A deliberate deployment of cloud computing technology is a good way to give your IT infrastructure the speed and responsiveness required by today’s heightened market expectations. Please let me take a few minutes to explain how we can provide your organization the agility, security, and resilience that comes with modern application architecture.
A custom, reliable app modernization strategy allows you to align legacy technology to your current business needs by updating older software with newer computing approaches.
Modern app design can improve the security of your IT environment and dramatically benefit the functioning of your overall organization. Modern apps deliver vastly improved responsiveness to the fast-changing needs of dynamic markets and provide your organization with analytics capabilities that accelerate metrics-driven decision making.
Investing in a Successful App Modernization Strategy
There is no debate about the fact that investing now in your app modernization strategy is the surest way to dramatically impact the most critical parts of your IT operations. Nevertheless, many business leaders find themselves trapped in an outdated IT environment, pumping resources into monitoring and troubleshooting legacy software when they really should be focused on activities that add business value. You need to know that it’s possible to create cloud systems that integrate with your core assets.
In a recent McKinsey study of enterprises, “Unlocking business acceleration in a hybrid cloud world,” the CIOs surveyed reported that 74% of their IT spend goes to legacy systems. The report further points out that this failure to modernize hinders organizations’ agility and speed while throttling innovation.
According to the study, these organizations are in the process of accumulating a “tech debt” and will find themselves stuck with legacy architectures that can’t be easily disentangled. That impedes the implementation of new solutions, creating a vicious cycle.
While depriving your business of the tools required to compete, putting off app development and modernization saps energy and resources required to address these challenges. Modernization efforts then falter.
If you add the maintenance costs of your legacy IT system to the opportunity costs of delivering an inferior customer experience, in most cases, you’ll find the cost of app modernization attractive. This is a move that will free your team to focus on rapid innovation.
A Prudent Path to Modern App Development
There are innumerable approaches to a successful app modernization strategy. All, of course, begin by identifying your needs and developing a roadmap, and there are many viable methods that can lead to meaningful change. Before we go into detail on that, let’s spend a minute or two on the subject of security.
A powerful benefit of transitioning from legacy infrastructure to cloud-native solutions is that it allows developers to build fast. Unfortunately, that creates some problems. Implementing code review processes and security guidelines can create a lot of friction for developers.
One way to solve that problem is to throw money at it by hiring developers with dyed-in-the wool security architecture expertise at the outset of your digital transformation. These engineers use Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to create environments with built-in secure configuration. You can also make significant investments to retrain, upskill, or reskill your current employees.
I would say most organizations today—even those who are pursuing both of those strategies—like to work with a cloud-service provider with deeply experienced AppDev professionals on staff. You’ll want a partner that offers flexible development strategies, including agile and life cycle management, because this particular field of custom app development often involves both.
Working with a Custom App Developer
There are essentially four steps to working with a technology management firm in developing and deploying a modern app.
- First is the build, in which your in-house team works with the App-Dev pros to create customized mobile and software solutions. You can and should insist that all of the solutions you put in place are customized to your specific business requirements.
- At the same time, you will update and enhance existing software to integrate it with the new systems and technologies, and to reinforce security, improve functionality, and deliver more speed.
- While making the big shift from a legacy system to the cloud, it is imperative that you develop technical and architectural documentation. Define and document application workflows. and draw up specific plans for maintenance, rationalization, and migration.
- Finally, working on your app modernization project with a professional-services provider steeped in modern app development ensures its long-term success because ongoing support will be baked into the project. Today, automated monitoring systems conduct in-depth reviews 24/7 to keep your critical systems functioning efficiently and securely.
I hope you found this information helpful. As always, contact us anytime about your technology needs.
Until next time,
Tim
