10 Warning SignsHave You Outgrown Your Solutions?

Refuse to Fail

Where Do You Stand?• On a day-to-day basis, things are going ok. • Everyone knows how to do their job and where to get

information if they need it• Everything runs – perhaps not perfectly, but it runs• It is easy to be complacent

• But there are times when:• It seems like the figures for quotes could get back to you

sooner• It takes days for departments to prepare reports for board

meetings• It takes over a week to get inventory standings • And other little moments that make you wonder….

Are We Building “Solution Debt?”• Are we good enough? Ever?• Are we prepared for the future? Whatever comes?• Or are we just fooling ourselves?• Building up solution debt that we will have to pay back with

interest at some point…• It is hard to know.• Have you outgrown the business systems and technology that

supports your operations?• Is a major disruption just around the corner? • Are the systems you’re using hobbling your business? Making

you less nimble and able to meet your competition?

Take Stock of Your Standing• We meet with clients all the time who are unsure of their

standing and ask:• Have we waited too long? • Are we facing some big costs, “uplifts” or a need for new systems and

applications?• Can we go at this incrementally or do we have to take on a large,

transformational project?• Not knowing is uncomfortable

• There are warning signs you can look for to assess your standing• We’re not suggesting a full digital transformation for anyone. • It may be the best outcome in the long run but right now, just try to

determine where you stand, and what you could address…

10 Warning Signs• These areas are

generalized• They may not be all you

need to consider but• They are things we have

found in many engagements with clients in the field• They are important for any

service or systems-dependent organization (and we are all getting there)

1. Gr0wing Pains• Maybe your business has

been stable for a long time but• Now your are growing and

perhaps looking at significant growth in the future

• What is significant growth? • Depends on your size and

ability to scale but for most you will start to get beyond 20% you could see significant pressure on your systems

1. Gr0wing Pains• But, you may not realize the

situation you are in until your growth hits 30-40%.• We all tend to be a bit

conservative and the stability of our growth patterns

• It isn’t until the constraints that are built into our systems begin to restrict the volume we can handle and our customer experience that it begins to hurt

1. Growing Pains• Expanding into a new region or setting up a new unit

may expose the issues too• When you try to duplicate the systems and processes you

have to a new location you begin to see the gaps, the assumptions and work-arounds you have been living with

• The same may be true when you consolidate, pull a department or site back in• Bringing units together exposes the differences and

inefficiencies you didn’t expect or give you a vision of what could be more efficient, more nimble

1. Growing Pains• Regardless of how you get there…• In this and all the other areas you need to record these

“learnings” and insights before they are lost – they will be if you don’t act

• Changes in size and volume (up or down) are opportunities to look at your systems and ask – are they really serving you?• Is the off-the-shelf solution you started with still serving you?• Is the app you had written several years ago still covering

the core of your business? Will it continue to scale with your business? • Are teams finding ways to “work with what they have” – and

making their work less efficient, standard, and scalable? • These are all questions related to growth and its impact

2. More Mobile• It’s happening to everyone• We’ve been living in a “desk-bound” paradigm but the

reality is we’re being pushed to be more mobile. • Clients, partners, and co-workers expect us to be available

on demand with our information and systems – anytime, anywhere

• If you get a call from a critical client during off hours• Can you give them a standing for their items or project from

information you can access on your mobile device? • Can you change something if you need to remotely? Or do

you have to call someone else, access a system another way or go into the office?

2. More Mobile• Maybe you can get into your systems from mobile devices but

• Are the apps you use really optimized for mobile or just screen-scrapes from a standard app? Can you change anything or is it just read-only?• A lot of applications have been “made mobile” but they aren’t really setup

to take advantage of the devices properly. • Mobile apps are increasingly important

• Providing information and access for field operations, when they need them, where they need them and in a quick to access configuration• Completing transactions in the same way y0u would in the office –

sending notifications to the right people, updating information in real time• If you aren’t fully mobile, are you actually agile and nimble

enough?

3. Security is an Afterthought• There was a time when “security

by obscurity” was good enough• There are literally thousands of

devices that can be hacked simply by using their default password – or even just the word – password.

• The recent Internet of Things (IoT) hack that was targeted at the core of the domain name system was from exactly this type of device – but the truth is corporate devices are not any more secure

3. Security is an Afterthought• Legacy applications can hold many surprises• Passwords and sensitive data not properly encrypted• Fall-back to lower level of security for data transport because

the app doesn’t have current libraries and methods available• What will stop unauthorized actors from changing data ?• Is the legacy app a backdoor into an otherwise modern and

secure network?• Security must cover more than unauthorized access• What if someone implements ransomware on your network?

• Always on, always connected apps are the norm. Is your suite up to the challenge?

