In today’s dynamic business landscape, organizations grapple with an overwhelming volume of untapped potential within their operations. The siloed nature of various business processes and the lack of cohesive strategies create hurdles in unleashing the full potential of valuable resources. This challenge prompts a strategic solution: productization.

Productization involves transforming core services and applications into valuable business offerings. It addresses the pressing need to derive meaningful value from existing resources, requiring a keen understanding of market trends, user-friendliness, and effective marketing strategies.

This approach solves inherent problems of underutilized resources and elevates a business’s value proposition, strategically positioning it in the marketplace.

Understanding Productization 

Various services can be streamlined and transformed into valuable business offerings through productization. Whether it’s data services, consulting, or other specialized offerings, the aim is to improve operations, provide enhanced capabilities, and adapt swiftly to evolving business needs.

However, the challenges of centralized services are universal, irrespective of the nature of the service. For instance, relying solely on on-premises solutions may lead to performance challenges during sudden increases in demand. Similarly, services without adaptability, scalability, and cloud integration struggle to meet growing user demands, causing delays and reducing overall effectiveness.

As businesses evolve, the key lies in the adaptability of services to meet shifting needs. Adaptive services, offering tailored support, play a crucial role in contributing to business growth. Therefore, businesses should implement productization strategies to address these challenges and optimize their services.

Through the adoption of productization strategies, businesses can:

• Overcome the rigidity of centralized, isolated services.
• Ensure scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency in their services.
• Align with the dynamic demands of the business landscape.

For instance, if you have a consulting team of 10 professionals, your capacity is limited to serving 10 clients at a time. However, by transforming the service into a software application, you can extend your services to a broader audience—potentially reaching 100 or 1000 customers—without the necessity of expanding your team.

Related Reading: The Business Value of Data Governance 

Pioneering the Future: Tech Trends Shaping Productization in 2024 

Every company is swiftly transforming into a digital entity. Recent research from McKinsey reveals that 90 percent of companies, spanning diverse industries, are actively establishing digital operations to ensure economic viability.¹

It is crucial to acknowledge that the digital transformation of businesses has become a necessity rather than a choice. This transformation is important for businesses to remain competitive, adjust to evolving market dynamics, and secure long-term sustainability in an ever more digitized business landscape.

Neglecting this transition could put businesses in a less favorable position, making it harder for them to tackle the challenges and grab the opportunities that come with the digital era.

The Fusion of AI and Data

In 2024, the seamless integration of AI and data will lead to a transformation in New Product Development (NPD). AI-driven tools will navigate vast amounts of consumer data, uncovering concealed insights and forecasting future trends with remarkable precision.

Products are created not only for current needs but also to anticipate the wants and needs of the future. AI is set to streamline operations, handling repetitive tasks and refining workflows, paving the way for human creativity to flourish in the rich soil of inventive problem-solving.

Related Reading: Exploring the Impact of Generative AI and Automation on It Workflows 

Tailored Products and Experiences

People want experiences created to suit their unique preferences and lifestyles. Thus, customization and personalization will be at the forefront. With the help of AI and material science developments, 3D printing will make it easier to produce customized goods on demand that precisely meet customer needs.

With advanced AI algorithms and user-centric interfaces, users might design and implement software solutions that precisely address their unique requirements. For instance, a business could have a project management tool customized to its workflow, incorporating specific features and analytics relevant to its operations.

This level of personalized IT solutions would enhance efficiency, user satisfaction, and overall effectiveness in various technological applications.

Integrating the Physical with the Digital World

The boundaries of the digital realm now extend beyond screens, this includes the intersection of the physical and digital is on the horizon. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) transcends traditional headsets, seamlessly integrating into our everyday experiences.

In the context of productization, the integration of AR and VR technologies in IT can lead to innovative product development and service delivery. Imagine an IT company offering a productized service where clients can virtually experience the deployment of complex software solutions.

Through AR and VR, clients could explore the user interface, interact with the system in a simulated environment, and provide feedback before the actual implementation.

