In helping the leadership team of a successful IT security enterprise software developer and management company map out their next 10 years, we found an unexpected but highly ownable and profitable space for them to migrate to, even imagining an innovative new SAAS product platform to get them there.
Client:
Webtractive
Webtractive had been a successful web development company for 10 years, focusing on database and security products. As their work and clientele were highly private, going into their 11th year, they were unknown in the broader development space. They wanted a new direction outside of infosecurity in the financial market for their next decade, and while their strengths were in custom security and database programming, they wanted to consider both new markets and new customer segment(s), while developing their brand identity in “web development” and a marketing plan with creative assets for 12–24 months.
Objectives: Develop new 10-year strategy – complete overhaul of market, category, vertical. Marketing plan & assets, new product and platform design.
While we were trained in analyzing various markets and product segments for gaps and new entry opportunities, and we started by looking in the development space itself, ultimately, we pulled up further to analyze at the industry level to look at top level shifts before looking at verticals. Scan, study, synthesize & create new strategy five separate markets (web development, consumer and enterprise application development, SaaS SME, security, cloud storage).
…. strategic recommendations (market, product, customer vertical) new product concepts (by area), Initial Brand signal examples
The FIRST stakeholder-to-individual connecting workflow & gamified performance enhancing ERP application
An SaaS enterprise application, built on lean enterprise business practices for companies to maintain the pace with grace & without waste – for today’s competitive speed requirements. The GreatGame encourages social accountability with team self-management and ongoing external visualization that ties it all together in real time with gamification for performance.
And enterprise business process application that it teaches a team how while entering what. Advanced info architecture for guided input flow – you don’t need an IT degree or business process training to set it up.
Business model
Initial top level information input flows into a living business model canvas with missing areas highlighted for ease of completion.
Balanced scorecard
Which then auto-flows into a balanced co scorecard in an easy to understand dashboard. Built in constraints, such as 2 metrics or goals per area for focus.
Quarterly rocks
Which then continues to flow down a time based focus funnel into quarterly rocks, which auto-populates team members and time periods.
Kanban
Which then flows into a visual staged workflow step by step chart for current piloting and prioritization.
Co & ind dashboard
Which then flows into single page company and individual dashboard. These can be adjusted by the individual, and information flows back up through the system.
Individual games
The team votes on rewards based on a budget from % of achieved financial goals, individuals earn points and can convert to extra cash or prizes.
- Lack of modernized – lean system process based – business performance software solution.
- Lack of one integrated system that combines company and individual goals, metrics, process, performance adjustment, and rewards displayed in a simple always-on visual system.
- Lack of an automated performance enhancement system that uses innate personal motivation and social accountability versus old school punishment based time lag disconnected reviews.
- Lack of simplicity to actually be used. Or “top” down information architecture for real-time updating and broad usability by any function / team member.
It’s a boy!
While EGG started concepting some of the Webtractive positioning and brand elements, it also recommended that the client select a specific product brand around that and work back as the product as the flagship from which the firm was the branded “creator”. This eliminated the issue with an uphill battle taking a non-name web developer and differentiating them as a “web developer”.
The client loved the SaaS application so much that it had EGG do some of the initial UI, and for 3 months has been developing the product full time with an estimated launch (through EGG recommended channels) in Q4 2018.
