Over the past two years, NMI has been on its own mission to answer a question many software developers ask: “How do you scale efficiently without sacrificing agility?” The answer lies in reimagining the organizational structure. By shifting the focus to how we reorganize our teams, we can unlock faster delivery, enhanced collaboration, and ultimately deliver greater value to our customers.
Recent data shows the U.S. software-as-a-service (SaaS) market is projected to reach $225 billion by the end of 2025, making it the largest SaaS market in the world. This rapid growth can pose a challenge for both established companies and startups to find a way to differentiate themselves and stand out in an already crowded space. If you’re a software developer or an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) looking to scale smarter, not harder, here are some insightful lessons learned during NMI’s transformation journey.
A Structure that Serves the Customer
At the core of our transformation is reorganizing around value streams. This concept shifts the focus from internal departments to customer outcomes. Instead of siloed teams working on isolated tasks, each value stream owns the complete lifecycle of a product or service. This isn’t just a change in an organizational chart; it’s a mindset shift. The structure empowers teams to operate autonomously, minimize dependencies, and make it abundantly clear how each team contributes to the overarching business goals.
Like many companies, NMI’s transformation didn’t happen overnight, nor was it a flawless design from day one. The journey started with what we now call Value Streams 1.0 – aligning teams by product lines and laying the groundwork for scaled agility. We introduced tools to provide teams with a portfolio-level view of their work and launched an internal agile coaching program to guide this shift. That early structure revealed some blind spots; for example, certain acquisitions didn’t integrate as well as we anticipated, and mappings didn’t reduce dependencies as effectively as we hoped. However, each lesson learned was invaluable and helped shape the next strategic move.
Maturing the Model
With the introduction of Value Streams 2.0, NMI adopted a more product-centric structure. This streamlined five initial streams down to three, aligning them more closely to the products we sell, while embedding product and engineering leads with real ownership. The result? Tighter product and engineering partnerships, improved customer alignment with customer needs and clearer KPIs to track our progress.
Now, our latest iteration, Value Streams 3.0, is leaner, smarter and more closely tied to our corporate strategy. Many value streams now operate with nearly full independence, like running several mini start-ups within the business. We’ve also transitioned from merely coaching agility to truly empowering every team to embrace it.
For Software Developers – Iteration Is Everything
For a B2B ISV or software developer looking to scale, there are three important takeaways:
- Structure is Strategy: How you organize your teams can either unlock or block your ability to scale.
- Don’t Wait for Perfect: Start with a hypothesis, launch the first version, learn and improve.
- Empower Your Teams: Give them clear ownership, align them to customer values and trust your teams to lead.
In order to thrive in a market where change is the only constant, software developers must continuously evolve and adapt to customer needs. When done right, an intentional structure doesn’t just support agility – it supercharges it. By setting up your team for success today, you’re paving the way to conquer tomorrow’s challenges.
