We all know the reality of the enterprise environment. Organizational size can often be a double-edged sword—big enough to apply resources to fuel innovation, yet too big to be nimble enough to jump-start the creative process. In other words, larger enterprises have the resources to innovate, yet far too often they are not able to execute.

Why is that? For many larger organizations, they first tend to be more firmly rooted in ensuring that all systems stay up-and-running as-is. This is often due to legacy IT systems and architectures that represent current embedded revenue generation—paired with a lack of bandwidth and verticalized expertise, which impedes the ability to expedite new approaches to product development strategies and execution.

So what do enterprises do to address this seemingly ever-looming innovation challenge? Well, the good news is that they can ensure size does not stand in the way of progress—but they will need help. Outside help.

The first step is finding the service provider. Lord knows the world is full of companies claiming to solve enterprise challenges—but many often fall short due to a lack of experience, or simply a lack of knowledge in a particular vertical market. My recommendation here is to seek out and vet a multitude of companies—finding the best fit for your particular situation. And yes, I know that’s a task that is easier said than done.

Perhaps the best way to look at it is through the focused lens of skill-sets, processes, and innovation. Enterprise Software Services come in a multitude of flavors. However, many of those services simply fit into the category of antiquated software development—rarely, if ever, delivering something tangible and successful.

Instead, what the right Enterprise Software Services provider should claim (and subsequently deliver) is the ability to bring you true-to-form, end-to-end, full-lifecycle software product development and support—ensuring the strongest and most positive user experience possible.

So how do you know this will be accomplished by the partner you select? This is where proven processes come in. Put simply, your partner should be able to unequivocally prove their ability to define your business case and market advantage, create a product roadmap built for scale and innovation, and develop a scalable solution. They should also be able to demonstrate their prowess to launch your new and updated applications in the cloud, and then manage them post-launch.

Your partner should have proven Agile development processes, and state-of-the-art infrastructure expertise—enabling them to define, design and develop solutions in a fraction of the time of antiquated approaches. These skills would ideally also include the use of modern languages, frameworks, tools, other software programs and systems to leverage existing components and improve upon existing systems with modern approaches to development.

Moreover, your partner should have the skill-sets and know-how to enable advanced technical architecture and infrastructure to support a better, enhanced user experience—and provide predictable, scalable development cycles for improved accuracy on timeline to delivery.

In the end, the right partner is hard to find. But once you do find them, they will be an integral part of your business growth and success for years to come. Got questions? Reach out to me directly—let’s discuss what you require and how to get there—we’re always here to help.