Door opener for digital innovations

In most cases, new data-based business models are created by combining data from different sources and processing and supplementing it with additional added value.

Traditional IT infrastructures are overwhelmed with this task. Their inert processes and data silos make it hard to get a consolidated and dynamic view of it.

This requires a new type of agile interaction between different IT systems and their data sources. Knowledge of digital technologies, their trends, processes, and laws is becoming a decisive competitive factor that often determines the success or failure of a company of the future more than industry knowledge and financial resources combined.

Open source solutions offer a great opportunity in this respect, and their acceptance is also increasing permanently in the enterprise environment. The software is immediately available and easy to adapt to one's own needs.

The necessary knowledge can also be obtained from communities and documentation on the Internet. New insights and improvements to the code itself thus flow back quickly and create additional added value at a high speed.

This creates scope for innovative applications, increases investment security and reduces the dreaded vendor lock-in. This is an important factor for enterprise software in particular.

In addition, open source software is often characterized by the provision of open interfaces and integrations with other systems without limitations, which means that the necessary networking in the age of digitalization can proceed quickly.

The disadvantages of open source software include the sometimes complex licensing conditions, the often numerous dependencies and the time-consuming evaluation of the longer-term stability and existence of such a project.

A great deal of expertise is therefore required when selecting suitable open source applications. Ultimately, there is no patent recipe for digitization that can be applied to every company.

The first priority should always be to review the current state with regard to the IT landscape, the degree of utilization of the most important applications and data, the know-how and the culture in the company.

It should also be clarified how the digital landscape can be optimized, what level of digital skills the company has, which applications make it fit for digitization, and what investments are necessary.

In perspective, the goal should be to link the corresponding processes, methods and (open source) technologies of digitization in such a way that a kind of "assembly line for ideas" can be created, on which product ideas and improvements are implemented extremely quickly and their business value is gradually checked and concretized.

A good digital platform starts precisely here. It defines the process for selecting and implementing new open source technologies as well as their use in the cloud and iterative, agile processes for continuous improvement of the product.

Although the focus should be on improving products and their business value, agile standardization of processes and technologies should also be considered. Because what is standard today may already be obsolete tomorrow.

However, such environments must first be created and implemented. They require a deep understanding of the methods and technologies of digitization, especially at the beginning.

It is advisable to get experts on board right from the start who are familiar with the technologies, can assist in selecting suitable open source applications, and can also provide support in the implementation phase when piloting the use cases.