White Paper AppAgile
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CONTENTS Executive Summary Digitization is changing the face of business IT Paas from technology tool to full-fledged business system Appagile from T-Systems Case studies illustrating business innovations Conclusions List of figures 4 5 7 8 10 14 15 3
Executive Summary Over the last two decades, digitization has already brought about radical economic and social change. But the trend is now gaining even more momentum. Changing consumer behaviors and agile competitors with new business models are putting enterprises under enormous pressure. In the past, user departments would request the new functionality they needed and gain approval from C-level executives, before the IT department implemented it. But this lengthy procedure hampers agility at a time of unprecedented market dynamism. Increased digitization is putting IT at the very heart of company strategy, and demanding a fresh, new approach, greater speed and improved flexibility. Against this background, the in-house IT team must evolve from a reactive provider to a proactive promoter and enabler of new, IT-driven business ideas. This means today s IT strategies must incorporate rapidly deployable services. Enterprise IT will transform to become a supplier of IT services. This approach will enable lines of business to try out and implement innovations faster and more easily without the need for their own technical expertise. Platform as a service (PaaS) includes a multitude of services delivered from a cloud. Until now, it was regarded as a technical layer sandwiched between infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and software as a service (SaaS). However, PaaS is much more than a functional layer in a cloud service architecture. It is the cornerstone of an entirely new, modular ecosystem that delivers effective business support, and accelerates time-to-market for new ideas. Real-world examples underline just how businessdriven and efficient this kind of ecosystem can be providing a single platform for the operation and modular delivery of solutions from multiple vendors. PaaS opens up new business development opportunities to a wide range of industries. Retail is a case in point. The internet has shaken up this sector in terms of the type of players, sales channels, and logistics processes. For example, retailers are now beginning to exploit customers smartphones as a way to sell their products. Innovative organizations see these new trends as an opportunity to both strengthen existing customer relationships and forge new ones. Couponing, motion analysis at the point of sale, and proximity marketing are just some of the disruptive applications coming into play. And these business tools are enabled by the intelligent combination of complementary software. Leveraging data captured by sensors is a further hot topic creating new possibilities by incorporating partners and customers in an ecosystem. There are billions of sensors around the world, and hundreds of thousands of new ones are installed every day. Typically, they are deployed to provide connectivity to cars and machines, and to manage data from diagnostic systems in the field of medicine. Machine-to-machine solutions measure, generate, share and process these vast quantities of sensor data. But to allow the analyzed data to flow seamlessly into business processes, M2M systems must be consolidated on a suitable platform and integrated with existing systems landscapes and applications. And this is where PaaS comes in, helping companies extract true business value from M2M technology. The PaaS ecosystem enables a new approach to IT, by paving the way for better collaboration between the IT department, LOBs, senior executives, software vendors and IT service providers. If it is deployed intelligently and systematically, and operated efficiently, the modular PaaS platform and ecosystem has the potential to become a key strategic business management tool. 4
Digitization is changing the face of business IT Cost pressure versus IT investments IT generates fixed costs, which every CIO is under constant pressure to cut. However, as digitization continues to change the world of business, IT departments need to keep pace. This creates an apparent conflict. Businesses are looking to deliver ever-greater responsiveness to customers, partners and stakeholders, including real-time interaction; this requires the development and deployment of innovative applications. The budget tug-of-war between the IT and business departments can only be resolved by the dynamic provisioning of IT resources, with payper-use pricing. This creates a direct link between IT consumption and business value added. Users are now the decision makers User departments not only regularly need new, improved, rapidly-provisioned applications they want to test their efficacy in advance. This has led to a shift in decision-making power over IT investments, as confirmed by research. In a 2013 IDC study, 56 percent of respondents stated that they use cloud services without consulting their IT departments.1 A recent survey by 2nd Watch suggests that 61 percent of LOBs that deploy cloud services contact the provider directly, bypassing their IT organization.2 No matter whether an application is homegrown or provided by an external vendor, business users are looking for specific