Needs Analysis

As described in our Business Consulting services, Meshfrog strives to bring an integrated business and technology approach to every engagement, and thus we never enter with preconceived notions of what solutions should be recommended. Instead, we begin with asking the key organizational business questions, and using our technology-agnostic approach to help our clients find the key components and characteristics that any viable solution will need to contain. Articulating the core issues and challenges clearly, and aligning these issues and processes with an understanding of what roles technology could play in a solution, as well as what additional complications, costs or pitfalls should be avoided, is a critical first step in ensuring that the time and dollars invested in a technology project are well spent.

Solution Evaluation

Evaluating technology solutions in light of the specific problems to be solved and the existing constraints is an art and a science.  This type of project can include elements ranging from creating large scale RFP’s and evaluating vendor responses, to testing actual products with small beta teams.  Meshfrog’s solid technical expertise allows us to see how multiple smaller or cheaper solutions might fit together easily, or how larger integrated offerings might be more cost effective in the long run.  Today’s advances in cloud technologies and software-as-a-service also mean that choosing how the software is delivered and what infrastructure is required can be just as complex as selecting the feature set once was.  In addition to the more obvious concerns of features, reliability, and costs, finding and implementing the right solution must also address the more esoteric concerns such as:  What impact will the technology have on the culture? How should the solution be presented or described to employees or clients?  Why is this important to the business and what is the driving motivation?

Buy vs. Build

In some cases the argument for using off-the-shelf software is essentially a no-brainer.  Building a custom accounting system for instance, is an incredibly difficult argument to make in this day and age.  However, there are a number of situations in which our clients do find themselves facing key decisions about whether to buy technology off the shelf or whether to pay for custom-built software instead.  Typically there are three situations in which the “build” option is considered:

• Off the shelf with custom integration – in this scenario there might be multiple software packages that when used together provide the necessary feature set, but very often they may not talk to each other seamlessly or automatically.  In this type of scenario there may be custom integration work needed to get the new software to talk to older installed systems, or even to get separate new components to talk to each other.
• Customizing a software package – many times, especially with larger and more “enterprise” level software, there is an expectation that after the software is selected and purchased, it may need a degree of customization.  Even with open source software, which has relatively little up-front cost, there is often a need to invest in significant customization to get the real benefits from the technology.
• Full custom software – this is the build option in its purest form, creating a new piece of software to solve a need from scratch.  But even with this option there are numerous variables and options to consider: from offshoring vs. hiring a development staff, to the type of technology desired and the skills needed, to third party libraries and tools that may be included.

I.T. Evaluation

Meshfrog understands the challenges and mandates facing the I.T. organization.  Our focus on the intersection of technology and business includes the worlds of networking, Internet circuits, mission-critical servers, databases, VOIP, and most other infrastructure elements that an I.T. supervisor, team, or department might manage.  One key area of our service offerings is the ability to evaluate the current I.T. capabilities of the organization, often in concert with an evaluation of new technology needs, to determine how well the skills, tools, structure, and process posture of the I.T. team are aligned with the needs of the business.  Very often our most important skill in this role is that of translator – helping the I.T. staff understand the business needs and the impact that they have on the User Experiences occurring throughout the organization, while simultaneously helping the business leadership understand the priorities and choices that are being made regarding technology and infrastructure.  Speaking both technical and business languages allows us to surface the core issues and to articulate recommendations in language that all parties can understand and use.