BAE Systems' Successful Implementation of Low-Code Development for Business Automation
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Event-Driven Application
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Aerospace
- Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Construction Management
- Infrastructure Inspection
Services
- System Integration
- Testing & Certification
About The Customer
BAE Systems is Europe’s largest defense contractor with over 90,000 global employees. The company has a 40-year history of delivering technology to keep critical information and infrastructure secure. BAE Systems is known for its commitment to innovation and agility in the face of changing demands and challenges. The company's IT team is responsible for maintaining and replacing mission-critical core systems while also delivering new, innovative solutions. The team had adopted an agile way of working and was looking for a platform that would enable them to deliver faster on bespoke development demands.
The Challenge
BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defense contractor, was facing a common challenge in the IT sector. The company was struggling with a backlog of demands to maintain or replace mission-critical core systems while also delivering new, innovative solutions. The shortage of resources to deliver in all areas was leading to the growth of opaque shadow IT solutions. The company was also reliant on third-party providers for managing their systems, which made getting applications into production and retaining control in-house a challenge. The IT team had adopted an agile way of working, but the current suite of tools and partners did not fit with this cultural shift. The team was looking for a platform that would enable them to deliver faster on bespoke development demands to prevent the creation of shadow IT, while simultaneously keeping their core clean and reducing their reliance on external development support.
The Solution
BAE Systems decided to implement a low-code platform, Mendix, to meet their business demands with speed and compatibility with existing systems of record. The team conducted a one-week pilot on-site with a business sponsor and their developers to deliver the prototype of an application based on a real business case. This pilot program helped the developers understand the power of Mendix and secured organizational support for this new way of working. Following the success of the trial, the team developed a clear positioning for Mendix within their solution development landscape. They trained all the developers on Mendix and shifted to a Mendix-first approach for all the bespoke application requests that came into IT. With the necessary stakeholder buy-in and a vision for low-code’s role in the enterprise, solution delivery has ramped up quickly for BAE Systems.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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