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Why Future Proofing Your Systems Is a Must

The world of software is constantly evolving. With regular progress being made in hosting, storage, and general technology it doesn’t take long for rigid applications to become outdated.

One moment your program is the fastest and most suitable on the market. The next your users are abandoning you for the latest big thing, which is making your software seem slow and cumbersome.

Central to ensuring the longevity and long-lasting success of your software is future proofing it. But what exactly does that mean? And how do you do it?

What Is Future Proofing?

In the simplest terms the phrase “future proofing” means to minimise the negative impact that future events have on something — in this case, your software. 

The aim of future proofing an application is to maintain its relevance, usefulness, and financial viability even as developments are made and rival products are released.

Why Is It Important?

If your software is built with solely the present in mind it will soon become outdated and, eventually, obsolete. It may start life as a huge success, but an inability to adapt will cause users to adopt newer, more relevant systems instead.

In contrast, however, if your application is future proofed you have the ability to make adjustments and keep up with your competitors.

In ever-changing industries future proofing is often the difference between a short-term success and long-term market dominance.

Is Future Proofing Viable?

Absolutely!

It would be easy to think future proofing means predicting the future, and you’d be right to say that’s not an entirely viable strategy. While there is an element of prediction involved, that’s not all there is to it.

In fact future proofing is just as much about what you don’t do as what you do do.

How Do I Future Proof My Software?

Make It Modifiable

At the centre of the plans for your software should be the ability to make regular, sometimes significant changes in a relatively short period of time.

As the landscape of your industry evolves, it’s essential that your software is able to keep up. If it’s not, you’ll soon be surpassed by new software, or your existing competitors whose applications are able to adapt. Periodic changes will enable your software to move with the times.

Analyse Industry Trends

You’ll know better than most the direction your industry is taking and you’ve probably already identified areas which you believe will change.

Bear them in mind when working with developers. This level of insight will be invaluable in helping them prepare your software for what’s up ahead.

Minimise Feature Overlap

When the features of an application are heavily reliant upon one another it makes changes extremely difficult; even a small alteration can cause another feature to fail, meaning every adjustment requires considerable development work.

By siloing as many features as possible you maintain the freedom to update and adapt your software with minimum cost and effort.

Protecting Quantum for Years to Come

Few industries are quite as changeable as the legal sector. Quantum, Class Legal’s vital industry tool, found itself under pressure as regular changes to legal forms meant it was often outdated. So, to modernise and future proof Quantum, Class Legal got in touch with the Isotoma team.

While adding new features to Quantum, and converting it from a desktop app into a web-based program, we increased the software’s ability to be modified quickly. As a result, it was protected against the damage caused by constant changes.

Improve Your Software’s Longevity

Whether your existing software is starting to become outdated, or you’re building a new application and want to preserve its relevance for years to come, we’d love to be involved.

To start future proofing your software, get in touch with the Isotoma team today.