Digitalisation does not begin with a software solution
When workflows consume too much time, information is scattered across different places, or essential knowledge depends on individual employees, new software can seem like the obvious answer. Before a business selects or commissions a system, however, a more important question needs an answer: Which problem should actually be solved in day-to-day work?
This is where funded consulting at Develate begins. The starting point is not a predetermined app, platform, or automation. It is a structured analysis. Which steps already work? Where do waiting times, repeated questions, or duplicate data entry occur? Which information is missing? And which changes can the people in the company realistically support?
The answer may be custom software. It may also be an existing tool, a clearer process, or better documentation that provides the greatest initial benefit. Keeping the outcome open prevents investment in technology that works as specified but misses the real need.
Consulting with a connected view
Nicole Führing has been self-employed for around 20 years. Her work has developed from start-up coaching through marketing, sales, and organisational consulting to supporting digitalisation initiatives. As a scanner personality, she quickly recognises connections, asks focused questions, and brings together the perspectives of management, employees, and technology.
Her role is not to impose a finished answer from outside the organisation. She creates a framework in which the internal experts can make visible what really happens in daily work. From a coaching perspective, she asks the questions; from a consulting perspective, she structures the findings; and from a funding perspective, she places the initiative within a suitable process.
A broad ambition such as “we need to become more digital” then becomes a dependable description: What is the bottleneck? Who does it affect? Which resources and systems already exist? What should measurably improve?
Involve the people who work with the process
Digitalisation rarely changes technology alone. It changes responsibilities, communication, and familiar routines. When the people who work with a process every day are only involved after a software decision has been made, misunderstandings and resistance can follow. In the worst case, a new system is introduced without anyone understanding why it was designed that way.
The consulting process therefore works with real operating situations. Nicole observes connections, asks about bottlenecks, and contributes experience from other projects. Employees help develop the solution instead of merely receiving a finished concept. Requirements become more precise and decisions become easier to understand.
This is not a detached theoretical exercise. The analysis remains close to everyday operations and uses the knowledge that already exists inside the business.
B2B
Which bottleneck in your business costs the most time today—and what would need to be clear before you commission software to solve it?
We examine the process together with the people who work with it every day, document the requirements, and show whether software, a different tool, or a better workflow is the most sensible next step.
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Two funding routes for different starting points
The following information is current as of July 24, 2026. Funding conditions can change. A company's and project's eligibility must always be assessed individually before consulting begins, and funding cannot be guaranteed automatically.
INQA Coaching
INQA Coaching is a nationwide German programme for small and medium-sized businesses that want to shape change in the digital workplace together with their employees. According to the official INQA information for SMEs, the programme covers 80 per cent of the cost of up to twelve coaching days. The current funding period runs from 2023 to 2028.
The process begins with an INQA consulting office, which checks the conditions and clarifies the coaching objective. The business then works with an authorised INQA coach on its specific challenges. Active employee participation is a core part of the programme.
BAFA-funded business consulting
BAFA funding supports German SMEs with economic, financial, personnel, and organisational questions concerning company management. According to the official BAFA programme overview, the subsidy covers either 50 or 80 per cent of eligible consulting costs, depending on the company's location. The corresponding maximum grant is either 1,750 or 2,800 euros.
The current directive remains valid until December 31, 2026. The order of events matters: an application must be submitted before consulting begins. Under this programme, signing the consulting contract can already count as the start, so the formal steps need to be clarified first.
The right route depends on factors such as company size, location, age, objective, and preferred way of working. That assessment belongs at the beginning of the initiative, not at the end.
Turn the analysis into an actionable plan
Good consulting does not end with a conversation that everybody remembers differently. Findings are documented and translated into concrete recommendations. The resulting report explains which challenges were identified, which possible solutions were considered, and which next steps make sense.
For software and strategy projects in particular, this documentation becomes a practical guide for implementation. It can record processes, responsibilities, requirements, and priorities. Depending on the initiative, it can also provide the foundation for a company wiki or a digital quality-management handbook that keeps organisational knowledge accessible.
The company can then approach a suitable service provider and make decisions on a dependable basis. Develate can implement the recommended solution because the context is already understood, but that implementation is not a condition of the consulting engagement. The recommendation should fit the business rather than a predetermined product.
Understand first, then invest deliberately
Funded consulting does more than reduce the financial barrier to getting started. Its real value is the clarity it creates before a larger investment. Businesses develop a shared understanding of their processes, involve the people affected, and receive documented recommendations.
Digitalisation can then begin with a well-founded decision rather than a specification filled with assumed features: What needs to change, which solution supports that goal, and which next step genuinely makes sense now?
