Even in the most agile of organisations, Enterprise software is still the first choice for third parties. However, most are unwieldy, unfit for purpose, and basically everything we don't need as well as a few things we do. Why and how should we change this?
When working on any large project, the need to use 3rd party applications is inevitable. In companies of all shapes and sizes, from two-man startups to internationally recognised names, there's a reason that Enterprise software continues to be a successful, profitable business model. They're seen as the only way forward, and once you're locked into a licence agreement, it's very hard to extricate the business from it and onto a new platform. However, when Red Badger investigate potential 3rd parties, it can be a never-ending stream of options that becomes quite overwhelming. More often than not we will champion the David over the Goliath. We'll fight for open source even when working with huge multi-national organisations. So why do this, instead of signing up for packages tied in a neat little bow?
5. Why Change?
• Enterprise software is too big to be truly agile
• Jack of all trades, master of none
• If you aren’t in the 1%, you aren’t considered
important
@roisiproven
6. Standard ERP
• Of those features on the right,
only a third are necessary
• Some of the necessary
features are only available as
an “add on purchase”
• $1000+ base licence p/m plus
$100+ per user licence p/m
plus “add ons”
@roisiproven
8. Case Study
• Red Badger worked on a website replatforming
project for a well-known heritage retailer.
• Already started replacement process - Open
Source storefront
• Needed something to connect this to ERP system
• Originally went for a service-based architecture
option from 3rd party
@roisiproven
10. The Wombat Problem
• Wombat - “iPaaS” Integration Platform as a Service
• used to connect Open Source storefront to
Enterprise ERP system
• Parent company bought by First Data
@roisiproven
11. Potential solutions
1. Use the Wombat source code
2. Buy a new solution
3. Build a new solution from scratch
@roisiproven
12. The Solution - Shepherd
• Built using high availability services in AWS for
reliable scalability
• Used deployable infrastructure for complete
flexibility
• ROI break even point of 10 months
@roisiproven
13. Risks around leaving the
Enterprise
• Excessive red tape within an organisation
• Little companies being swallowed by Enterprise
orgs
• Nervousness around up front spend
• Support concerns
@roisiproven
14. Conclusion
• Don’t be afraid to push for custom builds
• Keep it simple
• A shout out to Enterprise companies
@roisiproven
