When building a product, companies are often tempted to adjust the business process in a way that matches their most commonly used tech stack.
The mindset to choose familiar tools isn’t necessarily wrong, but it can hold you back from prioritizing product and client’s needs first. That’s why the tech agnostic model has started to gain traction among developers and engineers.
Companies have different POVs on what tech agnostic means. Still, their common guiding principle is to not go on the easy path that requires the least amount of effort from the development team because that’s not how you deliver a custom and unique solution.
Read below and find out:
- what it means to be tech agnostic
- examples of tech agnostic approaches
- benefits of the tech agnostic mindset and business model for product development
What Does It Mean to be Tech Agnostic?
The concept of tech agnostic has two implications:
- The technical perspective
The general idea is that you’re not limiting yourself to using only a few specific tech tools or programming languages. Software development companies lose the emotional attachment to some tech equipment and have an outsider’s perspective on solving problems. These companies can separate the process from technology to see the full picture.
Sometimes, the latest software on the market isn’t the right fit for what a project needs. Out of the many different tools on the market, they stay open to new ideas and solutions, and choose the best tools that fit the product’s purpose.
- The business model perspective
Beyond the flexibility to use any tech equipment, the tech agnostic concept is directly linked to an overall Agile business model. It means software development companies embrace change at any stage in the development process and efficiently address these changes without postponing project’s delivery date.
The combination of agnostic and Agile is also about planning and delivering a product in small buildups and frequent iterations, so there’s always room for improvement at minimum costs.
Examples of Tech Agnostic Approaches in Software Product Development
The tech agnostic approach can include one or more of the following:
Platform Agnostic
This is the design approach of software products where you build a product that works at its best performing capacity across multiple platforms, whether it’s Microsoft, Amazon, Linux, Unix, or Mac. For instance, a platform-agnostic cloud tool can run equally well on AWS, GCP, or the Azure cloud platform, regardless of the cloud provider or language you use.
Device Agnostic
Being device agnostic means you have the ability to build components compatible with different systems without needing specific adjustments. For example, software that’s flexible enough to work with any device the client wants, like a mobile application (app) that’s compatible with most operating systems, like Android, or iOS.
Database Agnostic
A database agnostic software runs well with any database management system, instead of being customized for a single system. For instance, you can treat DB design as an implementation detail. This way, you don’t organize the entire data model around a specific database solution.
Protocol Agnostic
With a protocol agnostic solution, devices and data work together on a common protocol seamlessly. For instance, you create an asynchronous RPC (Remote Procedure Call) system that supports multiple RPC protocols.
Vendor Agnostic
Based on the vendor-agnostic principle, you create flexible tech solutions that don’t imply dependency on a single vendor, but integration of more vendors across business platforms, preventing vendor lock-in.
Language Agnostic
Language agnostic means you can create projects independent of any specific programming language, or the ability to adjust the initial plan based on the project’s end goal. For instance, if the goal is to create a Single Page Application, you’d have to choose between several JavaScript frameworks or libraries, like Angular, React, or Vue.js.
But the choice depends on several details, including scalability, security features, the option to add plugins, extensions, and others. In fairness, language agnostic is also related to development capabilities and the way you select the right team members for the job. You either choose polyglot developers and engineers or bring in a developer with expertise in a specific programming language, based on the product’s requirements.
Tech Agnostic Principles in Software Architecture
Here are some of the tech agnostic principles we apply:
Separation of concern
This is a design principle that allows achieving modular applications by encapsulating specific concerns. In return, you get greater freedom when designing the apps since changes in one part (module) of the system would have minimal impact on other parts of the system.
One example with layered applications is that we split the application into different sections where each of them solves a separate concern. One layer focuses on data access, another one on business logic, and a different layer on user interface.
This allows us to add or remove functionalities along any stage in the development process, without having to go over some daunting and time-consuming processes.
One example would be to leave an open door for third-parties to easily create and include plug-ins.
Design by contract
The design by contract principle relies on handling the software system as a set of components that interact with one another based on predefined specifications (referred to as “contracts”). This approach requires embedding the contracts in the code, providing multiple benefits, like:
- design that’s easier to maintain over a long time
- lower documentation cost
- easy reuse of classes of specifications
Advantages of A Tech Agnostic Business Model for Product Development
Tech agnosticism can have many benefits for both development companies and stakeholders. Among them:
High learning curve
When development companies keep an open mind to bring in and work with new and different technologies, their teams expand and grow their skills and abilities. This helps companies stay ahead of the curve and become product-centric. Additionally, they gain greater industry insight and a better sense of what would be the right fit for a client.
Unique solutions
When you use the same techniques, tech stack, and processes as you develop similar apps, you leave out an effective product differentiation strategy.
With a technology agnostic culture, you leave aside the standard approach of building things, and stay open to all the possibilities that can accomplish a product’s end goal. That leads to innovative solutions without analyzing product development through the technology lens. The outcome will be a personalized solution that helps the product’s success in the long run.
Cost-optimization
The flexibility that comes with the tech agnostic business model allows the development team to choose from a wide range of tools. The budgeting strategy could include more expensive equipment for complex and robust applications, or more cost-effective tools for products with simpler functionalities. This ultimately leads to a cost-effective strategy that brings a greater ROI.
More scalable applications
Building a product in a tech agnostic way can imply a greater versatility within app design and development. For instance, you frame a platform-agnostic software that runs equally well on any platform or a database-agnostic software that works with any database management system. The end result is a more scalable app with a higher value since it’s easier to integrate with several platforms.
Conclusion
One simple way to sum-up tech agnosticism is: have a bird’s eye view on the project, and don’t start with the most precise tech specifications from the beginning.
Key takeaways if you want to adopt a tech agnostic model:
- Always keep in mind your client’s “why”
- Embrace new processes and technologies
- Choose scalable frameworks that allow easy adjustments
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