74k$66k
$61k
Net Developer
C Developer
Java Developer
BusinessAnalyst
BusinessOperationsAnalyst
Share | 10
Lesson 3: Foster a Culture of Self-Service
Every IT departmenthasabacklogofrequests.Quitesimply,ITcannottakeoneverythingthatthebusinessasks,norshouldit.Astheworkforcebecomesmoredigitallysavvy,leadingITorganizationsareenablingbusinessuserstomakebettertechnologydecisions,whileprovidingnecessarygovernancetoguidetheevolvingrelationshipsbetweenorganizationsandtechnology.Low-codeplatforms for rapid application development are instrumental in this enablement,allowinguserstocontributetoapplicationdevelopment—atleastduringthelastmileoftailoringapplicationstotheiruniqueneedsormakingpost-launchcustomizations.
However,asmostITleaderswillagree,handingovercontroltobuildappsshouldnotbedonelightly.Acoreaspectofenablementistrainingbusinessusers–ofteninformalizedanddocumentedsessions–onhowtomakechangesandwhatcanbechangedinapplications.Inmanyorganizationsthisiscalled“thelastmileofinnovation”.Creatingacultureofself-servicenotonlyoffloadstime-consumingworkthatwasoncedonesolelybyIT,butitalsopromotesbuy-infrombusinessusersandcanincreaseapplicationadoption.
Share | 11
“Idon’tknowwhatITdepartmenthasenoughbudgetandskilltocreatealloftheapplicationstheywouldlike.So,anotherplacethat’schangedoverthelastfourorfiveyears,inparticular,is how do we get technologists that are not in the IT department to actuallyhelptheirdepartmentsgrow.” —Isaac Sacolick, CIO, Greenwich Associates
“Self-servicewins.Whydowehave big teams of people in IT receiving calls from business users saying,Please can you change the permissions for this user? Self-serviceisveryimportant.Itsavesalotofmoney.Itmakesappsquicklyavailableinthefieldforusers.” —Francois Tricot, CIO, Ceva Sante Animale
Share | 12
Lesson 4: Shape Application Delivery Plans by
Prioritizing Applications
Business users will almost always push for fewer governance policiestogettheirtechnologyfaster,butITleadersknowtheyarethereforareason.WhilemostorganizationsseekformalizedITgovernancepoliciestoimprovealignmentwithbusinessstrategyandimprovebothITvalueandoperationalefficiency,theironicresultisthatITgovernanceisoftenperceivedasonerouslyrigid,especiallywhenitcomestoappdevelopment.Placingtherulesof10,orevenfiveyearsagoontoday’stechnologyisnotonlyunwise;itcanalsostifleinnovation.
ItisimperativethatITleadersworkwiththeirpeersinthebusinesstoprioritizestrategictechnologydecisions.Inmanyinstances,thismeansidentifyingandapplyingahierarchytodatatypes,initiatives,projectsand/ordepartmentsthatareofmorestrategicimportancethanothers,potentiallyrequiringmorerigorousgovernancepolicies.Tothatend,someleadingorganizationscreatetiersofapplicationstoputthroughgovernancepolicies,requiringtoptiersofapplicationstobewhollyownedbyIT.
Beyondhierarchiesofapplications,whatisthebestmethodforprovidingthesetechnologysolutions?Customcoding?Purchasingapointsolution?Quicklybuildingonalow-codeplatform?Take,forexample,arequestfromthebusinessforaticketingapplicationtotrackrequestsfromonedepartmenttoanother.Understandingwherethistypeofrequestliesalongthespectrumofappshelpsidentifynotonlywhoshouldbuildtheapplication,butalsowhatsolutionyourITdepartment needs to best meet the needs of the business.
Share | 13
What do organizations seek from formalized IT governance policies?
Better alignment with business strategy
79%Improved value from IT
76%Improved operational performance of IT
64%Improved risk management/ compliance
54%Reduced IT costs
50%
Source:DennisMcCafferty,CIOInsight,“ITGovernance: CIOsLeadtheWay”,March2011.
