When it comes to performing major business functions, few software platforms can be described as do-it-all, standalone solutions. And for good reason: They may not want to be. According to independent research firm Gartner, “Although enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors offer numerous enterprise applications and claim that their integrated system is a superior solution, all modules in an ERP system are rarely best-of-breed.”
In recent years, more enterprise software providers have adopted a best-of-breed and open ecosystem approach, as barriers to integrating tools and platforms have dissolved and the benefits of focusing innovation have become abundantly clear. Salesforce is an example of a company taking this approach and succeeding.
During the company’s rise to CRM leadership, there were undoubtedly moments in time where expanding the capabilities of the platform was tempting. But by choosing to focus on core competency and building an ecosystem of partners and app developers, Salesforce has been able to remain on top and enhance the value of the platform for its customers.
Salesforce gives growth-stage technology companies a good example to follow: By choosing the right partners and introducing strategic opportunities for integration, enterprise software providers can focus on meeting overall customer needs without needing to directly supply each element of the solution.
As the product development platform for software-driven, smart, connected products, our focus at Jama is helping our customers build the most complex products and systems in the world. Most customers come to Jama with existing processes and tools in place. The question for them is how the Jama platform complements and integrates with their more specialized solutions.
Ultimately, part of the reason they choose Jama is its flexibility and integration capabilities. Through our Jama Integration Hub, powered by Tasktop, we connect to the leading ALM developer tools including JIRA and TFS. In addition to our existing integrations, we’ve expanded our ecosystem over the past year with the introduction of our REST API. The move to REST was welcomed by our customers that have used the standards-based, easy-to-use API to develop customized traceability reports, record automated test results and more.
In another move to develop our ecosystem, we launched the Jama Alliance, partnering with many leading solutions providers within the product development space. To meet the needs of our systems engineering customers, we’re working with systems-based modeling tool providers like Intercax and No Magic.
And as we continue to expand our ecosystem, we’re exploring PLM, CAD and simulation tools and how we might work with them to build value for our customers. No one can predict the future, but there’s one thing I’ll bet on: As companies race to build the next generation of smart, connected products, they must take a systems-approach, which requires the Jama platform to extend the reach of its integrations.
Our customers’ innovation and success drives us each day and we’re excited to continue our work of building a platform and ecosystem that will further enable that work. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be rolling out new features and partnerships that build on our core competencies and help our customers simplify their complex product development. We’re excited about these advancements, but it’s the results—the so-called “impossible” products—that our customers will deliver that inspire me the most.
