From a fragmented IT landscape to a clear portfolio of apps
You generally don’t get a low-code platform to create a single application. It can be done, but it feels a bit like shooting a gun at a gnat. After all, the more you deploy a low-code platform, the more return you get out of it. By thinking carefully about what to use the low-code platform for, you can move from a fragmented IT landscape to a clear portfolio of apps. In this blog, Jan Ickroth, partner at Mendify, talks about how to approach this process.
1. Inventory existing applications.
In many companies, a diversity of applications has developed over the years. Some are applications – standard or custom – that are outdated, sometimes not even supported anymore. Other applications were built by the business itself. While these shadow IT applications carry risk, they also say something about what needs exist in the organization. With a low-code platform, you can bring back uniformity in your organization. Take an inventory of all applications – within IT’s sphere of influence and beyond – and replace them with low-code applications. This is how you’ll sweep through your fragmented IT landscape and lay the foundation of your portfolio.
2. Look at your backlog
A second set of applications that you can build very quickly with the low-code platform are based on your backlog. These are needs that have existed in your organization for some time, but have not yet had time to actively address. By fulfilling these needs with the right applications, you are accelerating your organization. If you do that with Mendix’s low-code platform, you immediately know for sure that all those applications are cloud-agnostic – and therefore cloud-ready.
3. Differentiate
Complete your portfolio with apps that are very specific to differentiation. These applications are like the turbo on your business. If, as a company, you manage to put the processes that are unique to your business in the smartest way possible, with the right technology, that has an impact on your distinctiveness. That gives you a competitive edge.
Apply three phases
We find that some organizations find it quite difficult to make the transition to a low-code platform. How do you adopt such a platform in a scalable way, while also ensuring speed and quality? Our colleague Jeroen previously wrote a great blog about the Start-Structure-Scale method, a method for getting to know the Mendix platform and all its capabilities step by step.
Inspired?
A portfolio exercise also requires quite a bit from an organization. You don’t do that on a backroom afternoon; the process is too important for that. Need some help setting up that process? We are happy to help you, both in the preparatory phase where you set your goals and direction, and in the execution phase. Feel free to contact us without obligation, we would love to get to know you.