Greenfield or Brownfield
In many disciplines including software, a greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work. No constraints are imposed by legacy code, no requirements to integrate with other legacy systems. The development process is straightforward, but the risks are high as well because you’re moving into uncharted territory.
Brownfield in software development & IT landscape, means to start a project based on prior work or to rebuild (engineer) a product from an existing software, platform or IT landscape of an organisation.
However, it is hard to decide which one is the right strategy to adapt when pursuing digital modernization of your organisation. When looking at digital modernization, it is important to consider the information flow, user access, process requirement and scalability of the project at hand. Making the right decision will ensure the costs remain low and the transition is seamless. Here are some areas to consider when looking choose the right approach.
In every case, it is important to understand what is already available what is required to be achieved and how to fill the gap. To obtain the same cost and performance benefits that online companies enjoy, established companies need an IT architecture that is modular, simple, customer-centric, and configurable. It is a must in today’s competitor landscape in almost every industry. A clear understanding of the goals, will allow clearer cost estimates and will produce more desirable, satisfactory results.
Conclusion
For us there’s no favorite. Every project should be balanced and coordinated between greenfield and brownfield approach. Like every business and organization is different, different areas of the organization may need a different approach. It all essentially is highly dependent on the core requirement and goals you are looking to achieve for your client or project. Sometimes building a new platform rather than purchase or lease an existing one, will work out to be more beneficial. A new facility may offer the maximum design flexibility and efficiency to meet the project’s needs. An existing facility may force the company to adjust based on the present design and features limitations.
