The recent explosion in technologies such as generative AI shows that enterprises must be technology-centric and able to use that technology to create differentiation in the market through new products and services. If they can do so, it pays off, too. A recent IBM® Institute of Business Value report found that companies investing in digital innovation are seeing an average ROI of 46% on new digital products and 75% on digital product enhancements.
Even so, many businesses struggle to fully unlock the potential of their digital products, with a staggering 75% of digital transformations failing. What’s holding them back? The gap between innovation and execution, especially in the ability to efficiently design, develop and scale new digital solutions prevents businesses from fully realizing the full potential of their digital transformation.
Investing in product engineering bridges this gap, transforming innovative ideas into scalable, market-ready solutions that drive long-term success and differentiation. Product engineering isn’t just a trend. It’s a strategic necessity for long-term success that offers several benefits.
By using product engineering to accelerate development, organizations are able to move more quickly, launching products faster and staying ahead of the competition.
- Organizations see an average ROI of 46% on new digital product creation and 75% on enhancements to existing digital products.1
- Eight in 10 organizations globally say that digital products have positively impacted their competitive advantage in responding more quickly to customer needs and new opportunities.1
By prioritizing users in the design process, businesses can create intuitive products, services and experiences that exceed customer expectations.
- 47% of top companies reported their digital product having a significant impact on customer retention.1
- 61% of top companies say that understanding user and customer needs is the biggest opportunity to drive impact.1
By using customer and market insights, businesses can identify untapped markets and new opportunities, creating more revenue streams and expanding their reach. Approximately 79% of executives reported their digital product gave them stronger revenue streams.1
By embracing the latest technologies and a user-centric design approach, businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors and establish themselves as industry leaders. Organizations with the highest ROI on their digital products found the greatest competitive differentiation in terms of customer loyalty, lower costs and faster response to new opportunities.1
While the benefits of product engineering are undeniable, businesses can encounter some challenges during implementation. It’s good practice to know about common obstacles and how to overcome them.
Development processes can face delays, budget overruns and quality issues. These issues can be addressed by establishing clear objectives and well-defined timelines while fostering cross-team collaboration to increase efficiency and accountability. By using product strategy, design and development, organizations can apply the product development lifecycle method, anchored in design thinking and agile methodologies to streamline workflows. AI-driven platforms such as IBM Consulting® Advantage and IBM Garage™ further transform the development process, reducing handoffs and accelerating ROI. However, efficiency also depends on having the right operating model, team, measurement framework and tools, all essential elements of product transformation to help ensure sustainable growth.
The pressure to deliver products quickly can often lead to quality compromises. Instead of cutting corners, organizations should use value orchestration, aligning teams, processes and technology to streamline development while maintaining high standards. Organizations should embrace product management and value orchestration, aligning teams, processes and technology to maintain both speed and excellence. Prioritizing key features, informing decision-making with data analytics and integrating cloud and DevOps capabilities enables early testing, continuous integration and scalable deployments. This helps ensure that every product iteration enhances usability, delivers impact and meets customer needs without compromising quality.
Finding and retaining top talent in product engineering can be challenging. Organizations should focus on creating an environment that emphasizes growth and empowers teams with ownership and responsibility. A strong product transformation strategy can help organizations build a culture that fosters ownership, transparency and engagement. By measuring cultural impact, investing in skill development, and providing an authentic and growth-oriented environment, organizations foster a workplace where top talent thrives.
IBM Consulting® helps enterprises build custom software and support the entire digital product lifecycle, blending strategy, design, cloud-native engineering and AI to accelerate time to value. With unmatched technical expertise and global partnerships, we lead in enterprise cloud, AI, engineering and experience design. Our hybrid approach, enhanced by AI-infused IBM Consulting Advantage assets, drives measurable outcomes and puts value at the core of every project.
In a world where every business must compete on the quality of its products and customer experiences, value-focused product engineering is the key to staying ahead. IBM offers end-to-end consulting services and AI-enabled solutions to help businesses create innovative products and build strong product portfolios that deliver measurable impact. Whether your goal is enhancing customer experiences, unlocking new revenue streams or establishing your leadership position in the market, IBM Consulting product design and engineering services can help turn your vision into reality, fast.
Ready to unlock your business’s full potential? Let’s make it happen with IBM Consulting product design and engineering services.