Strategic Software Modernization for Environmental Consultants

An environmental engineering consulting company with a strong reputation in their industry had developed a customer-facing software product. Despite their expertise in engineering solutions, they were not a software development shop. They were struggling to keep up with features and the speed of development of their competitors. Moreover, the leadership was skeptical about the need for software modernization and often disregarded internal recommendations, which created a stagnant environment for innovation. With competitors leveraging modern technologies to enhance their offerings, the client risked falling behind in the market if they failed to make significant updates.

Solution

Recognizing the client’s unique challenges, we devised a strategic approach focused on gradual modernization. Small changes were made in the existing technology whereas new modules were created leveraging the latest, most flexible platforms. This allowed the new development to be done more quickly and demonstrated a successful template for future work.

Understanding the leadership’s hesitation toward internal requests, we actively engaged with key decision-makers, and displayed an expert viewpoint that included their best interest. We emphasized the strategic importance of software modernization in maintaining competitiveness but also reinforced the decision to do this gradually instead of with a complete software rewrite.

Impact

Collaborative Development: We fostered collaboration between our consultants and the client’s internal team, ensuring knowledge transfer and skill development within the organization while implementing modernization initiatives.

Leadership Buy-in: By demonstrating tangible improvements and ROI through incremental modernization efforts, we gained the trust and buy-in of the leadership.

Improved Competitiveness: With a more agile and modern software infrastructure in place, the client was better equipped to respond to market demands swiftly, gaining a competitive edge over rivals still grappling with legacy systems.

Results

Through a strategic blend of gradual modernization, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative development, we successfully helped the engineering consulting client enhance their software product and maintain competitiveness in the market. We not only addressed immediate challenges but also laid the groundwork for sustainable growth and innovation in the long term.

Environmental Engineering Consultants

$20,000

4 months

C#, ASP.NET MVC, Classic ASP