Getting More Value From IFS After Go-Live: Why Support and Improvement Belong in One Model

A stable IFS environment isn't automatically a valuable one. Stability covers only half the job. The other half, continuous improvement, is exactly where many organizations stall after go-live, even though it's something they should plan for before they go live. In this blog post we will dive into three main topics that should be on your radar: why do improvements keep getting pushed back after a go live, the three challenges behind it, and how running and improving IFS can work as one connected model.

Your implementation project and go-live are far behind you. Users log in every day, incidents get resolved, and the implementation partner has now moved on to other projects. On paper, you could call this a success. Yet the processes that were meant to improve your operations still run via the old way; new functionality sits unused, and the roadmap that you agreed upon at the start of the project keeps slipping.

Stable isn't the same as valuable

Keeping your IFS system running is one part of the job. The other part is making sure you keep it up to date, which means it actually has to keep up with two things at once.

The first is your business. Your priorities shift, new sites and services are added to your operations, and processes need to evolve with these changes. The second thing your system has to keep up with is technology. IFS releases new functionality continuously, and new solutions, including AI, are changing what a system can do. Few internal teams have the time to keep track of all those changes, let alone decide which ones are worth adopting.

This is where an experienced partner adds real value: not only by keeping the system running, but by guiding which new capabilities fit your roadmap and when to adopt them. The organizations that get the most out of IFS don't choose between supporting their users and developing the solution. They do both, in parallel.

Three reasons improvement keeps getting pushed back

If your IFS environment is stable but not moving forward, these three challenges are usually the cause.

1. Releases, upgrades and integrations leave no room to improve.

The IFS Cloud release model brings a steady flow of new functionality, but also an ongoing workload that is often underestimated: release planning, testing, business-process validation, deployment preparation and lifecycle management. Custom extensions and integrated systems add risk, because a change in one place can break something in another. Combined with daily operations, this work quietly absorbs the capacity meant for improvement.  The answer isn't slowing down releases, but rather treating release management as part of improving the business.

2. Support capacity can't flex with the business.

Demand on your IFS team is never constant. A release or new site rollout can double the workload for months. Staff for the peaks and you overpay; staff for the average and every peak becomes a backlog. That's why flexibility is key: a partner can scale IFS expertise up for a release or project, then back down once it's delivered.

3. Support and development compete for the same people.

In most organizations, the same people handle user support and drive improvements. In practice, support always wins: a blocked user is urgent, while a process improvement can wait another week. The result? Work that can add value to your system keeps slipping to the back of the queue. 

One more factor makes all three harder: IFS expertise is scarce. Experienced specialists are difficult to hire and retain. Keeping skills current with continuous releases takes a lot of time of its own, and when critical knowledge sits with a few people, one absence can stall both support and development.  

Running and improving IFS: one model, not two jobs

The three challenges share a common root. Running IFS and improving it are treated as separate jobs competing for the same limited capacity. The organizations that get more value from their system investment connect them instead.

Running the business covers stable, structured end-user support: incident and request handling, monitoring and preventive maintenance. Improving the business covers release management, enhancements and the adoption of new functionality. When both are planned together, release updates and process improvements move forward while users stay supported.

In practice, this means structured release management that doesn't disrupt daily operations, flexible access to senior functional and technical expertise, capacity that scales with your projects, and guidance on new technology from a partner that follows where IFS is heading.

The stability of your system is the starting point, not the finish line. The real goal is an IFS environment that keeps delivering value as your business and technology evolve.

Your next step

Is your IFS team spending more time keeping the system running than making improvements that can benefit your organization in the future? Start by finding out where your biggest gaps are  We'd also be happy to discuss what we're seeing across IFS customers in the Nordics, and how they balance support with continuous improvement.  Let's connect!

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