10 Steps to Building a Digital Business Technology Platform
1. Capabilities and Vision
A digital vision and supporting capabilities for delivering value to consumers represent the company's digital ambitions. You'll need to decide on the abilities you'll develop, the order in which they'll be developed, and the period in which they'll be developed. Sequencing establishes the assumption that this is a multi-part, long-term journey, with the first important destination being a minimal viable product (MVP) that demonstrates progress and allows you to validate that the DBTP works.
2. Sequenced Goals
Define the many metrics that will be used to evaluate success. Some may be traditional corporate key performance indicators that evaluate operational or financial performance improvement, while others will be digital business metrics that demonstrate how far the firm has moved toward its objectives.
3. Long-term Budgeting
Digital business is a capability that must be funded on an annual basis rather than as a one-time project.
80% of companies with more than $5 billion in annual revenue spend more than $5 million on digital business software and professional services each year. 90% of firms with $1 billion to $5 billion in revenue spend more than $2 million each year.
4. Organization System
On its digital business platform, 75% of global firms employ at least 50 workers. These cross-functional teams include software architects, cloud professionals, data analysts, and business application specialists. Only 45% of organizations place the DBTP team within the IT umbrella. Assign internal workers who are willing to upskill to obtain the necessary abilities, and supplement with external resources.
5. Service Providers
Almost every firm works with a service provider to develop its DBTP. Organizations commonly utilize providers to help with technology selection (70%), goal formulation (66%), and long-term growth and maintenance (64%).
6. Plan For Skill Development
Service providers will ultimately go, and in-house teams must be ready to take over. Begin by compiling a list of required abilities, estimating how many employees will require them and when they will be required, as well as identifying any in-house shortages. Decide which talents you'll train and which you'll need to recruit, and include continuous training and development into your workers' weekly work routines.
7. Choose Your Technologies
Organizations that are more successful in attaining their digital business goals employ a greater variety of innovative technologies and approaches. Cloud-native application architecture, Agile/DevOps application development methodologies, event-driven architecture, and so on are all examples of this type of design. The majority of DBTPs are developed on the cloud, in part to save initial expenses and allow the platform to go live fast on a tight budget. As the capabilities (and value) of the system grow, so do the costs.
8. Integration and API Strategies
The numerous applications and technological capabilities that flow into and out of the DBTP necessitate effective and secure integration. Many businesses employ a mesh app and service architecture (MASA), which includes an outer layer of APIs for connecting to user-facing apps and controlling traffic, as well as an inner layer of APIs for linking application systems and microservices within the platform.
9. Create an MVP and Deploy
After the architecture has been established, the teams may begin developing capabilities. You may assign various groups to work on different feature sets and stories at the same time. Prioritize skills that can be swiftly built and evaluated in real-world scenarios — even before the team has completed the MVP.
10. Scale and Extend Your Business
With the value established, the team can focus on developing the platform capabilities identified as important to achieving the organization's digital goals. Revisit and redefine the aim and related competencies on a regular basis to keep up with market developments. Relevant technologies will improve as well, revealing the necessity for revisions to the initial architecture.
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