Agile is an ideal approach for business intelligence projects and can acheive highly targetted "quick wins" but requires substantial engagement of the project owner to ensure success:

The Agile development approach to data management and business intelligence (BI) projects is seeing greater take up by CIOs as public and private sector firms demand faster, more measurable returns on their information investments.

Agile approach can be used to incrementally add business value and if deployed correctly, can return great benefits to any organisation.

Unlike the traditional waterfall methodology, where planning is all done upfront, Agile IM delivery folds 80 per cent of planning into the actual program deployment. This not only gets projects off the ground faster and gives the business results sooner, but yields much better requirements, so the effectiveness of the development team increases dramatically.

Software can supply excellent value and a vital path to exploit your business advantage. But do you build it yourself:

As a CEO, balancing your company’s immediate needs with its long-term growth is both paramount and challenging – especially if your business is a startup. Challenging questions arise, such as whether you should invest aggressively in long-term initiatives or take the less expensive and more conservative approach. The “build versus buy” decision, for example, is a significant one that many companies face when addressing their software needs.

Construction technological innovation is moving fast with construction companies needing to integrate exciting new IT tools into their projects:

The Australian construction sector is rapidly changing, with technology a key driver of change. Construction companies are integral to the Australian economy, with their total contribution to the production of goods and services reaching 7.7 per cent in 2010-2011, or more than $100 billion, while employing more than a million Australians. As the Australian economy recovers, the building industry is following suit, with projected job growth of eight per cent in 2015. As existing businesses and entrepreneurs see growth areas in the industry, innovation and efficiencies become more important than ever.

Company engagement with the custom software market is revealed in the latest research from Forrester Consulting. Dennis McCafferty explains:

A significant share of IT and business decision-makers are turning to custom software applications to meet their business needs, according to a recent survey conducted by Forrester Consulting for Thoughtworks. The accompanying report, "Driving Innovation Using the Right Skills: The Value of Custom Software Development," indicates that these leaders are looking for more than just development skills in a custom software provider. They seek a strategic partner that can help transform their organization. For example, many consider a proven track record with agile development essential. When organizations find the right provider, they're usually willing to pay a premium for the apps—in some cases, more than 20 percent. "Business and IT leaders are under pressure to deliver a continuous stream of standout digital experiences," says Craig Gorsline, president and chief operating officer at ThoughtWorks. "In this environment, it's imperative that technology [be] at the core of the business strategy. The path to digital success is complex and requires a new approach—one that is iterative and adaptive, spanning multiple levels of the organization and providing quick time to value." A total of 200 global IT and business decision-makers at companies that at least partially outsource custom software development took part in the research

From our experience Agile allows prioritization of your business software requirements permitting your new system to score quick wins within your organisation. This helps greatly for adoption and acceptance of the new system with your end users when it is first deployed. Keep Reading for an excellent strainght forward article about agile By Eric Wittman, General Manager, Developer Tools Atlassian.

Does your company make medical devices? How about cars? Or appliances? Or mobile applications? Do you have an external website?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then your company is a software company. As more and more businesses enter this category, the adoption of agile software development practices is becoming mainstream—and not just in the high-tech sector. Across industries, businesses are realizing that, even if their only foray into software is a corporate website, that software is the organization’s public face—and increasingly so, in this digital age of ours. Best to make a good first impression.

Agile’s value is well-documented. The approach has helped teams at both large enterprises and small startups deliver high-quality software—on time—for more than a decade. If your organization is not already employing agile software development practices, now is the time to adopt them to maintain a competitive edge and deliver the best possible products to customers.