Transforming applications for cloud and mobility

Organisations need to understand how to embrace emerging technologies to bring them new customers or defend their existing bases. However, too many organisations are struggling to maximise the potential.

According to McKinsey, disruptive technologies such as the mobile internet, cloud, and the automation of knowledge work have the potential to transform the way people live and work, drive business advantage and economic growth. As billions of consumer devices, industrial machines and communities become increasingly connected, these technologies present huge opportunities.

Organisations need to understand how to embrace emerging technologies to bring them new customers or defend their existing bases. However, too many organisations are struggling to maximise the potential.

Many enterprises are finding themselves burdened with aging and obsolete IT infrastructure and application portfolios that are inflexible and challenging to maintain. Rather than giving them a competitive edge and supporting business growth, they stifle innovation and impede flexibility.

It can be a downward spiral as operating overheads increase, fuelled by high maintenance and upgrade costs, reduced vendor support and higher software licensing fees. As application capacity, performance and reliability decline, even minor new functionality becomes complex and cost prohibitive.

Making the switch to cloud-ready solutions

While the challenge of staying ahead in such a dynamic technology environment may appear daunting, organisations can achieve real transformation in their applications portfolio by leveraging cloud computing.

By providing a platform to standardise and automate the management of key business applications, cloud has the ability to dramatically reduce IT costs, improve operational efficiency and optimise resources. Transforming an aging application portfolio by leveraging the cloud also forges a closer alignment between technology and the business, enabling organisations to instil customer intimacy, expand market share and drive sales and profits.

However, transforming applications correctly requires a significant change in how a company organises its IT. To gain maximum success from the transformation a carefully thought-out and well-executed approach is vital. A more diverse and dynamic communications environment can be complex, and issues of security and privacy must be addressed.

Mapping the road to transformation

A detailed road map is a prerequisite for any successful transformation and should document the phases, solutions, benchmarks and expected results.

The goal is to achieve value from migrating to a cloud and mobility-enabled applications environment quickly and efficiently. At the same time the change program must keep costs and risk under control, and it must limit disruption to ongoing operations.

The following transformation model focuses on the key elements of business context, including applications portfolio, technology infrastructure, organisational requirements, governance and financing. There are three key phases:

1. Assess

The first stage is a rigorous assessment of each existing application by subject-matter experts and cloud specialists. They need to address a series of key questions:

• What applications should move to the cloud?
• What platforms are most suitable for the migrated applications?
• How should applications be prepared for the cloud?
• How can they be integrated with other systems?

A well-defined business and technical alignment model should be used to evaluate each application and only those that yield measurable value from running on cloud or mobile infrastructures should be considered for migration.

2. Modernise

Applications can be categorised under four strategic domains as part of the modernisation program. The road map needs to establish whether to:

Re-host - This is the most non-invasive approach as it essentially involves a ‘lift and shift’ of the existing application to a new cloud or mobile infrastructure.

Replace - Applications which are highly customised or outdated may be too difficult or expensive to move to a cloud environment. Replacing them with more advanced technologies will lead to new features and lower long-term costs.

Integrate - Integrating off-premise cloud applications is sometimes viewed as a barrier to cloud adoption but there are strategies to facilitate such a move.

Re-architect - This is the most intrusive option but may be required for outdated applications written in a legacy language. Efficient coding is critical and in some cases refactoring may be necessary to prepare it for a cloud platform.

3. Manage

A strong management approach is needed for a smooth transition that focuses on delivering measurable results while mitigating cost and risk. Particular attention should be given to the management of mobile devices and cloud-based security.

Because cloud computing supports various combinations of deployment models, service types and virtualisation, organisations will need to decide between several governance and process models.

Targeting key outcomes

In a complex enterprise environment, a number of critical variables can affect the outcome of an applications modernisation initiative. Organisations pursue applications transformation for a number of reasons. Many seek to leverage the power of cloud flexibility and open new methods to source, deliver, and govern highly scalable services. Some want to leverage the capital expenditure savings and operating efficiencies of SaaS. Others may seek cloud or mobile capabilities to enable customer self-service or to extend their brand reach.

Whatever the specific objectives, most large enterprises now seek applications portfolios that are simpler, more flexible, and scalable. Astute managers want applications that better align to their business processes, support their operational goals and budget requirements and help drive innovation and growth.

So, how can organisations realise the benefits of a modernised portfolio? By using a phased approach built on a proven assess, modernise, and manage model. Depending on specific requirements, this model uses various hardware and software resources, consulting support, and managed services expertise to plan and execute an applications modernisation effort.

Enterprises apply this approach to strike an optimum balance between the cost to achieve and maintain a modernised end state and the value organisations reap from a transformed portfolio.

To ensure optimum results from a modernisation effort, organisations should consider the following variables as part of a strategic transformation plan.

• Operational considerations: Using a comprehensive approach that designs a modernised portfolio to meet specific operational realities, enterprises address the full life cycle of enterprise applications - planning for agility, building for quality, and managing for performance.
• Modernisation methodology: Using structured and field-proven methods of an ‘assess, modernise, and manage’ road map - combined with the tactics, tools, and processes - companies can create an enterprise-class transformation initiative.
• Transformation framework: Organisations need a step-by-step structure to guide and implement actual modernisation activities - a robust transformation framework. This framework would include a formal delivery strategy, enterprise architecture, and detailed planning for service implementation at every stage of the modernisation. It should also identify specific tools, methods, processes, and activities, as well as the broader scope, planning, and distribution of transformation-related tasks.

Delivering real benefits

The journey may be complex, but with a carefully planned and executed transformation road map it’s possible to retire obsolete systems and regain value from others.

By transforming aging and obsolete application portfolios organisations can fully realise the real benefits of cloud and mobile technologies. This will deliver forward-thinking enterprises with a safer, more cost-effective course towards an agile, cloud and mobile-enabled applications environment.

The outcome is a repositioning of IT as a strategic, solution-oriented business partner to improve productivity, reduce costs, drive innovation and accelerate speed to market.

Image courtesy of Max London under CC