functionality, and want it implemented rapidly. Moreover, they want the new solutions seamlessly integrated into the existing landscape, and with as little user training and lock-in as possible. Platform as a service PaaS was originally conceived as an industrialized cloud-based platform service for application developers. Gartner s definition highlights the very technology-led character of PaaS. According to Gartner, in stack diagrams PaaS offerings appear below the SaaS (software as a service) layer and above the IaaS (infrastructure as a service) layer. PaaS offerings comprise a wide range of application infrastructure (middleware) services, including application platform, integration, business process management and database services. The hype surrounding PaaS primarily concerns application PaaS (apaas) as a representative of the entire category. A PaaS is, in principle, a cloud service that includes both development and production environments for application services. Innovation is a business driver The LOBs are looking for innovation whether in logistics, customer centricity, or sales strategies. They are under constant pressure to maintain their competitive edge. And that calls for innovation that combines efficiency with speed. Anything that goes to market too slowly is in danger of being obsolete. There is therefore a need for self-service applications that are available immediately. Industrialized IT factories are a proven method for meeting this need. They provision the corresponding services on demand, as standardized, scalable IaaS, PaaS and SaaS offerings. 1) http://www.silicon.de/41594729/cloud-und-schatten-it-welt/ (Cloud and the world of shadow IT) by Max Schulze, techconsult, January 2013 (in German only) 2) http://www.techrepublic.com/article/cloud-survey-reveals-61-of-business-units-useshadow-it/ (2014) 5
A high degree of usability and flexibility are central characteristics of PaaS. The provider platform is accessed via application programming interfaces (APIs); a local desktop, Internet connectivity, and a web browser are required. Some offerings also assume the existence of a local development environment. A provider is responsible for provisioning and management of infrastructure, such as web servers, operating systems, runtime environments, frameworks and middleware. Users enjoy highly scalable infrastructure, computing power and storage capacity. What s more, the PaaS environment enables LOBs to run applications in SaaS mode. The PaaS market situation Currently, PaaS is dominated by the major players. In Germany, PaaS is available from T-Systems, Salesforce, Google, Amazon, IBM, Fujitsu, Microsoft and others. According to Gartner, 33 percent of recent cloudcomputing investment in Germany has been in PaaS offerings that were primarily leveraged by web developers to write or modify programs. Google s App Engine and the Salesforce and Microsoft platforms are among the most widely-known PaaS products. The growing potential of PaaS can be underlined by a number of statistics: Salesforce has been on the market for only 15 years, but has 100,000 customers and generated revenues of over 3 billion dollars in 2013. PaaS accounted for approximately 20 percent of this total.3 The Salesforce1 platform enables the rapid development of companyspecific apps for all devices, and for both customers and employees. Salesforce s AppExchange business app store is a full-fledged ecosystem that offers pre-built, pre-integrated apps based around Salesforce for practically any purpose. IDC estimates total annual global revenue from PaaS offerings at approximately two billion dollars, and expects this to increase exponentially in the next three years. The organization predicts that PaaS will generate over 17 billion dollars in 2017. The Paas Market Volume by IDC idc 2 2014 17 2017 [$ bn] Fig. 1. Predicted growth in the global PaaS market. Source: Worldwide Competitive Public Cloud Platform as a Service 2013 2017 Forecast, IDC 2013. 3) 451Research Market Monitor, Cloud Computing Market Overview, 2013 Annual Report 2013, Salesforce 6
PAAS FROM TECHNOLOGY TOOL TO FULL-FLEDGED BUSINESS SYSTEM PAAS DEVELOPMENT TRENDS PaaS was originally conceived as a tool to support SaaS and mobile and social media applications. In terms of technology, its evolutionary journey reflects its growing diversity and modularity. The PaaS scene now extends to legacy applications, Java applications, frameworks, open interfaces, and open-source software. All this has significantly broadened its scope, with enhanced services creating a wealth of new possibilities for business. Furthermore, PaaS offerings are now available for mobile solutions and big data analytics. PaaS is increasingly being employed to support mission-critical applications, such as CRM, BI and collaboration tools. This makes it possible to perform analysis and generate reports based on correlated data from all of these sources anytime, anywhere. User organizations benefit from the investments made by PaaS providers and from economies of scale. They enjoy IT services on demand delivered from a variety of cloud types. According to Gartner, 70 percent of CIOs plan to deploy cloud services by 2016.4 IDC confirms that the role of the IT department is changing from service provider to IT service broker.5 The overall picture points to an emerging trend away from an ad-hoc approach to