This approach enhances the productization of IT services by providing a more tangible and immersive experience and allows for real-time customization based on client preferences. The blurred lines between physical and digital realities, facilitated by AR and VR, contribute to a more engaging, personalized, productized IT service.

Strategic Productization Insights for Business Growth 

Fully embracing productization propels organizations into sustained business growth. For instance, a company focusing on “products” generally maintains a gross profit margin between 60-90 percent, in contrast to the industry standard of 40 percent for tailored professional services.²

Despite incurring greater initial expenses in product development, introducing marketable products has the potential to enhance revenue with a lower long-term investment.

Through this approach, they prioritize the needs of consumers, offering accessible and practical products that address real-world business challenges. This customer-centric strategy also establishes them as trusted collaborators in achieving tangible and meaningful results.

Identify high-value assets.

Recognizing assets with substantial potential is crucial for successful productization. Designating product managers to pinpoint valuable assets suitable for productization streamlines this process. Businesses can tailor products to specific needs by employing fundamental product management strategies, fostering success.

For instance, consider a retailer aiming to identify valuable data assets for creating data products that enhance the customer experience. By evaluating their existing data assets, they discover a wealth of information on customer behavior.

Utilizing advanced technologies and tools to unveil patterns and trends in their data, they can create data products that offer personalized recommendations, thereby enriching the overall customer experience.

Tailor products to meet business objectives.

Developing products to fulfill specific business needs, whether enhancing operational efficiency, improving customer experience, or optimizing marketing strategies, constitutes just one part of the productization process.

Businesses that synchronize productization with their business objectives and customer demands can create data products precisely tailored to their client’s unique needs. By accomplishing their objectives, businesses elevate customer loyalty and engagement, eventually attaining success.

For instance, a systems administrator at a large company is looking to optimize server performance. The administrator analyzes server logs, resource utilization, and performance metrics through productization. Using this data, they develop a predictive maintenance model that identifies potential issues before they impact server performance.

Enhance quality, accessibility, and usability.

Enhancing data quality, accessibility, and usability through productization is essential for optimizing services.

• Quality assurance for accuracy and reliability.
• Universal accessibility for all users.
• User-friendly design for enhanced usability.

Prioritizing these elements in productization enables businesses to elevate their services and foster business success. Additionally, it ensures the timely availability of the relevant data to the right individuals, which is an important factor for informed decision-making and innovation.

Increase innovation and revenue growth.

Productization can stimulate innovation and boost revenue by allowing businesses to generate novel solutions, products, and services tailored to the specific needs of their customers, fostering a distinct market presence.

Consider a consultancy specializing in executive leadership solutions for tech companies. Through strategic productization, it transforms its industry expertise into a suite of innovative leadership training programs. These programs, finely tuned for C-suite executives in the tech sector, position the consultancy as a go-to resource for cutting-edge leadership solutions.

Similarly, a software development company leverages productization by creating robust internal IT solutions. By introducing IT service management solutions to enhance its internal operations, the company stimulates internal efficiency and sets the stage for broader market adoption.

This propels them into a leadership role, offering advanced solutions and showcasing their commitment to innovation and tailored services. In harnessing productization, companies elevate services, explore innovation, and experience heightened demand, leading to substantial revenue growth.

Read More: QA as a Competitive Advantage: How Quality Sets Successful Tech and Engineering Teams Apart 

EMBRACE PRODUCTIZATION TO REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR BUSINESS 

Experience the transformative power of application productization with On-Demand Group. Converting data into a versatile product demands precision, and our team of technology consultants and developers stands ready for the challenge. Contact us today to partner with our experts and harness the full potential of data productization to anticipate your business’s future demands.

References 

1 Galvin, Jeff, et al. “Digital Strategy in the Postpandemic Era.”  McKinsey, 26 May 2021, www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-new-digital-edge-rethinking-strategy-for-the-postpandemic-era.

2 Michel, Jaime Drennan. “The Business Case for Productization.” LinkedIn, 1 Dec. 2023, www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-case-productization-jaime-drennan-michel-eydyc/?trk=public_post.