“IdonotwanttogothroughmyownITorganization’snormalgovernanceprocess to get new applications approved.It’sonerous.Andwetrynowtoonlyworryaboutthosethingsthatarehigh-riskandverycomplexwhen we run applications through the governance process.” — Will Weider, CIO, Ministry Health Care
Share | 14
Lesson 5: Strive to Measure ROI
of Digital Transformation Initiatives
Successfully shepherding organizations through digital transformationrequireswisetechnologyinvestments.Makeonebigpurchasethatflopsortoomanysmallonesthatdon’taddenoughvalue,andyou’relost.Manytechnologyleaders,however,struggletoassesstheROIoftheirinvestments.Herearefourwaysforward-lookingITleaderscanbegintoevaluatethepotentialROIofdigitaltransformation initiatives:
• Userexperience
• Useradoption
• Speedofdeployment
• True cost of ownership
1. User experience & ease-of-useWhenevaluatingorbuildinganewapplication,it’simperativetoexploretheuserexperienceorusability.Asknon-technicalusersforfeedbackthroughusabilitytestingandpost-testingsurveys.Understandingrealusers’painpointsandhowmanystepsittakesthemtocompletetaskswithinanapplicationarefundamentalpartsofanyuserexperienceevaluation.
Share | 15
2. Speed of deploymentSpeedisthecurrencyforadigitallytransformedworld,soplatformsthatcansavetimeonapplicationdeliverycreatemorevalue.Fasterapplicationdeliveryresultsnotonlyinbetterefficiencyinfulfillingbusinessstakeholders’requests,butalsomoreeffectivedeliverywithmoretimeaffordedforprototypinganditeratingonapplicationsagainstnascentbusiness processes.
3. User adoptionIfyouinvesttimeinbuildingapplicationsandusersdon’tusethem,theapplicationsobviouslyarenotrealizingtheirexpectedvalue.Lookat“successful”applicationsinyourorganizationasbenchmarksagainstwhichyoucancomparetherateofadoptionofnewlylaunchedapplicationsandmeasure success. It is also important to note that involving the end users of applications in application production or enabling themtheabilitytocustomize“thelastmile”oftheapplicationgoesaconsiderablewayinensuringbuy-inandadoption.
“Usersalwaysprefertheapplicationwhere the ergonomics are the best. Soifyougivethemtwosolutions—oneiscopyrighted,controlledandsecure,andtheotheroneisnotsecureatallbutiseasytouse— theywillusethesecondone.” —Isaac Sacolick, CIO, Greenwich Associates
Share | 16
“Isitdown,andIgotothevendorandsaytothem,Can I learn how to do basic name and company matching in a week?TheylookatmelikeI’mcrazy.AndIlookatthemandsay,I have to look at another platform.” —Will Weider, CIO, Ministry Health Care
4. True cost of ownership ITleadersoftenreachforoff-the-shelfpointsolutionswithoutconsideringthetotalcostofownership.Bakedintothesetools’pricepointsarenumerousfeaturesthatmayormaynotberelevant.Ifasolutiononlysolvesonepieceofabiggerproblem that must and will be solved with more point solu-tions,itmayendupbeingmoreexpensivethanaplatform,whichmayinitiallyseemmoreexpensive.Includetrainingandadministrativecostsofmultiplesolutions,andthecostofownershipisevenhigher.Findingtheright-sizedsolution—whether it’s a single application or application development platform—canmakeallthedifferencekeepingcostsdown.
Get Started with QuickBase Today
Free30-daytrial. Nocreditcardrequired.
Conclusion: Putting the Lessons into Practice
These lessons highlight the potential need for a low-code
platformforrapidapplicationdevelopment,likeIntuit
QuickBase.IntuitQuickBaseisalow-codeplatformfor
buildingexpressive,scalable,interoperableapplications
fororganizationsofallsizes,withoutcompromisingonIT
governance and controls.
Unlikedevelopmentenvironmentsforhand-codedapplications,
IntuitQuickBaseprovidesaneasy-to-uselow-codeplatform
onwhichcitizendevelopersinbothITandthelineofbusiness
build applications faster than ever. It also enables IT leaders to
elasticallyscalegovernance,asthenumberofbothapplica-
tionsandapplicationbuildersintheirorganizationsgrows.
WithIntuitQuickBase,ITleadersreducetheirbacklogof
requestsbyenablingcitizendeveloperstorapidlyprototype
processes,buildscalableapplications,andmodifythemon
thefly.IntuitQuickBaseisbasedinCambridge,Massachusetts.
Visit us at www.quickbase.com.