Cape Town-based digital innovation agency Specno has repositioned its business from digital agency services to a product consultancy model, citing changing market conditions in software development and growing demand for strategic delivery support.
The company said the move is aimed at scale-up businesses facing major product, platform and architecture decisions, where errors can carry significant commercial and operational costs.
The shift comes as artificial intelligence (AI) tools and automation continue to reduce the time and cost associated with building software, increasing pressure on services firms to differentiate beyond development capacity alone.
The move reflects a broader trend in SA’s software services market, where firms are increasingly seeking to compete on advisory capability, product expertise and business outcomes rather than development capacity alone. Companies such as BBD, Entelect and Retro Rabbit have similarly expanded beyond traditional software delivery into consulting, product and digital transformation services.
Gartner forecasts the consulting market will grow at a 6% five-year compound annual growth rate through 2029, with demand linked to AI, cyber security and digital product engineering.
According to Joshua Harvey, CEO at Specno, many companies are able to ship products faster but still encounter weak customer adoption, low conversion rates and missed revenue targets after launch.
He said these outcomes are often linked to product planning decisions made before development begins.
“Speed of delivery is becoming less of a differentiator,” said Harvey. “The bigger challenge for many businesses is ensuring they are solving the right problem, prioritising the right features and making sound technical decisions before significant investment is committed.”
Under the revised model, Specno said it will embed senior product, user experience and engineering specialists within client teams during critical delivery phases such as launches, platform builds and core architecture transitions.
The company said its engagements will focus on validating assumptions, refining priorities and testing technical feasibility before products move into full development.
Harvey said many software setbacks are caused by issues identified too late in the delivery cycle.
“In many cases, execution is not the primary problem. Risks often emerge earlier, when assumptions have not been tested or technical complexity is not fully understood until later stages,” he said.
Specno also plans to expand the use of AI-assisted development tools in its delivery processes to improve efficiency and reduce delivery overhead.
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