Can You Future Proof Your Stack?

The short answer is yes, but it’s a ton of work to do on your own, especially in the new UX focused atmosphere.

From C#, to Silverlight, to Flash, to PHP, to Ruby on Rails, to React.js, to Python, Javascript and back. How are small teams supposed to pick the right strategy to build their future products and stack on?

It seems that the discussions about which tool sets developers need is never ending, especially in the software industry. While deciding which toolset will be the most productive for your team is an important side of the equation. The other, and most under-appreciated part, is how to maintain the original stack, in terms of updates and changes, while continuously delivering a superior user experience.

Rewrite Cycles

There’s a reason that ISVs are forced to rewrite – or more pleasantly call “modernize” their applications every 5-7 years. The world of tech is constantly changing and if your team isn’t actively working to stay ahead of the curve, customers will just find another vendor or product who is. Enterprises are typically under less pressure because they don’t market their software.

The average stack consists of 25+ (open-source) frameworks and third-party components. Each of which can and will be updated or overhauled (or discontinued) sometimes monthly. Your team has to ensure that these frameworks are continuously working in harmony without impacting the end-user. Obviously, over time most frameworks will become deprecated and have to be replaced. Repeatedly.

It can seem like by the time you’ve updated, you’re already out of date. That’s where a future-proof stack might come in handy. By using a stack that adjusts as a seamless unit, you’re ensuring that your team never has to modernize again. Which allows them to focus on what really matters: the end user experience (UX).

UX First

In the world of software development, we constantly find ourselves striving for the perfect end-user convenience. Interface, consistency, and integrations all lead to reliable applications that users can trust and loyally use. Your users’ lives are busy and if the user experience is too convoluted, they’ll just move onto an app that’s easier to use and understand. Therefore, a UX-first approach is necessary.

We say let your team focus on that and not on the back-end. By future proofing your stack – or partnering with a company that is specialized in doing so – your team can focus on what matters most, a superior UX. Making applications that people actually enjoy using.

Future-Proof Out of The Box

Servoy believes that the key to success for our customers relies on our ability to “future-proof” the stack efficiently, seamlessly and continuously. For us, future-proofing is our second nature. Our team is dedicated to analyzing trends in the marketplace and embracing new industry standards. For over 20 years, we have excelled in our duties to our customers without impeding our customers’ applications. If UX-first is your focus, leave the stack and NFR’s (non-functional requirements) to us.

Click here to learn more about Servoy Titanium and how to future-proof your stack.