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Accelerated Transformation: When UX and Backend Are Reinvented with Strategic Partners
- Juan Carlos Garavito
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
💬 “We can do it ourselves. We know the business better than anyone.”
This phrase—proudly repeated in some boardrooms—has been responsible for hundreds of failed digital initiatives. Highly talented internal teams full of ideas end up blocked by an approach that prioritizes control over collaboration.
Meanwhile, users leave. Top talent resigns. Competitors move ahead.
The Unspoken Truth: Internal Teams Aren’t Always in Shape
At WAU, we’ve seen this up close. We’ve worked with companies whose internal talent is exceptional but is held back by legacy structures, siloed decision-making, or execution frameworks that are simply too slow.
The reality is that no internal team—no matter how committed—can single-handedly carry a full digital transformation. Today, agility, personalization, and trust don’t emerge from institutional pride, but from strategic collaboration with experts.
And we’re not just talking about UX. The backend is a critical part of the problem.
UX and Backend: The Duo That Defines Success (or Failure)
Designing a modern app with an outdated backend is like trying to install a jet engine in a car from 1985.
No matter how much you invest in design, if the foundation remains monolithic, slow, or unscalable, the experience will fail.
That’s why selective UX outsourcing and backend modernization must move forward together.
Five Blind Spots Slowing Digital Transformation
1. “We Do Everything In-House”
We’ve heard it countless times. But the truth is:
No experience designing modern architectures or AI capabilities.
No personalized engines or complex accessible flows built.
No migration from monolithic bases to decoupled microservices.
Suggested strategy: Conduct external audits for both UX and backend, compare results with internal findings, and highlight the technical, speed, and depth gaps.
2. The False Economy of “Do It Yourself”
Building everything in-house seems cheaper—until it’s not:
Accumulated delays
Growing technical debt
Missed market opportunities
Key suggestion: Calculate and present the cost of delay from not outsourcing. This is not just a technical decision—it’s a business decision.
3. Mistaking Loyalty for Leadership
Your internal team knows the system, but that doesn’t make them global experts.
Specialized agencies bring:
Use cases from dozens of markets
Mastery of global standards
Surgical execution capabilities for sensitive projects
Combine their vision with your team’s institutional knowledge, and you have a winning formula.
4. Outsourcing Is Not Losing Control—It’s Gaining Speed
Strategic outsourcing delivers:
Knowledge transfer
Objective diagnostics
Executable sprints with immediate deliverables
And most importantly: tangible, measurable results your internal team can later maintain.
5. Breaking Skepticism with Evidence
Changing mindsets isn’t about PowerPoints—it’s about:
Hard data on technical debt and delivery times
UX and feature comparisons with market leaders
Real success stories where strategic outsourcing was the turning point
Final Reflection: Unlocking Digital Potential with Experts
Imagine your internal design team is like a general practitioner. They know every “organ” in the system—every screen, every button, every flow. They can run checkups, adjust copy, improve microinteractions, and maintain the overall health of the experience.
But when the patient needs major surgery—a full UX transformation, critical AI integration, complete backend modernization, or accessibility reengineering—you don’t call the GP. You call the best cardiovascular surgeon in the world.
That’s what a specialized modernization company brings:
Advanced diagnostics: Not just checklists, but deep user behavior analysis, technical stress tests, and underlying architecture reviews.
Surgical precision in execution: Migrating critical components, redesigning flows, integrating AI features without compromising legacy systems.
Risk and recovery plans: A/B testing, rollback strategies, post-launch monitoring, and continuous support.
If you truly want to transform your digital ecosystem, the investment should be proportional. As a reference: an architect typically charges 10–15% of a building’s budget, and in complex digital products, that percentage can be even higher.
Designing a complete digital banking platform—mobile apps, web, CRM, portals—can cost tens of millions. The design phase alone can easily exceed one million dollars.
Could it be done for less? Technically, yes. But the result will likely be a generic, recycled solution that fails to differentiate your brand or retain your customers.
In Summary
Your internal team should maintain the daily health of your platform. But for open-heart surgery—for transformations that redefine your digital brand—you need the best surgeon in the market. Someone who ensures not just survival, but a stronger comeback.
Closing: Real Transformation or Digital Placebo?
Digital transformation is not built in committees. It’s built with decision, collaboration, and execution.
If you want to redesign the future of your digital experience, it’s time to combine the best of your internal team with the best the market has to offer.
At WAU, we know no transformation journey is traveled alone. We can be that external team that integrates with you, supports you, and brings the experience and capabilities you need to get the results you’re looking for. Because when we combine your vision with our execution, the impact is exponential.