4. IT Stack is a Patchwork• Applications require supporting environments• Operating systems, protocols, languages, and more

• When you entire suite is about the same age, from the same general technology, and use the same basic stack – it isn’t a problem• But over time, as new apps are brought in and new

technologies are fielded, IT environments can become home to many legacy and different environments that become harder to manage and justify• Because it happens so gradually, out of sight, it doesn’t

become a problem of importance until the support for an environment sunsets, becomes unstable or insecure

4. IT Stack is a Patchwork • Application stacks require licenses, proper hardware or hardware

emulation, monitoring and maintenance • As apps become legacy, their environments can require skills and

knowledge that is not easily retained• The longer an application is in production, without regular maintenance

and updates, the more of a risk it becomes. If it is a core app, you can literally be running on a thin edge

• To some degree, these problems can be contained by virtualization• But even then, options narrow and costs raise as applications age

• Patchwork stacks are a risk, complicate needed maintenance, and usually increase costs, especially when support for their environments sunset. They can be a serious risk.

5. Clouds are a Hazy Dream• Cloud computing was

once only promoted by IT professionals• It is now widely accepted

as a standard of business application deployment• But it is still used naively

in SMB operations where it could have a very democratizing impact

5. Clouds are a Hazy Dream• Consider• Cloud computing has

lowered prices and opened up access to some of the most advanced technology available for ordinary business operations• Costs are low• Security, reliability,

scalability are all much higher and continually increasing because of the impact of many deployments across industries

5. Clouds are a Hazy Dream• But there is a cost of entry

• Staff knowledge and experience to apply the right capabilities to your needs and manage it properly• Most IT teams can’t spend the time and effort to keep up with the field

• You applications need to be optimized for virtual environments• A simple “uplift” to the cloud is not always a good answer. The design and architecture

of your apps may simply make it impossible to optimize them in the best way• If your core business is not in itself technical, outsourcing the

planning and development of cloud apps can be the best way to leverage capabilities• But in-house or outsourced, if you are able to take advantage of the

opportunities of cloud computing, you are hobbling your business for the future.

6. Everyone has a Workaround• When an app is put into

production, people often complain about what is seen as “little things”• After a time the noise goes

away, people accept that things aren’t going to change. Instead they find workarounds

6. Everyone has a Workaround• Workarounds can take many

forms• Notes on paper• Adding odd characters in fields

that allow them to flag something, but have no meaning to others

• Using spreadsheets as ways of providing more detail or information for transactions

• Using email as a means of getting approvals or tracking transactions instead of using the system itself

• And more…

6. Everyone Has a Workaround• Business evolves• But in many cases the core systems that support a business

do not. • People find work arounds• When you try to extract or interpret application data, or

streamline the systems they embody – you’re not getting the complete picture of how your operation works• Data is incomplete and unreliable

• The longer your applications have been around – the more workarounds and holes in your information that will exist. You can count on it.

7. Crossing Many Systems to get One Answer• Imagine a product manager• Wants to find out how many times a product has been

returned or sent for repairs in the last year• To complete the report, he wants to link instances to the

customers involved to see if a pattern can be discerned• Could that be done on one system in most businesses?

• If you are using an ERP – perhaps this is easy• But there are a lot of medium to small businesses that don’t

intend to change their entire stack of applications for dependence on one core system. They understand the cost and disruption involved…

7. Crossing Many Systems to get One Answer• The truth is most businesses grow over a long period

of time• Departmental silos rise and fall• Leadership goes in many directions• Systems become islands that are hard to navigate

transparently• Is your inventory management hooked to your CRM?

Probably not. The two systems may even have completely different customer IDs. • A lot of customer management may be on spreadsheets in

sales laptops• Incremental growth and application silos are one of

the biggest threats to business agility and nimble response to change.

8. Paper. Stacks and Stacks• Everyone thinks they have

addressed this one – until they try to find information• In truth, it is a workaround

but it exists to such a large extent we sometimes miss the importance. • To be accessed, paper

records need to be transcribed. They cannot be updated or changed dynamically

8. Paper. Stacks and Stacks• Paper is the last resort when

our technology fails us• But it grows in cabinets and on

our desks without even slowing down

• It is also revealing• It shows the reports we don’t

have online, the data we have to extract to understand our results, the apps we don’t have, the interdepartmental collaboration that is vital to our operations

9. Same Problems, Over and Over Again• This is as much a problem of communication as anything, but

it still exists• One person has a problem• Another person has a similar problem, but they don’t share their

issues and can’t see that both problems have the same root cause• Repeat across the entire organization

• Until it becomes a crisis, this undercurrent is rarely tracked• When it does, it may become a difficult issue that could have been

solved much easier and sooner when it first appeared. • Collaboration, open discussions can help, but if problems are

not addressed – the openness doesn’t last. And the problems are still out there.

Skills, Expectations, Costs & Recruiting• Every business executive can

see this one coming• The cost of talent acquisition and

retention to address the problems you have and discover never ends – and it isn’t cheap

• You’re right to be concerned about it – especially if your assessment of your needs reveals important shortcomings• When you find the problems, the

opportunities to improve your systems – What’s next? How do you move forward?

We Would Like to Help• Scio provides end-to-end

engineering services in a collaborative partnership with our clients• We ensure your team is part of

the solutions you require• We offer a wide range of skills

and experience in teams for a variety of situations and industries

• Our teams can work with you on your site, virtually or in any combination you need.

• Contact us. We’re ready.