Enterprises in Germany Demand Automation and Agility

Enterprises in Germany are looking for next-generation application developers to help them automate their software development processes and implement agile development practices, according to a new report published by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2019-2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen Application Development & Maintenance (ADM) Services Report for Germany finds German companies interested in using artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate their ADM processes. Many large ADM providers in Germany are embracing the automation trend, while smaller providers are struggling to catch up.

The report also finds German enterprises focusing on digital transformation and on ways to measure its direct impact on business outcomes. ADM contracting structures are shifting from traditional models to a more outcome-based approach.

Many German enterprises also are prioritizing agile development methods for new development and for application modernization, the report says. As the public cloud market gains traction, German businesses want to benefit from microservices and from serverless and low-code or no-code development.

"Application outsourcing has evolved from being a waterfall-based traditional approach into one that has incorporated disruptive agile-based operating models, making the core development model a direct competitive advantage for many enterprises," said Andrea Spiegelhoff, partner, ISG DACH. "Enterprises are adapting to this changing environment through faster releases and deployments of application services."

German clients are looking for agile experience from their ADM providers, the report adds. Executing large-scale agile projects is a challenge, however. Some providers are offering dedicated agile offshoring capabilities.

Many smaller Germany companies are looking to transform into globally active enterprises through agile methods, the report says. These companies prefer to partner with providers that offer excellent local support, with German-speaking service, combined with a globally distributed agile organization.

The report also sees legacy systems as the biggest hurdle for enterprise agility in Germany. Companies are seeking ways to overcome the roadblocks created by legacy systems, and they are demanding consulting services that integrate agile elements into all aspects of a digital transformation.

The report also finds a growing focus in Germany on continuous testing services, with a strong push for testing automation to enable continuous development and DevOps. German companies see testing services as a way to enable emerging technologies like blockchain and the Internet of Things.

Finally, the report finds substantial growth in the use of DevOps in Germany, with a growing focus on security and DevSecOps. The focus on DevOps is driving demand for automation, because manually taking code through testing, building, configuration and deployment becomes a bottleneck, the report says.

The 2019-2020 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen Application Development & Maintenance (ADM) Services Report for Germany evaluates the capabilities of 33 providers across four quadrants: Next-Gen ADM, Agile Development, Continuous Testing and DevOps Consulting.

The report names Atos and Capgemini as leaders in all four quadrants, and DXC Technology and IBM as leaders in three. Deutsche Telekom (TSI) and Wipro are named leaders in two quadrants, and Accenture, Cognizant and Infosys are named leaders in one.