Optimise your IT investments with a Centre of Excellence

Disruption enabled through digital forms of engagement, seems to be the buzz word. Companies such as Uber and Airbnb have emerged and rapidly snatched market share from the traditional players. In response, companies are investing in technology and skills to find new ways of competing.

Companies need to develop internal capabilities to be fast and agile so time and investment are not wasted. These capabilities must span across functions to deliver enterprise-wide transformation.

Softools’s zero-code platform is a proven enabler of digital transformation. We believe companies exploit the power of our platform most efficiently when they implement a Centre of Excellence.

Softools Centre of Excellence

A Softools Centre of Excellence (COE) establishes a structure of processes and best practices that guide your company’s current and future implementations of Softools. This embeds Softools in your organisation and ensures sustained value from your investment. 

A COE unites organisational silos, promotes knowledge sharing and embeds standardisation. Its guardrails support each business unit and offer common solutions to common problems.  For example, a company’s R&D, finance, sales and marketing teams all need to collaborate in real-time.  To avoid four different solutions of varying success, each business unit uses the COE to adopt a single approach to problem-solving with Softools. 

What does a COE look like?

A COE has two defining features:

People

The foundation of an effective COE is its company-wide reach. While the COE is governed from a central point, it’s imperative to have representatives from varying departments with mixed skill sets. A COE requires at least three types of members:

1.       The Executive Sponsor - The COE’s ambassador to the organisation who asserts Softools as a corporate priority. Responsible for securing budget.

2.       The Evangelical - Trumpets Softools throughout the organization and drives adoption

3.       The Expert - Intimate technical knowledge of Softools and its capabilities

A diverse COE absorbs input from each business area and ensures the tool is well-adapted to yield value across the entirety of the business. 

Process

The COE defines processes the business will use to implement Softools that are REPEATABLE and SCALABLE. When a new need for a business app emerges, the build and deployment process should be easily copied and executed, regardless of the business function. The Softools CoE has 8 defined steps that are executed each time the business digitally transforms with Softools.

Why Build One?

Efficiency – Repeatable processes save time in future projects and deployments

Reduced Total Cost of Ownership – Often higher than companies think, the cost of owning Softools is dramatically lower when its use is standardised by a COE

Employee Enablement and Building Capability – Employees have the guidance and structure to initiate and complete projects. This also reduces costs associated with help and maintenance.

Reduced Project Risk – The COE sheds light on which projects should be executed and which should not. Project teams avoid common mistakes, especially digitising sub-optimal processes.

Invigorate underperforming business areas – A COE is a proven way to disseminate Softools to business functions with underdeveloped digital tools. Since it stems from a central entity, organisations avoid duplicated work across business functions.

Ultimately, a COE yields higher ROI on your Softools investment by fully leveraging its capabilities and standardising best practices. Please see a comprehensive breakdown of what a Softools Centre of Excellence looks like here.

If you are interested in learning more please get in touch with us at info@softools.net

Optimise your IT investments with a Centre of Excellence — Softools