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In today’s ever-changing construction industry, firms cannot rely for success on just being bigger or faster than their competitors. They need the agility to respond rapidly to shifting customer demands and changing regulations, whilst at the same time second guessing the competition and embracing the latest advances in technology. To make things more difficult, IT systems are often found lacking just when they are needed most. When a company grows, the demands on its IT systems may exceed their capacity or when a new company is acquired it can take an inordinate length of time to get a reliable financial overview of the new larger business. When senior management is stretched to the limit, these IT shortcomings could hardly emerge at a worse time. Managing Successes Successful companies grow, introducing new people and teams into a previously stable working environment, sometimes even introducing additional layers of management, changing the way the organization works and increasing lines of communication. Struggling to manage this growth the last thing Directors need is for IT systems to let them down. But for all sorts of reasons, this is just the time when that often happens. ,For instance, reaching the operational limits of a key software system so that it needs to be upgraded or replaced at short notice - and without the usual budget preparations - with knock-on effects on other systems, leading to a major IT upgrade and retraining project just when the company’s resources need to be directed elsewhere. Preparing for acquisitions and mergers The construction press features merger and acquisition stories almost every week, some on a massive scale. After each one, the managers of the new enlarged company need visibility of its entire financial and operational position to inform any decisions they need to make about restructuring and streamlining the business. To achieve this they need access to historic data and current transactional information to understand how each part of the business is contributing to the whole. Add to this list the vast array of ‘legacy’ systems still in use, long after technology has moved on. Whenever two or more companies merge, it is almost inevitable that they will currently be using different systems, often in different ways from each other. Before reaching a coherent picture of how the business is performing, it may be necessary to devise reporting systems to read from each financial system, port data from one system to the other or even replace a core IT system altogether, just when the IT teams and accounts departments are learning to work together. Embarking on a new business direction Increasingly companies are diversifying into new areas to seek improved returns, such as adding off-site manufacturing to their general contracting portfolio, reaping the efficiency, quality and safety benefits of factory working whilst still delivering a completed project on site. Other companies decide that they need to specialise to compete, changing they way they have operated for years. The IT significance of these changes is that few envisaged them when the current IT systems were bought. For example, a contractor who buys a financials package incorporating project cost control and change management may find it does everything they want, untilthey branch out into off-site construction, bringing new demands on their IT systems or forcing them to replace them altogether with a more comprehensive package. Reacting to unexpected external factors Sometimes we see external factors coming and we can prepare our businesses, and our IT systems, for them. Changes in legislation and the tax system for example are beyond our control, but they tend to be announced well in advance and the nature of the change is thoroughly documented. This allows software vendors or IT departments to make necessary amendments before go-live Other factors, not always foreseen, in competitors bringing new products to market or advances in technology raising the level of customers’ expectations. Whatever happens, now know that sooner or later the IT systems will be called on to adopt or evolve Introducing agile solutions IT managers in construction need to be able to identify these shortcomings in their legacy systems, and, crucially, to prevent compounding their problems when they select replacement systems, which must be as agile as their businesses have to be - able to adapt and evolve. Hence the need for agile solutions, a class apart from conventional software. I have created a checklist to help businesses recognize agile solutions from the wide range of other software available: (1) An agile solution can adapt to suit your business. If a software vendor suggests a different way of running your business, ask yourself whether it is because the software you are being offered cannot cope with the way you want to work? (2) An agile solution is able to adapt to changes after implementation. If a business is to remain agile then its business systems need to be able to adapt to changes during its working life. A truly agile solution will take these in its stride. (3) An agile solution will provide all necessary information at every level of your business, in real time. There is no longer any need for different departments, disciplines and management levels to use different software to do their work. They simply need a different view on the same information in order to work effectively. Windows clients, web clients, personal portals and mobile devices all have their strengths and weaknesses. (4) An agile solution is truly component based. If a project based cost control system for example is to adapt to a new way of working then it may need to undergo some fairly major changes without interrupting the current users. A reliable way of achieving this is to employ a modular software structure based on a truly component based architecture. (5) Agile solutions are based on open software standards Even today, far too many software vendors tie their customers into their own interpretation of connectivity and reporting standards. For a solution to be considered truly ‘agile’ it must employ open software standards, allowing the customer the choice of how systems are to be interfaced and by whom. (6) An agile solution leaves the customer in control Some software may be bought direct from the author whereas some may only be purchased through resellers. Even some of the apparently independent software vendors turn out to be owned by remote companies far removed from the software writing and support. A vital question to ask then is who actually controlsthe future of the product? You do not want to hear “we can’t do that, it’s against company policy” the next time you ask for a modification to support a new business requirement. (7) Agile solutions promote a rapid return on investment In the medium to long term buying the right software system should give a positive return on investment, but in the short term it is a significant cost and that money needs to come from somewhere. The modular nature of agile solutions enables customers to invest first in those areas that cause them greatest difficulty at the moment and so the areas that are most likely to offer swift returns. Starting with a relatively modest investment and thereby minimizing the risk of the project, each module proves itself before others are brought online. (8) Agile solutions embrace up-to-date technologies as standard. A Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is widely considered a ‘must have’ technology in modern software. SOA first became available in the mid 1990s when just a few pioneering companies adopted it as their standard for development. A sound track record of successful SOA development is vital if a vendor is to produce truly agile solutions. Without it, substantial development resources must be spent catching up rather than working on customer driven requirements. In short then, construction software needs to be at least as agile as the firms it supports. It needs to be well written, using up-to-date technologies, employing a flexible component-based architecture and have the backing of a vendor with a real commitment to its customer’s future success. Only then can it be said to be an agile solution.
About IFS and IFS Applications
IFS (OMX: IFS), the global enterprise applications company, provides solutions which enable organizations to respond quickly to market changes - allowing resources to be used in a more agile way to achieve better business performance and competitive advantage. IFS was founded in 1983 and now has 2,600 employees worldwide. IFS has pioneered component-based ERP software with IFS Applications, now in its seventh generation. IFS’ component architecture provides solutions that are easier to implement, run and upgrade. IFS Applications is available in 54 countries in 22 languages. IFS has over 600,000 users across seven key vertical sectors: aerospace & defense; automotive; high-tech; industrial manufacturing; process industries; construction, service & facilities management and utilities & telecom. IFS Applications provides extended ERP functionality including customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), product lifecycle management (PLM), corporate performance management (CPM), enterprise asset management (EAM) and maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities.
For additional information, contact:
Shaloma John, Marketing Executive, IFS Sri Lanka
E-mail: shaloma.john@ifs.lk
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