Why modernization is not enough

Do you have an IT modernization project in progress? Sure you do. The need to keep up with the cost/benefit of cloud; the replacement of “out-of-support” versions of your key infrastructure software; The clamor for external APIs to support partner projects is all modernization for any digital business. But modernization is a journey, not a destination. You will always be modernizing.

Digital business

But don’t think because you have accomplished some modernization projects that you have accomplished digital transformation–or are ready to become a digital business. Modernization is a necessary first step to ensure operational processes are repeatable, secure, widely available and aligned with business requirements.

Becoming digital is about the ability to respond rapidly to changes in business models, customer demand, competitive pressure and technology change. While modernization may give you the ingredients for change (API access to data and processes in the systems-of-record)., you still need to assemble the ingredients into new dishes to be served up to your demanding customers.

READ MORE: Customer experience and HIP: Serving the heart of digital business.

Take the tasty dish of a new mobile app that offers your customers access to your data, but adds new partner data to create a better experience. To serve up this new project, you will need access to your back-end systems, access to your partner’s cloud-based data and perhaps a new cloud-based process. How quick can you assemble, test and deploy this new digital business requirement?

READ MORE: Winning integration strategies to fuel digital business.

New norms

Ever feel like a short-order cook? Changing requirements, tight deadlines and constant iteration are the new norms in digital business. A modern integration platform should be the center of your new digital “kitchen.” One that makes it easy to find prebuilt integration points to your back-end systems, easy to combine with off-the-shelf cloud apps and orchestrate new processes that are delivered via mobile applications.