Technology - Co-develop or Deploy as-a-Service?

Can we do without technology?

Technology has moved from being a good-to-have luxury supplement to being an integral element of any process, department, company, or industry. Technology includes hardware systems, software programs, storage spaces, connecting devices, clouds, and the integration of all of these. The spectrum of technology has also changed from being present on-premises (private) to on-the-Internet (public, public-private). Every industry has been embedded with technology for almost all processes and functions in some way or another. Mobiles, apps, and networks, which are prevalent in our everyday lives, are a part of individual and business techn ology. And we cannot do without them.

Technology ranges from generic/off-the-shelf products to highly customized packages. And it can be customized for every process, function, region, company, and industry.

We can do without technology, but it would mostly be in a space where nature cannot be changed by technology. For all else, technology needs to be used as an aid to growth and not as growth itself.

Developing Technology in-house

Although technology is very pervasive, not every company can manage technology by themselves. Companies - small in size or not specialized with technology skills - may or may not be able to develop technology in-house. Also, technology skills vary with emerging and changing trends, which might make non-tech companies lose their core focus. It is advisable to have a Technology team if it is a strategic requirement and not just operational.

Developing a technology stack from scratch might require deep skills and a long time for implementation. If there are open-framework products/services available, then buying these and then getting them customized with expert help is a much quicker process. Also, in such scenarios, the products are supported with updates and upgrades.

In the case of smaller products, which can be developed with generic tech. skills for the develop-deploy-maintain lifecycle of the product, it can then be built and nurtured in-house. These in-house products can also be revenue-generating if they can be sold to companies that have similar requirements.

Collaborating to provide Technology-as-a-Service

Other alternatives to developing the technology stack in-house are collaborating with custom development tech companies that cater to such requirements. This is a better possibility if time is a constraint and also if the decision is more operational than strategic. The tech. lifecycle consists of need-build-maintain-renew phases for sustaining the utility over the long term.

Collaboration can happen in many forms:

1. Have the tech company build and maintain the tech. ecosystem for you

2. Have the tech company provide resources to build and maintain the systems

3. Have the tech company deploy an already built ecosystem for you

4. Have the tech company enhance your skills and build the required ecosystem - co-develop the ecosystem in a way to generate revenues too and many more.

There are unlimited approaches to collaboration.

Eventually, technology has to be embedded and integrated for the effective functioning of business life. This can be done in as many different ways as technology is developed in the marketplace.

Whether you would like to Co-develop or Deploy-as-a-Service, Stream can help you with its Advisory services, as to which is a more suitable option and also help you develop and/or deploy the technology.