PaaS and towards a more strategic one. At the same time, PaaS is evolving from a developer platform into a rich and diverse ecosystem. COMPONENTS OF THE PAAS ECOSYSTEM According to market analysts Ovum, the PaaS ecosystem consists of two main areas, each with three components. It terms the two categories of offerings technology and ecosystem services. PAAS TODAY A BLEND OF TECHNOLOGY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ecosystem services business enablement development marketplace runtime community infrastructure technology services Fig. 2. A new, broader definition of PaaS. Source: Ovum. core increasingly important increasingly third-party TECHNOLOGY SERVICES The core technology component of PaaS are runtime services. These consist of the application platform and its functionality plus operation and administration. Runtime services are flanked on the one hand by IT infrastructure, on the other by development services, related tools, and developer-centric offerings. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES An ecosystem is a landscape consisting of the services offered by the primary provider plus integrated partner services. Its purpose is not only to offer business-enablement functionality such as payment processing, but also to forge lasting ties between vendors and users by providing a one-stop shop for developers. We believe that ecosystem services will, in the long run, prove more important to the success of cloud (and PaaS) service providers than technology services.6 4) http://www.cio.de/a/deutsche-cios-aufgeschlossen-gegenueber-der-cloud,2958629 (in German only) 5) IDC, IT Service Management in Germany, 2014 6) http://www.ovum.com/ecosystem-services-are-critical-to-the-success 7
APPAGILE FROM T-SYSTEMS AppAgile is a PaaS offering that T-Systems has enhanced and extended to create an efficient ecosystem. AppAgile not only meets the needs of IT developers. It also addresses user departments need for the rapid provisioning of new business functionality. At its core is the development and operating platform that runs in the background, flexibly integrating and coordinating all services. A SINGLE, MODULAR, ALL-PURPOSE PLATFORM The platform coordinates the execution of Java and database workloads, offering what are known as containers for the development of custom apps. This layer chiefly targets application developers, who were previously compelled to build these systems themselves. User departments, by contrast, are more interested in the speed of application deployment. The layer above the infrastructure and the PaaS platform comprises easy-to-implement, industry-specific application packages. Customers can select from these according to the new software functionality they require and can combine them with home-grown and third-party software. Connectors to in-house CRM and ERP systems enable data to flow through the company s IT landscape in all directions a further key factor for seamless integration. THE TWO EDITIONS Two versions of AppAgile are available: the Developer Edition and the Production Edition. The editions individual modules can be combined as required. 1. Developer Edition: A cost-effective version for development projects, rapid application implementation, and simple migration of legacy applications to T-Systems private cloud. Customers have full access to the AppAgile DevOps platform. With this edition, support is only available during office hours. It includes all license-fee-free middleware and services; licensed products are charged separately. 2. Production Edition: This full-fledged version offers comprehensive support for business processes; T-Systems manages customers middleware instances 24x7. Customers can choose to manage the applications themselves or transfer responsibility to T-Systems in the form of dedicated projects. While they have no access to the platform itself, they can view diverse reports. THE APPAGILE ECOSYSTEM self developd isv services connected car mobility smart energy m2m appagile paas wearables proximity marketing middleware product devicesdatabase self services it infrastructure Fig. 3. AppAgile a PaaS ecosystem offering diverse horizontal and vertical solutions, Source: T-Systems. 8
A ONE-STOP PAAS PARTNER ECOSYSTEM T-Systems has built an entire ecosystem for AppAgile with an array of software vendors already on board. This drives innovation, and helps keep participants in lockstep with the latest developments and trends. Customers choose the applications they need from the ready-to-go SaaS solutions offered. These software packages can be linked, combined and integrated, as can existing home-grown and third-party solutions (ISV services). AppAgile brings together legacy and new software, custom-developed and third-party functionality. With additional vendors free to join at any time, the ecosystem is constantly growing, with T-Systems as the service orchestrator. Organizations looking to deploy multiple solutions benefit from industry-specific clusters of cloud-based software, e.g. for retail and healthcare. These make it easy to identify what solutions are available and combinable to meet an organization s specific application needs. THE EIGHT MAIN BUSINESS BENEFITS 1. AppAgile is a full-fledged, ready-to-go ecosystem in the form of a versatile, flexible integration platform. It enables rapid proof-ofconcept testing, and accelerates time-to-market. 