IT teams are often comfortable in their trusted software bubble. Change is the devil while much is still evolving. Breaking this cycle is harder than you think.

If you look at the IT team of the average medium-sized or large enterprise, you will typically only see a limited number of experts on the payroll. The majority are external consultants who are strong in their specialist area. This knowledge is often based on a specific ecosystem, for example Microsoft Azure, which ensures that he/she fully benefits from the company continuing to use this platform.

Consultants can often use their expertise to solve very difficult problems, that is their job, but often it is also about finding their own solution. The more custom solutions (and code) you have, the more dependent your organization is on such consultants.

“The shoe often pinches,” says Kris Janssens, Senior Account Executive at Boomi. It goes without saying that he would like to sell more and sees the necessary hurdles there, but he also mentions an important weak point.

Too simple? Not interesting

One of Boomi’s strengths is the automation of IT processes, preferably via low-code or no-code. “We are a cloud integration platform, Boomi Atomsphere, where we bring data from application A to app B in a very accessible way.”

This accessibility seems like a great selling point, but it can often also be a curse. “You’d be surprised how often corporate developers have a firm hand in the game. They are averse to low-code and no-code because it partially compromises their expertise.”

Janssens also points out the limited willingness of developers to leave their comfort zone. “They often have good relationships with a platform, such as Microsoft. You can use it almost anywhere as it is used by many organizations. If we make up Boomi’s story, it doesn’t help much.”

Why take risks?

It’s also somehow logical that developers within organizations, whether freelance or salaried, take few risks. Switching to another software platform can go well 99 percent of the time, but if it goes wrong, it’s over.

In addition, an IT team no longer consists of a handful of specialists. In large companies, everything was duplicated two or three times, which Janssens says only increases the complexity. “The biggest organizations in Belgium have so many developers, easily a hundred people or more. I estimate less than half are permanent employees.”

“Organizations like this because invoices are more flexible than permanent employees. It is even more difficult to convince someone from the outside to change or develop. The more complex the system, the more power the developer has and the more indispensable he feels.”

Growing with NATO as a hobby horse

Such self-interest hurts a company like Boomi, which ties everything together and takes a flexible stance on everyone as an independent party. “Rather than simply bridging the gap between legacy and innovation and renewal, we often work in ecosystems that IT teams are familiar with. I get it, that’s easy until you suddenly move ecosystems and realize everything is so tightly connected that you can’t walk away. You are being held hostage for betting everything on a horse.”

Janssens hopes that, given the increasing complexity, companies will recognize in good time that diversification within the IT portfolio is important in order to continue developing in a stable manner. It goes without saying that he prefers to push Boomi forward as a neutral player who creates the connection between all other platforms.

“Security and compliance is one of our passions that we have a strong focus on within the EU. GDPR, ISO 27001:1, NIS2, it holds no secrets for us.”

Finally, he also notes the new wind that has been blowing at Boomi since the arrival of new CEO Steve Lucas late last year. “This man knows the technology, is excellently connected and full of energy. The dust is blown away. We are already growing very quickly in the USA. It is up to us to do the same in the EU and in Belgium in particular.”