Three recognisable entry points
Most questions about technology start with one of these three situations. Each entry point leads to its own in-depth section.
- 1.We are missing a useful application. Read more about software development via Developer as a Service.
- 2.Our process involves too much manual work. Read more about automation.
- 3.We want to use AI in a targeted way. Read more about AI applications.
What falls under technology
Technology for us is not a goal in itself, but a collection of means that support a task. It concerns websites, portals, internal tools, dashboards, links between systems and existing software already in use by an organisation.
A portal, for example, allows a customer to view a status or supplement missing information. A dashboard supports a decision by showing the right data clearly. A link prevents the same data from having to be entered again.
An internal tool often supports one specific task, such as preparing a file or keeping track of a schedule. A website also remains the first point of contact for visitors, but only functions well when the information behind it is up-to-date and accessible.
Existing software also explicitly counts in this overview. A package that has been in use for years can become a lot more useful with a targeted adjustment or link, without anything new having to be developed.
First the trade-off, then the solution
Before anything is developed, we look at three possible routes: better utilization of existing software, linking systems together, or developing something supplementary. Custom work is not automatically the starting point.
Sometimes an existing package turns out to be able to do more than is being used. Sometimes a link between two systems already solves the biggest bottleneck. Only when those routes offer insufficient results do we work out a new application.
This sequence prevents an organisation from starting a major development for a problem that could be solved with less drastic means. It also prevents the opposite: an outdated system being held onto for too long because a replacement was never considered.
Automation and AI as two perspectives
Where software development often revolves around a new application, automation is about recognising recurring steps in an existing process. With AI applications, it is specifically about the question of where a language model can support a defined task, while maintaining human control.
These two perspectives sometimes overlap. An automated step can, for example, use AI to recognise text, while the rest of the process works with fixed rules.
Software development via an ongoing collaboration
All our software development runs via Developer as a Service, abbreviated as DaaS. That is an ongoing collaboration with a roadmap and a prioritised worklist, not a fixed project with a fixed price and a fixed end date.
On the page about software development via DaaS, we explain the full working method, including the role you have as a customer in it.
The connection with marketing
A better campaign helps only to a limited extent when the resulting request subsequently gets stuck somewhere. Software, in turn, is only useful when people can work with it and the chosen task actually improves as a result.
That is a trade-off that turns out differently per situation, not a fixed diagnosis. For the other side of that trade-off, see our approach to marketing.
In practice, marketing and technology questions often come to the table together. An application form that converts poorly can be a marketing problem, but just as well a consequence of a cumbersome process behind it.
A practical example
In the Kitchen Studio case, you can read how intake, file and available product information have been brought together more effectively, while the personal conversation and the sketch maintain a fixed place in the process.
If you want to understand how technology choices relate to the rest of the organisation, then upMention Intelligence is a good next step.
What this overview is not intended for
We are happy to discuss your specific situation with you. Each of the three in-depth sections goes deeper into the trade-offs, the working method and the role you have as a customer yourself.
If you are still unsure which entry point fits best, it helps to first enter into a conversation about the situation itself, instead of already choosing a solution direction.