2. The ecosystem brings greater speed, flexibility and scalability to application development by providing a complete platform with selfservice functionality. 3. Customers can mix and match offerings from a range of software partners without having to evaluate technical compatibility. 4. it managers can quickly road-test a solution without investment risk and immediately commence enterprise-wide roll-out if it meets their needs. 5. Significant savings can be made on investment, licenses and operating costs. Pay-per-use pricing includes SLAs and enables costs to be accurately predicted in line with changing business demand. 6. The platform streamlines and simplifies interactions with customers, partners and other stakeholders. 7. Big data solutions, e.g. for marketing, open up new possibilities based on the identification and analysis of trends and opportunities. 8. T-Systems performs the role of service broker, orchestrating the various offerings. At the same time, customers benefit from the high security and availability standards fulfilled by T-Systems data centers. 9
Case studies illustrating business innovations Retail Services for Retail Frequency analysis marketing Viral couponing Proximity marketing standard solutions custom solutions RETAIL CLOUD powerd by AppFabric appagile = Web and middleware PaaS developers Mobile Big data up/down scalability pay as you go managed 24/7 NEW APPLICATIONS SPELL NEW OPPORTUNITIES How can retailers reach potential buyers via their smartphones? How can a customer s phone provide a retailer with valuable insight about that person s usage behavior and movements? Impulse buying at the point of sale is a common phenomenon. According to McKinsey, between 40 and 60 percent of purchasers can be influenced by promotions at the POS.7 The retail sector has already invested heavily in an attempt to discover why shoppers pick up a product, only to return it to the shelf seconds later. Digitization is not only helpful in solving this mystery. It also offers proactive methods for countering it for example, by sending a coupon to an undecided customer s smartphone just the right moment. infrastructure vcloud = IaaS troubleshooting and os updates database web and application server Gartner sees the customer experience including viral/social couponing as the key field of investment for the retail sector in 2015. network storage servers Fig. 4. PaaS and SaaS for rapid deployment of retail solutions. Source: T-Systems. RETAIL A FAST-EVOLVING SECTOR New market entrants and limited consumer spending power are the main competitive parameters in retail sector. The internet and smartphones have brought about huge changes in consumer behaviors and had a disruptive impact on the entire sector. Retailers are now limbering up for digital battle. Some are developing new strategies for cross-channel commerce or tightly integrated omnichannel sales while at the same time striving to retain the close customer relationships characteristic of local small-town stores. Marketing, sales and after-sales communications are becoming increasingly intertwined and reinforcing each other in a bid to offer customers a new kind of shopping experience. Innovative applications help identify and address new customer segments, build loyalty, and attract prospective shoppers faster. A wide range of software solutions is now available for attracting shoppers and managing customer relationships. But in order to experiment with these applications, LOBs generally have to invest in a great deal of expensive technology, and the results often fall short of their expectations. What they need is a system that can be implemented rapidly and combines a variety of individual solutions. THE PAAS ECOSYSTEM FOR THE RETAIL SECTOR Retailers can simply select the software they require from the large range of products (SaaS offerings) available in the catalog. AppAgile then combines these pre-built products to create an end-to-end solution that can be integrated into existing system landscapes via connectors. For example, a supermarket chain might choose a proximity marketing solution complemented by a customer frequency analysis tool, plus a couponing service that is activated just in time at the point of sale. All these solutions are available from the platform in the form of standard, ready-to-deploy modules. 7) https://twitter.com/mck_mktgsales/status/542681516799971328 10
In-house analysis by proximity marketing software enables the supermarket to directly address predefined target groups. For instance, a store in a tourist location can immediately spot mobile devices with non-local country codes. Sending a coupon for local specialties to these devices encourages impulse buying. The solution can also register who is standing in front of a shelf when, and in what position. A digital coupon sent at precisely the right moment could encourage that person to pick up a particular product. AppAgile even makes it possible to identify coupons stored on a smartphone at the checkout, and apply discounts automatically. RAPID IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW BUSINESS IDEAS In the past, launching new ideas brought uncertainty and high costs. Now, businesses can pilot their innovations in a few selected stores only with no investment risk. And it is immediately apparent whether the idea will be a hit or a miss. Test setups