What Sophistication Really Means?

Exploring the Application Modernization further from Infrastructure, to what it means when we have to think about technology architecture!

Many of us believe technology sophistication is being clean, lightweight, seamless, simple, experience-oriented, and most importantly, meaningful. These are outcomes of great sophistication, but the process of sophistication is, often, complex, involves great understanding of the business, and requires time. ‘Having or showing a lot of experience of the world and social situations’ defines sophistication, and the definition speaks volumes of what goes into being sophisticated rather the only focusing on the end-outcome. 

In the application modernization journey, ensuring your architecture is envisioned in a resilient and performance-driven manner is critical. Architecture is all about organizing the components in your technology solution, and how best you can organize them to help them abide by the rules of the system, and yet, efficiently communicate with each other will define its efficiency. It ensures your components are independent, yet can collaborate. 

Microservices-based architecture and micro front-ends can help to build a sophisticated architecture. The mix of loosely coupled (microservices) and tightly coupled architecture depends on the level of the need for scale, adaptability and interoperability of each of the components in the technology solution. Efficiently strategizing on the architecture can help lead to the sophistication outcomes we have come to define it as. 

This phase of application modernization defines the end-user experience your product will deliver, and hence, it is an important part of any enterprises digital transformation journey. The method of sophistication doesn’t just stop at architecture, but requires teams to pick up the necessary skills and leadership to establish the right-fit development culture to truly realize the impact of great architectural modernization.

The definition of sophistication makes complete sense. Teams that can have a great understanding of today & tomorrow’s technology needs and user expectations can only envision great modern, resilient architecture. Having deep experience across building multiple products across industry verticals and focused on different user personas can help in the design thinking process as the architecture is strategized. 

Sophistication is about having a strategic, design thinking-led process, deep understanding of what the technology means to the business and your finger on the pulse of new technologies, frameworks and tools. This is what it really means, and if you do it right, people will define your technology sophistication as the outcomes of simplicity they see. But the hard work and complexity is hiding behind this outer wall of ‘sophistication’, and that’s the work we need to do!