The IT industry is rapidly going through diverse innovation, and software companies must learn to specialize in creating digital solutions that cater to myriad client needs if they want to stay ahead of the competition. They should have the expertise to offer a range of services, including product engineering, custom development, technology partnerships, mobile app development, and Offshore Development Center (ODC) services.
More than ever before, organizations are on the lookout for digital solutions encompassing the entire gamut of possible digital enablement models and technology partnerships. To align their services with this need for all-inclusive digitalization, service providers must redefine their positioning. The focus should not be limited to software development; service providers must project themselves as holistic digital platform development companies.
Companies should be able to pick and choose from a plethora of methodologies that are constantly evolving such as DevOps, Feature Driven Development (FDD), Scrum, Lean, DevSecOps, and Kanban; even as new ones keep getting introduced.
In this article, we will decode what it means for a digital platform development provider to follow a holistic approach to digital platform development:
A successful digital platform development company provides a comprehensive suite of tools to develop market-ready digital platforms that satisfy customer needs and do not yield errors post-production. Their expertise lies in delivering customized, scalable, and innovative digital solutions to meet the unique requirements of their clients. Here are some important aspects of digital platform development:
1)Product Engineering
This consists of everything from conceptualization and design to the development, testing, and deployment of the digital platform. The company works closely with clients to understand their requirements, create prototypes, and build scalable, robust, and customer-centric digital solutions.
2)Custom Development
The creation of tailor-made digital platforms or related solutions that address specific business needs is an essential function to succeed in the marketplace. There must be continuous collaboration with clients to identify their unique requirements and develop customized digital solutions to meet those needs precisely.
3)Technology Partnerships
This entails building long-term collaborative relationships with clients. The company acts as a strategic partner, leveraging its technical expertise to help clients brainstorm toward realizing their business goals. This can involve providing technological guidance, consulting services, and ongoing maintenance and support.
4)Mobile App Development
In a mobile-first world, creating applications for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets today is a basic requirement to become a serious digital platform development industry player. The company should have expertise in developing native or cross-platform mobile apps, ensuring they are user-friendly and compatible across different platforms.
5) ODC Services
These involve setting up an Offshore Development Center, where a dedicated team works exclusively for a client. This team becomes an extension of the client’s in-house development team with additional expertise, collaborating closely to develop, maintain, and support digital platforms or products.
When it comes to the development of digital platforms, there are a variety of methodologies that can do wonders for the development workflow and ultimately, the end product. They can either speed up the turnaround time, form a better team structure for development, or reduce the associated costs in addition to other enhancements. Here are some popular methodologies and how they improve the digital platform development process:
1)Waterfall Model: The Waterfall methodology follows a sequential approach with distinct stages of development. It begins with requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Each phase must be completed before moving to the next. This model is suitable for projects with well-defined and stable requirements but may be less adaptable to unforeseen changes.
2)Agile Model: Agile is an iterative approach that emphasizes flexibility and collaboration in addition to adaptive planning and continuous feedback. Development is divided into short iterations called sprints. Agile allows for changes and adjustments at any step throughout the development process, making it more responsive to evolving needs.
3)Scrum: Scrum is a subset of Agile that emphasizes teamwork and iterative development. Development work in this case is also divided into time-boxed iterations called sprints, wherein the teams have daily meetings to discuss progress, challenges, and plan work. Scrum promotes self-organization, collaboration, and frequent adaptation. It suits more complex and advanced projects with evolving technology stacks and requirements.
4)Kanban: Kanban is a visual system that limits Work in Progress (WIP) and optimizes “flow”. Work items are represented on a Kanban board, a comprehensive requirements dashboard, with columns representing stages. Kanban sets WIP limits to ensure smoother flow. It emphasizes continuous improvement and is useful for managing tasks with varying priorities and requirements that may fluctuate often.
5)Lean Development: Lean focuses on eliminating waste, maximizing value, and making continuous improvements to the digital product. It aims to deliver value rapidly through small, incremental changes. Lean prioritizes customer satisfaction, while reducing unnecessary work, and optimizes resource utilization and the resources themselves. It encourages collaboration, feedback loops, and efficiency in the delivery of the digital product.
6)DevOps: DevOps combines development and operations practices and the associated skill-based teams. It promotes collaboration and automation, further streamlining the delivery and deployment of the digital solution. DevOps focuses on continuous integration, delivery, and deployment. It enables faster releases, rapid problem resolution, and a focus on always delivering high-quality digital platforms.
A software development company can take a holistic approach by understanding the client’s overall business objectives and converting these into a digital solution or application.
This involves conducting a thorough analysis of the company’s existing processes, systems, and customer touchpoints. Here are some tips for a digital platforms development company to implement for long-term success in maintaining their client relationships and being able to give healthy competition to other players in the marketplace:
1)Understand the Business Needs: The first step in any digital platform development project is to understand the business needs that the solution is intended to satisfy. This requires communicating clearly with the business stakeholders to gather requirements, identify pain points, and define potential success metrics.
2)Ensure Scalability and Flexibility: Limitless flexibility can be ensured by using modular and extensible architecture, adopting cloud-based infrastructure, and implementing database solutions that can be scaled at will. Implementation of these methods can help accommodate future growth and adapt to changing client requirements.
3)Develop High-Quality Code: Develop high-quality code that is well-tested, clearly annotated, and secure. This requires using coding standards, code refactoring, and implementing Test-Driven Development (TDD) practices.
4)Involve all Stakeholders: The digital platform development process should involve all stakeholders, including business users, developers, testers, and internal operations staff. This will help to ensure that the product meets the needs of all stakeholders and that it can be successfully deployed and operated in production without a hitch.
5)Use a DevOps Approach: A DevOps approach to development can help to continuously improve the speed, reliability, and security of the delivery of the end product. DevOps is a culture that brings together developers, operations, and security teams to work together to deliver digital platforms quickly, holistically, and effectively.
6)Continuous Learning: The digital platform development landscape is constantly evolving, so it is important for digital platform development companies to continuously learn about new technology stacks and methodologies of lifecycle implementation. This will help companies to stay ahead of the competition and deliver innovative digital solutions to keep up with evolving customer demands.
A seasoned technology partner would understand the specific business needs and goals of their clients, involving all stakeholders from the beginning, and fostering effective communication throughout the development lifecycle. Emphasizing continuous feedback and iteration enables the incorporation of client feedback and ensures the final product aligns with their expectations. A seasoned Digital Platform Development Company like Unthinkable Solutions can enable its clients to deliver successful and impactful digital platforms that meet their objectives and satisfy the end-user.
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