can be implemented quickly and easily, and senior executives receive reliable facts and figures that support rapid decision-making. This insight is extremely useful before new marketing tools are rolled out across entire retail chains, sometimes spanning several countries. Moreover, these developments mean in-house IT departments are not tied up by labor-intensive pilots and application- development projects, but can concentrate on core tasks. M2M Services for M2M Device mgmt production Analytics services standard solutions custom solutions DEVICE CLOUD powerd by AppFabric infrastructure CRM appagile = Web and middleware PaaS troubleshooting and os updates Mobile developers database Big data up/down scalability pay as you go managed 24/7 web and application servers The Internet of Things is transformative The term machine-to-machine (or M2M) denotes the automated exchange of information by systems such as machines, vehicles or containers between themselves, or with a central point of control. Typical applications include remote monitoring and control. M2M connects information and communications technologies to form a network referred to as the Internet of Things. Already today, there are more than 100 million M2M connections worldwide in the transportation, security, healthcare and energy sectors.8 Growing network coverage, improved sensor performance, and mobile access to cloud-based applications are propelling this trend. New parameters such as smart metering and enhanced analytics with big data technologies are creating entirely new possibilities. A remarkable 90 percent of all new passenger cars registered in 2024 will be equipped with M2M technologies. In other words, there will be 700 million vehicles connected via the Internet by means of M2M solutions.9 The business benefits of M2M How can M2M technology become part of end-to-end solutions comprising everything from transfer and analysis of machine data to automatic control of equipment? How can solutions of this kind be employed by large numbers of users via mobile devices? What new and unanticipated service models will they enable, and what value-add could they potentially create? How can existing modules be combined with new ones to form a seamlessly functioning whole? A manufacturer of industrial compressors provides a good example. M2M sensors make it possible to measure the quantity of compressed air generated by the equipment and consumed by the customer. The combination of sensors and IT platform has given rise to a new product compressed air as a service which customers can choose as an alternative to buying the compressors. This offering enables the manufacturer to evolve into a compressed air service provider. Service of this kind can be extremely useful, for example, for projects where huge quantities of compressed air are required for a limited period only. Pricing can be based on the quantity of compressed air consumed, with a service fee for equipment maintenance charged as an additional item or included in the basic rate. Furthermore, the manufacturer can easily carry out maintenance remotely using a predictive maintenance model from T-Systems a highly efficient option. vcloud = IaaS network storage servers Fig. 5. PaaS and SaaS for rapid deployment of M2M solutions. Source: T-Systems. 8) McKinsey Global Institute, 2013, Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy 9) Machina Research, on behalf of Telefonica, 2013, Connected Car Industry Report 11
M2M WITH APPAGILE AppAgile enables organizations to select the services they require to set up and market new offerings from T-Systems SaaS portfolio. These services are then combined in the PaaS ecosystem to create a made-tomeasure solution designed to fit the particular scenario. A major benefit of this approach is that organizations can thoroughly test all aspects of a solution and implement it fast. To stay with our compressed air example: air-quantity data can be combined with power consumption and ambient temperature readings, and analyzed. The findings can be presented in various forms and made available to diverse groups of users, in line with their respective access rights. This type of solution requires a certain number of GSM modules and corresponding Deutsche Telekom cell phone agreements. T-Systems is responsible for managing the devices deployed. The GSM modules log onto the central platform via an interface and store their log data there. From the central platform, the data can be actively requested or forwarded at regular intervals. In the near future, asset management, logistics and tracking will also be implemented. This will allow the service provider to monitor the location of its compressors at all times, and retrieve status information and error messages from them. In critical scenarios, where rapid responses are essential, the solution opens up a host of useful deployment opportunities. AppAgile is a comprehensive, one-stop solution, providing all the underlying technology from sensors to analytics. Healthcare Services for HEALTHCARE Medical products vcloud = lob Patient data standard solutions custom solutions ehealth CLOUD powerd by AppFabric iso 13485 certified infrastructure IaaS Billing systems appagile = Web and middleware PaaS troubleshooting and os updates developers Mobile Big data database network storage servers up/down scalability pay as you go managed 24/7 