Many firms are finding it difficult to meet their objectives as the need to update their IT systems grows. Even though modernization is urgently needed, many attempts fail, and projects frequently end up taking twice as long and costing twice as much as anticipated.
The urge to make drastic changes all at once, sometimes known as a “big bang” strategy, when companies attempt to reinvent everything at once, is frequently the main problem. This approach may ultimately go beyond its scope and capability for change, waste previous expenditures, and misalign execution with technology adoption.
Although the majority of CEOs concur that modernizing their companies is crucial for reducing risk, less than one-third think their company is actually setting the standard for modernization and using technology to improve business outcomes. More worrisome, research indicates that executives frequently lack assistance in integrating new technology with current infrastructure, hiring and educating personnel for new technologies, and coordinating IT modernization with business application owners.
Here are five essential suggestions to assist guarantee a successful IT modernization plan, given the complexity and high stakes of IT modernization, particularly in hybrid systems that combine mainframes, private, and public clouds:
1. Give Business Results More Weight Than Technology
The gap between the IT capabilities intended to support contemporary business needs and those needs is widening. IT teams frequently overlook how technology affects business outcomes in favor of concentrating on the technology itself. Aligning every technology investment with specific business goals is essential for IT transformation success.
Making it clear how each technology may directly help the company guarantees that efforts to implement digital transformation add real value. The organization must prioritize ongoing innovation and return on investment (ROI) in order to achieve significant, gradual changes.
2. Adopt a Holistic, Pragmatic Perspective
Adopt an agile, incremental strategy to IT modernization instead of trying a dangerous all-at-once overhaul. As you handle continuing business, technological, and regulatory problems, divide the process into manageable steps.
A successful modernization endeavor necessitates modifications to the operational model and supporting procedures in addition to a change in technology. The secret to success is a “Run-Transform-Run” approach, which involves making small, continual improvements to continuously drive advantages while maintaining the flexibility to change direction when necessary.
3. Assign Tasks to Appropriate Platforms
Whether it is on mainframes, on-premises private clouds, public clouds, or multi-cloud settings, each application and workload should be deployed on the platform that best suits its unique requirements.
Hybrid IT systems are complicated by the fact that enterprise apps frequently use various IT platforms to provide value. For your IT transition to be successful, smooth integration and ongoing optimization are crucial. Assessing and changing each application in accordance with its needs, on the appropriate platform, and at the appropriate speed is more important than transferring everything to the cloud or continuing to use mainframes.
4. Optimize by Using AI and Data Insights
To find the best platform for any task, use AI and data-driven insights from your IT environment. You can find opportunities to optimize deployments across the hybrid IT landscape and identify redundancy by examining IT cost and asset data from several cloud environments.
You may also optimize workloads, cut expenses, and boost productivity by identifying high-consumption locations with the use of mainframe batch analytics insights. Making decisions based on data is essential for cutting operational costs and expediting your IT modernization process.
5. Make the Correct Talent and Skill Investments
People are just as important to the success of IT transformation as technology. Make sure you have professionals with knowledge of mainframe technologies, cloud computing, application modernization, security, and risk management to carry out a successful modernization strategy.
It is crucial to have qualified personnel at every level, from the application layer to the infrastructure, across all platforms. To reduce risks and guarantee a safe, fruitful modernization journey, the company must cultivate a security-conscious culture throughout the transformation process.