This blog volition locomotion you done however to plan a modernization attack that unites strategy, processes, and technology.

In our past blog, I outlined what modernization truly means and wherefore it matters. This blog volition locomotion you done however to plan a modernization attack that unites strategy, processes, and technology. Getting these elements close volition assistance presumption your enactment to successfully follow caller innovations similar AI. I’ll commencement by covering a fewer communal challenges to modernization, and then, I’ll usage the Forrester Application Modernization Checklist to amusement however a holistic modernization attack tin assistance code them. 

But earlier we dive in, let’s recap what we’ve learned truthful far: modernization means updating and improving assets crossed each concern areas truthful they enactment good with evolving bundle and the cloud. Successful modernization goes beyond tech upgrades oregon unreality migration—it’s a holistic attack to modernizing people, processes, and skillsets. 

The effect is exertion that’s much aligned to meaningful outcomes, particularly erstwhile it comes to AI. AI is worthy reasoning astir arsenic catalyst and accelerator of modernization. In fact, 61% of concern leaders accidental their enactment plans to put astir successful generative AI arsenic they hole for the adjacent improvement of generative AI-infused apps¹. 

Organizational and method barriers complicate modernizing for AI readiness 

Though modernizing is essential, it’s besides complicated. On the method side, businesses whitethorn beryllium connected sprawling bequest app estates. An IDC survey recovered that an mean 50% of an organization’s exertion property is legacy, which often results successful fragile interdependencies and bottlenecks². This is lone exacerbated erstwhile caller technologies are added into the premix that summation the complexity of accusation exertion (IT) environments. 

On the operations side, things are conscionable arsenic frustrating. Many companies conflict with manual processes and information concerns that dilatory down modernization, made worse by a changeless shortage of skilled IT professionals³. Then there’s the question of enactment buy-in; due to the fact that modernization tin beryllium costly, it’s challenging to warrant it to cardinal determination makers. 

“It’s a multi-million-dollar workout for banks to modernize their core. And for ample banks, it could adjacent beryllium hundreds of millions of dollars and a multi-year effort. So, tons of banks are hesitant to spell connected that modernization travel to the unreality oregon adjacent to a newer core.”

Jeroen Unger, Director of Global Alliances, Backbase

Failing to code these challenges tin person superior consequences similar accrued risk, platform-wide setbacks, and skyrocketing operating expenses. Businesses whitethorn find themselves locked into a semipermanent crippled of catch-up that reduces agility and prevents innovation. 

Checklist: Building a holistic modernization approach 

Taking a holistic modernization approach is critical. As we covered successful our past blog, businesses that successfully modernize their operations bash truthful by uniting their enactment from the apical level to the frontline⁴. But what precisely does that look like? Let’s locomotion done the 3 captious absorption areas recommended by the Forrester Application Modernization Checklist: strategy, processes, and technology. 

1. Implement a wide exertion strategy (especially astir AI and training) 

Where to start: 

• Ensure you person buy-in from leadership. 

• Embrace a premix of wide and focused approaches to AI and generative AI.  

• Ensure that each organizational units and exertion stacks are well-aligned. 

Any modernization effort needs to beryllium justifiable to your enactment team. Make definite your strategy is intelligibly aligned to tangible concern objectives, since enactment often focuses connected outcomes that straight interaction performance. If app information is 1 of your priorities, for example, link this extremity to cloud’s imaginable for outgo and vulnerability simplification done built-in, precocious information features and compliance tools.  

It’s besides important that your strategy includes an attack to AI. Since AI is comparatively new, wage adjacent attraction to emerging usage cases that hint astatine its imaginable impact. From accelerating bundle improvement lifecycle, faster anomaly discovery, and intelligent codification completion, AI tin besides velocity up process documentation by automatically generating reports, creating content, oregon driving personalization connected a deeper level oregon much intelligent concern processes. This wasn’t mislaid connected starring Australian supermarket marque Coles, which got connected committee rapidly aft realizing AI could beryllium utilized to foretell what products request to beryllium astatine what store astatine what time.

“Our full proviso concatenation is being driven done a instrumentality learning engine. So, it is giving penetration astatine a ace localized level. We’re besides utilizing it to guarantee that we are scheduling our squad members based connected lawsuit request and making definite we support the shelves stocked appropriately.”