web and application server AUTOMATIC IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW BUSINESS MODELS The key advantage of AppAgile is speed. Its unique ecosystem means projects and services that could previously only be launched with major financial and time investments are now possible much faster. A second benefit relates to innovation offering new, pay-per-use services as an alternative to buying equipment with a fixed price tag. Businesses not only obtain a ready-to-implement model comprising a complete package of one-stop services, but they also benefit from automatic process monitoring and optimization. This combination helps drive down costs by improving efficiency and productivity. The possibility of fusing multiple industry-specific clusters supports the creation of new business models which, in turn, help enterprises to broaden their customer base and generate greater returns. Fig. 6. PaaS and SaaS for rapid deployment of healthcare solutions. Source: T-Systems. SHARING INFORMATION IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR The introduction of the electronic health card in 1995 triggered a digital revolution in Germany s healthcare sector. What began with the integration of health insurance companies with doctors and hospitals has since assumed much greater proportions. The goal now is to involve pharmaceuticals companies, pharmacies, physiotherapists, medical equipment manufacturers and rehabilitation centers and most recently, patients themselves, in the exchange of relevant information. The underlying purpose is not only to improve efficiency but above all, to create a common digital platform on which to build a viable healthcare ecosystem. Medical care is a complex, multi-faceted process involving a large number of stakeholders and multiple elements from diagnosis, treatment, and patient data management, to administration and health insurance. For various reasons, these sub-processes must be kept separate from one another, but when integrated and digitized, they can deliver valuable synergies for healthcare. Digitization can offer patients the convenience of being automatically supplied with the correct medicine by their pharmacies after a visit to the doctor. And it can enable health authorities to automatically issue warnings should a regional epidemic arise. Deutsche Telekom s Healthcare Solutions unit supports the digitization trend by establishing close ties with specialist healthcare providers and by investing in promising start-ups. 12
MANAGING DIVERSE SERVICES While hospitals do not generate income from software, the right IT applications can streamline their processes, helping cut costs. Data generated at medical facilities can play a vital role in prevention, administration, follow-up treatment, medical research, education, and official statistics. How can this information be shared appropriately while preventing it from getting into the wrong hands? How can a billing system integrated with an insurance company handle services provided by multiple parties? And how can a software vendor create a solution for care facilities that ensures that every resident always receives the correct medication? APPAGILE JOINS THE DOTS The healthcare sector is served by many specialist companies that create software for very specific purposes. As a result, user organizations gain mature modules that facilitate or streamline one or more of their business processes. Healthcare companies or software providers can choose the components they wish to deploy from a catalog of healthcare solutions offered as SaaS. AppAgile combines these individual products to form an end-to-end solution that can be integrated into an existing systems landscape by means of connectors. The core purpose of the solution is to increase the efficiency of the treatment process through the use of digital functionality. More efficient treatment means faster recovery and in turn, lower costs. This not only benefits the health insurance companies who bear those costs, but the entire economy. For example, combining software for patient records and document exchange can give rise to new functionality for managing bed occupancy. And anonymized patient records can lead to the creation of new tools in the fields of diagnosis, allergy therapy and medication. In the past, combining automatic, sensor-based monitoring of intensive-care and long-term care patients with alarm systems and analytics software was a huge and expensive undertaking. With AppAgile, this type of solution becomes a standard, low-cost, patient-centric tool. The potential applications are many and varied, and offer scope for creating innovative products and services that improve the standard of care delivered to individuals, and the healthcare system as a whole. Since the majority of data in this sector is of an extremely sensitive nature, security and data protection are of utmost importance. The core technology at the heart of T-Systems AppAgile has been certified to German DIN ISO 13485 criteria for sensitive patient records. The benefit to healthcare providers, users and solution developers alike is that this eliminates the need to certify individual modules. SECURE INTEGRATION, FIRST-RATE SUPPORT The secure, digital integration of all healthcare participants not only helps patients receive the best possible treatment. It also reduces unnecessary administration work for all parties, leads to more effective prevention, and drives down costs. From prevention to aftercare, for hospitals and outpatients, the entire healthcare delivery chain is transformed into a single, tightly integrated whole. 13
