IT modernization for the Digital 2020 Landscape

As digital transformation landscape is demanding more interactive and flexible IT systems and organizations, companies need an end-to-end approach for upgrading and managing business technologies.

Most companies are facing critical IT Modernization issues, either in digitizing customer workflows, employee management, or legacy transformation. Since ages, companies favor an incremental approach to IT modernization in which they focus on immediate points of pain and then subsequent issues as they occur. However, the digital transformation disruption has created an urgent need for companies to modernize IT and keep the big picture in mind.

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When a company takes an end-to-end IT Modernization approach, the company redefines the strategy for growth and improvement. The approach of incremental IT modernization, the organization includes IT as the critical part in their division and becomes a trusted partner but not a critical decision driver. The incremental approach taken in this scenario entails less risk; as if something goes amiss in the small software development project, the approach cleans the problem in specific pain points. The approach also offers improvements through a small product-line and/or services. Thus, leading the companies to faster connect with customer interfaces or tasks associated with systems.

But, this approach has its own limitations!

The technology team addresses the problems in a system involving their own area of competence or internal business unit. This creates islands of disparate system workflows and breeds complexity, keeping redundant systems and processes working at their own pace. This limits growth and competitiveness. When these companies pursue Digital Transformation, there is a weakness at the core and IT-management systems are exposed to threats and weak infrastructure. This leads to customers experiencing missing data links, poor experience, slow processing speed, and disconnected services.

On the other hand, the end-to-end IT modernization approach is effective and creates a supporting viable digital framework. In this approach, the companies take 3 critical steps: Define the target state of the IT architecture, Decide which elements (System, People, and Process) need to change, and determine the sequence of scoping. It is very important to carry these steps in systematic order, across all strategic units and with inputs from CEO, CIO, CXO, and IT directors.

End-to-end IT modernization is less risky and potentially less expensive in the long term. It paves the way for seamless adoption of micro-services and emerging technology. This enhanced IT modernization ensures that companies have the perfect IT capability for decades rather than just the next few years.

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Implementing IT Modernization for Digital 2020 Landscape:  Today, Tech that supports digital transformation activities cover the entire IT landscape; companies are trying to define the thin lines between front and back office information system management. They are realizing that the old ways of technology, process, decision making, and operations are costing heavier. Business professionals are seeking to change their approach in modernizing IT through the following 3 tasks:

IT Modernization Goals: IT modernization brings business and IT leaders under one roof to define the modernization goals for the entire organization. Together, they can set realistic and futuristic goals for digital transformation.

Sample questions to which goals are defined:

• Which technology-driven project brings more revenue?
• What brings reduced cost in the long term?
• What improves employee efficiency in the short term?
• Which would give our company a competitive edge?

The team can define the categories of operations, products, and implementations to be digitized or improved through tech. Even the team can focus on improving customer experience, employee experience, or even just channel connect. The most important part is the organization can partner with IT. Thus, IT and organization strategy can effectively employ technology to perform better in a number of areas which include organizational services and a healthy organizational culture.

Operation, Technology and Employees | Where Area to Focus: With a clear road map at hand, IT leaders can decide how and whether to make specific changes to the elements of IT architecture or workflow for example, front-end applications, middle connect, or even back-end applications or servers which would help businesses in attaining their business goals. Generally, only a few workflows need a full revamp but others, with effective use of platforms can mitigate the need for significant change. (Platforms like ServiceNow can help fully redesign or mitigate changes if needed.)

At first, the IT team should understand the current landscape and applications. Then, identify those technologies to be improved, consolidated with other applications, or removed. The team would then identify real-time data, the actual metrics for customer experiences, new launches, etc. The new digital technology framework defined should give all the stakeholders 24/7 access to everything they want.

Once the IT team members have defined the core problem and solution, they must discuss the organizational and operating model changes. Modernization can benefit processes, products, and activities.

Defining the Scope of Change: IT and business leaders should create a documented clear road map for modernizing by having two and three updates lined up with metrics for defined outcomes. This would also give clarity on Joint IT goals and projects. The technical interdependencies arising from the road map need to be connected with the incidence of systems to reduce costs and efforts. This team can use any metrics to guide these discussions like IT investments, the amount of revenue being generated, or productivity.

The transformation leaders can use these insights to outline possible scope of change for IT modernization. The modernization either according to lines of business or geographic location can devise the right timetable with ideal capital investments. With the connect between financial modernization and IT modernization, the process for digital transformation can be started.