Digital Architects are critical to modernise the legacy enterprise and enable digital transformation

An architecture-led approach to modernise your organisation's IT operating model

An effective, and well delivered digital transformation ensures that the business creates much greater value for customers, and embeds the necessary flexibility to respond to rapidly changing market conditions.

If only the above was as easy to deliver as it was to write down.

In reality, digital transformation is hard to accomplish, and especially harder to deliver if you've got those pesky "legacy" systems getting in the way.

Modernisation of legacy systems can sometimes become a critical blocker for a successful digital transformation, but if done right, will prove to be its key enabler. Furthermore, the IT operating model, usually structured around the legacy technologies, also needs to be redesigned with an embedded digital culture, to realise the full benefits of digital transformation. Only then, can the customer experience be optimised and subsequently, digital transformation delivered.

Therefore, the old adage of transforming people, processes and technology all together carries just as much wisdom today as it did before, perhaps the only difference being the new 'digital' plot twist. These three dimensions are equally important pillars of any successful digital transformation, and the journey to success relies heavily on a blended strategy for modernising each of them. Inventive IT is one approach to digital transformation which modernises people, processes and technology together, rather than in isolation.

The chances of delivering a successful digital transformation across these three dimensions increase by embedding Digital Architects guided by our unique, architecture-led, legacy modernisation framework. The framework’s structure means that the scope of modernisation can be tailored based on the organisation’s unique needs, and favours gradual, and cost-effective core enhancements that are aligned to the client's business goals.

The need to modernise

In the last decade, people’s expectations have shifted - a premium is now placed on compelling customer experiences. Today, companies must evolve, and understand how to successfully engage with consumers at every touchpoint across the customer lifecycle in order to improve subscription, retention, and advocacy, and subsequently retain a competitive edge in their markets.

The need to modernise also goes beyond just looking at consumers. Achieving a digital workplace helps companies empower their employees with automated and simplified operations. In addition to driving efficiency in business processes, this champions the idea that if organisations care for their employees as much as they care for their clients, then staff are more likely to focus on delivering greater business value. It’s a key lever to shift to a collaborative culture and improve business value. ?

Perhaps the most obvious driver behind modernising the workplace has also been the dramatic increase in remote working since the COVID-19 outbreak. Many businesses have had to modernise rapidly, and adopt remote ways of working, and are now transitioning again to a new hybrid model of work as the world slowly heals from the pandemic.

Modernisation is also a great way to simplify the technology landscape and make significant cost savings – all legacy IT reach a ‘maturity point’ where the cost of maintenance equals the benefits delivered. Beyond this point, organisations start to incur losses due to accrued technical debt.?A report by the UK Cabinet Office found that that almost 50% of UK Government IT spend – ￡2.3bn out of a total central Government spend of ￡4.7bn in 2019 went towards merely keeping legacy IT working.

The way we do it: an architecture-led modernisation framework

Each organisation’s modernisation journey is unique and guided by different strategic priorities, and so, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, we need a framework which tailors the approach for each organisation, albeit with one common factor: the ability to modernise across people, process, and technology.?

A framework we use as Digital Architects is guided by our digital architecture toolkit (as previously discussed by my colleague Sam Charters), and consists of four key steps:

1. Define the strategic vision: We understand the organisation’s objectives, and support them in creating a clear strategic vision that pinpoints the benefits that modernisation can bring to their organisation
2. Assess the baseline architecture: Experts create a comprehensive report on the baseline architecture. Guided by the strategic vision (and needs), identify areas of improvement, and pain points across people, process, and technology domains
3. Shape the target architecture: Leveraging the baseline architecture, Digital Architects collaborate with business stakeholders to shape the target architecture, and create a bespoke modernisation roadmap that lines up the delivery of new customer journeys, business capabilities, and technology, using an agile methodology
4. ?Establish innovation centres: Modernisation should not be viewed as one-off, and it is important to build a culture of continuous improvement. To foster innovation, innovation centres are required (for example, by leveraging our Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE) network). This instils an innovative culture to regularly review and re-prioritise the outcomes of digital transformation to reflect changing business needs, remain ahead of the curve, and retain a competitive edge.?

The time to start is now

Gartner reported that, “every dollar invested in digital business innovation through the end of 2021 required enterprises to spend at least three times that to continuously modernise the legacy enterprise”.

This is likely to soar even higher over the next few years as mass adoption of digital technology progresses - more attractive customer experiences will be spawned, and organisations will have no other options but to respond, and evolve.

Whether to address modernisation or not is no longer the question, the real question is ‘how’?

Placing Digital Architects at the core of digital transformations and leveraging the above framework will ensure success. Digital Architects are experts in helping modernise every aspect of the IT operating model and supporting technologies. The right team of architects will help achieve compelling experiences for customers, streamline business operations, and implement digital technologies, whilst remaining aligned to business goals. Digital Architects endeavour to make clients feel that change can happen the way they want it to, and that they will help them achieve it.