Conclusions A NEW RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOBS AND IT In the broad sense of an ecosystem, PaaS offers a host of new possibilities to all involved be they users, software developers, hosting providers or vendors. Companies can open up new opportunities for their lines of business to sharpen their competitive edge without putting undue strain on the IT budget. New applications in the form of service packages require minimum development effort and can be made available immediately. They can initially be implemented on a small scale for testing purposes and then quickly scaled up if they prove successful. This in turn lays the foundations for a new corporate culture of cooperation within the organization: LOBs will no longer regard IT as a restrictive element, but as a tool that enables them to explore new freedoms and put ideas into practice fast. Time-to-market shrinks, giving the business the edge over competitors. Each company must decide for itself whether PaaS or the AppAgile ecosystem should be integrated with backend systems or employed as a stand-alone solution. APPAGILE OFFERS FAR MORE THAN PAAS In technical terms, AppAgile is an integrated system that combines hardware and software, managed operations and applications to create a new, strategic tool for corporate management. Against this background, deciding to utilize AppAgile does not simply mean opting for a particular kind of information technology. It is a strategic corporate decision. And the value-added that AppAgile delivers can impact business success. Radically accelerated application development can be the difference between a market-leading and me-too product. And being able to test-run a solution on a small scale minimizes the risk of poor investments when it comes to large-scale innovation projects. THREE REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS Major corporations can leverage AppAgile to establish a dedicated department for business development for example in the form of a strategic staff unit. The unit can develop and test new product ideas, sales strategies or business models at little effort and expense, and present them fully fledged to senior executives for approval. LOBs can use AppAgile as a tool for testing new products. It enables start-ups to launch their business on a small scale without significant fixed costs to introduce both new products targeting very specific market segments and those sold directly. Users can leverage the full functionality of all available modules without concerning themselves with the underlying technical infrastructure, as this is provided and managed by T-Systems. Via a self-service portal, start-ups can market the new applications as their own products. Thanks to AppAgile s full scalability, they can precisely align capacity, and therefore cost, with the growth of the business. This means they can meet the demand of their investors for predictable costs and rapid success in the marketplace. SUCCESS OF A MODULAR ARCHITECTURE AppAgile is based on a modular, construction-kit principle with T-Systems providing building blocks of every conceivable kind. Enterprises and software developers select the blocks they need to to create their target applications. T-Systems then assembles these to form end-to-end solutions, which it operates on its tried and trusted platform. AppAgile is available in two versions, differing in the scope of support. This dual approach has proved very useful: the Developer Edition enables developers, to a large degree, to manage the technical platform and, in particular, the middleware, themselves. The Production Edition, on the other hand, is a fully managed and full-featured service package for supporting business processes, with the option of tasking T-Systems not only with managing the middleware but also with running the applications. AppAgile s already broad range of deployment scenarios is expanding all the time with new building blocks continuously being added to the platform and ecosystem. All businesses from start-ups to established companies looking to deliver new and improved services are under the same pressure to innovate and drive down costs. The AppAgile ecosystem provides an answer for everyone, delivering an integrated, future-driven business platform for the operation of rapidly deployable software modules. 14
LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 Fig. 2. Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 The value of ecosystem PaaS services as forecast by IDC Components of the paas ecosystem The AppAgile ecosystem Services for Retail Services for M2M Services for Healthcare 15
CONTACT Marketing T-Systems International GmbH Uli Kunesch Market Intelligence Fasanenweg 5 70771 Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany Uli.Kunesch@t-systems.com Digital Division T-Systems International GmbH Stefan Zosel Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 140 53113 Bonn, Germany Stefan.Zosel@t-systems.com PUBLISHED BY T-Systems International GmbH Hahnstrasse 43d 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany http://www.t-systems.com Last updated: April 2015