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Why product manufacturers and software companies are becoming best friends

"Today's customers expect hardware products to achieve greater business outcomes than ever before"

As an OEM or hardware provider, your business model has always revolved around making, selling, and shipping your product. But your competitor’s transition from OT to IT brings forth a new suite of business offerings and products. Today’s customers expect hardware products to achieve greater business outcomes than ever before. And at the same time, investors expect your new digitised offerings to achieve ROI.

The question for many companies is whether to build an entirely in-house DIY style or partner with software companies. Here are some thoughts on how strategic partnerships can enable you to make your top priority developing digital offerings to keep up with your competitors.

Cost and expertise

Enterprise software is typically complex by nature and difficult to develop in-house. Going it alone means hiring suitably experienced developers with the skill and capacity to create compelling software that responds to ever-changing industry challenges – doubly difficult if you straddle diverse industries like utilities and supply chain. Furthermore, skilled developers don’t come cheap.

Partnering with a well-established, reputable software vendor takes away much of the work. For example, Davra’s developer portal helps companies define, build and rapidly bring industrial-grade IoT applications to market. It comes with a developer portal that gives your team access to training tools, documentation, hands-on troubleshooting, and a wealth of experience.

Time

Time is money, and spending time on your own software could be at the expense of solidifying your business proposition, revenue models, and market fit. Tech moves fast. Bullishly going DIY for the sake of principle may lead to delays that allow your competitors to go to market sooner.

Industry compliance

Security breaches are a matter of when, not if, without rigorous prioritization. Third-party software suppliers have done the due diligence, risk assessment, and disaster planning necessary to prevent most and mitigate remaining cyber threats as they evolve.

While initiatives like business continuity and disaster recovery planning should always be a priority for the health of your organisation, you don’t have to do everything yourself. You can choose vendors who comply with industry standards relevant to your sector regarding cybersecurity, such as ISO 27001 and GDPR (general data privacy regulations). This ensures that your software is kept up to date regarding any new threats or industry changes.

Fear of lock-in

It’s worth acknowledging lock-in, as this is perhaps one of the most common reasons for the DIY approach. The fear of lock-in is an entirely valid concern. But a well-researched software provider can create service offerings at a competitive price that can adapt to your needs – for example, if you scale to new regions, introduce new products, or require new integrations.

A software vendor has a long game and likely has weathered many industry challenges. This brings not only experience but an ability to understand where your industry and markets are heading, with the ability to anticipate future customers’ changing needs and wants. A strong relationship with your software vendor helps build effective products for now and in the future.