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Agile development can boost business development without causing extra costs

Financial service companies can benefit from agile development methodology if it is used properly.

Markku Luoma-Aho / August 14, 2018

First things first: agile development is not the silver bullet which can stop every werewolf stalking your business. It works in the right situations, and, if properly managed and implemented, it can work very well.

The traditional development methods are often costly, slow and the result, whenever they are ready to use, don’t fulfil expectations regarding scope and business targets. This makes agile development a valid alternative. Yet before we advise you on development we have to understand your business. What is the best way forward for us to succeed?  

Knowing our customer 

To begin, we need to understand who you are and what you want to accomplish. We have to know your business, what you want, your goals and fears. We need to understand your knowledge, capabilities and way of working.

There can be real value bringing in a partner like Tieto. Our target is to help find the best business ideas, and your self-analysed goals might not be the best you can do. Moreover, we have the capability to lead development.

One of our maxims is to do it for the customer as if we are doing it for ourselves. We would never deliver an application unless we would use it in our own business. Partnering with agile development fits right into this philosophy.

Be fast and flexible 

Agile development involves cross-functional teams using adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, continuous improvement and flexible responses to change. We can also throw DevOps, supporting tools and flexible environments into the conversation: the unification of development, operations and infrastructure.

The main benefits of these practices are speed and flexibility, as well as increased innovation, which can have a direct impact on your bottom line. If all goes well you can lower development costs and get to market sooner, beating the competition and boosting your sales. Many people claim it is more fun to work with agile development methods, and of course it can result in impressive results as long as discipline is used during the process.

Sometimes there are challenges, be they organisational impediments, unrealistic expectations, trying to apply agile development to inappropriate projects or bringing in the wrong partners. We know what to expect and how to overcome these challenges.

Manage your costs

Agile can be expensive if the way of working is misunderstood.

Can a financial service company succeed and be efficient in delivering best services if they are top-heavy in their ICT personnel? Is this making their development time drag out? Can you attract top ICT talent? Be careful with your mix of in-house talent and partners: there is a big difference in fixed v. flexible arrangements and how these teams learn in constantly developing environments.

A perfect team mix includes shared vision, leadership ability, effective execution, technical capabilities and synchronised speed between the individuals and companies. The most effective companies in business development build these teams regardless of the origin of people and simply make it happen faster than others. 

We want to be your partner

We can help companies choose the most suitable solution for your business requirement and volumes. Agile development can work in this environment.

Tieto can support your growth agenda by helping with the latest customer expectations and technology trends, distribution channels and methods. We can help you bring solutions to the end consumer while ensuring regulatory compliance, and we are building successful ecosystems. We share your goals and have a broad range of cross-industry experience.

If you would like to learn more about how Tieto can help you grow, even in tough environments, please contact me to set up an appointment. You can also find my thoughts on other important topics here.

Markku Luoma-Aho
Head of Financial Services, Tietoevry, Finland

Author

Markku Luoma-Aho

Head of Financial Services, Tietoevry, Finland

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