John Cox, Chief Technology Officer, Coles 

A wide strategy besides means gathering a roadmap for implementing, measuring, and tracking modernization and AI initiatives implicit time. Keep successful caput that results for the archetypal fewer months unsocial whitethorn not overgarment a implicit representation of success—benefits similar maintenance, monitoring, and absorption outgo simplification whitethorn amusement up later. Instead, deliberation creatively astir measurement, particularly successful presumption of what matters for your industry. You mightiness usage cross-team metrics oregon behavioral changes to measure however teams are adopting caller tools. Or, if you’re successful retail, possibly you’d way however agelong it takes for customers to determination from buying to purchasing. 

Finally, don’t hide to impact your workforce. Any holistic modernization strategy should see a program for upskilling employees crossed each departments to guarantee wide adoption of caller tools and technologies.  

2. Adopt modern operational and exertion processes 

 What to bash first: 

• Map operational processes straight to modernization activities.  

• View unreality migration arsenic a means, not an end, to realizing AI value.  

• Adopt modern operational approaches and way the outcomes of this shift.  

Next, instrumentality a look astatine your processes. Whether that’s your governance oregon app improvement workflows, they should representation straight to your modernization activities. If you’re looking to modernize your bequest applications, for example, deliberation astir however caller tech similar the unreality mightiness origin into your improvement process. This measurement is captious to get right—many businesses study their biggest obstacles to modernization are organizational and governmental successful nature. It’s besides particularly important to make plans for infusing AI specifically into your existing workflows, similar European PayTech institution Nexi did.  

“With the standardization and momentum that comes with the [Microsoft] Azure transition, we focused connected automating much processes and taking different leap forward.”

Lars Einar Harberg, IT Director eCommerce Payments, Nexi Group 

Don’t hide to usage metrics to way your process updates, too. Modernization outcomes are measurable erstwhile they’re tracked against cross-business unit, cross-team (e.g. sales, marketing, and product) KPIs (key show indicators) and OKRs (objectives and cardinal results). Suppose you privation to measurement operational efficiency, time-to-solution value, quality, and extent of observability and manageability. You request to marque definite that the mode you measurement isn’t lone meaningful to 1 acceptable of stakeholders.  

3. Update exertion stacks supported by strategical partnerships 

What to bash first: 

• Limit exertion sprawl and upgrade tech stacks.   

• Organize your attack to information aboriginal on.  

• Seek retired strategical partners. 

The past halt connected our checklist is the evident one: technology. Your modernization strategy indispensable see a program to integrate your exertion stacks with enactment from strategical partners. Integrated exertion stacks are sets of software, platforms, and tools that enactment unneurotic to debar silos and constituent solutions that make inefficiencies. They tin assistance businesses make amended data, unlock richer insights, and efficaciously incorporated AI.  

But due to the fact that these stacks adhd complexity connected the backend, guarantee your efforts are guided by trusted advisors. Nexi realized this aboriginal connected and developed a strategical concern with Microsoft, which provided broad resources and support.  

“We worked intimately with Microsoft interior architects to double-check connected architectural decisions. Microsoft helped america modulation from a axenic improvement mindset to a DevOps mindset, embracing ‘you-built-it, you-run-it’ arsenic a cardinal philosophy.”

Jens Barnow, Senior Vice President, Group Technology, Nexi Group 

Your program should besides see a strategy for addressing information concerns early—waiting until problems originate tin dilatory down modernization astatine champion and compromise information astatine worst.  

Start your modernization travel contiguous and pb your concern into the future 

When modernization is done right, the results tin beryllium transformative. We’ll instrumentality a look astatine the circumstantial benefits successful our adjacent blog, but galore organizations study outcomes ranging from accrued ratio to improved method capabilities. And of course, galore became AI-ready. According to 1 Forrester study, 75% of respondents agreed that migrating to the unreality was indispensable to AI and instrumentality learning adoption⁵. 

So, are you acceptable to statesman modernizing your business? Start by speechmaking the first blog successful our series connected the basics of modernization and cheque retired the Forrester Consulting Application Modernization Checklist that Microsoft commissioned. Don’t hide to enactment tuned for our adjacent blog and research the pursuing resources:  

• Learn astir the benefits of Cloud Migration and Modernization from IDC. 

• Consult the Application and Data Modernization: Azure page. 

• Visit the Microsoft Azure Innovate site.

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Sources:

1,3,4. Forrester Modernization Study | Microsoft Azure

2. IDC App Migration White Paper | Microsoft Azure

5. The Total Economic Impact™ Of Migrating Microsoft Azure For AI-Readiness