CEO of Software AG.
As anyone who’s driven or overseen multiple digital transformation projects can tell you, no two paths toward digitization are the same. However, they all have one thing in common—each is paved with lofty goals and is driven by a vision of smarter, more efficient ways of working. What’s not to love about the idea of being able to capitalize on all of the data and tools currently stuck in siloes and converting untapped resources into value?
Like with any type of transformation, success isn’t only determined by how ambitious you are or how clear your plan is to get to the finish line. It also depends on how quickly you’re able to get back on course when the unexpected hits. If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.
While transformational change has never been easy, this past year was unlike anything the business world had seen. Following several years of heavy tech investment and ongoing geopolitical and economic strain (along with growing friction between IT and business teams), 2023 brought with it a tidal wave of disruption in the form of generative AI. The aftermath of this rapid change and innovation, which happened so quickly that it outpaced organizations’ ability to manage it all, can be described in one word: chaos.
In a recent survey we commissioned, a staggering 86% of IT leaders say their tech stack has grown substantially in the last few years. Of those, nearly half didn’t have a plan to integrate it all. Many of the new systems that organizations have added rely on data from core systems that were put in place decades ago. Both are necessary, but connecting the new with the old has become an increasingly complex and heavy burden for IT teams to bear.
Nearly half of the respondents in the same survey say that managing these modern and core systems in tandem is becoming increasingly complex. This is before we understand the full impact of generative AI, which has the potential to drive massive business gains in the future but adds another layer of risk in the short term.
The more tangled an organization’s web of tech, the more risk it presents in four key areas:
• Costs: Organizations are bleeding money on redundant and limited core systems that sneaked in during times of accelerated tech adoption.
• Service: Tech issues left unresolved on the back end eventually cause slower response times or shutdowns in service.
• Agility: Effective IT infrastructure management can be like having a GPS. If one road gets blocked, you can find a new way to get where you’re going. Without it, you’re stuck.
• Compliance: Before you can effectively report on anything, you need a complete picture of all technology and data across the enterprise and an understanding of what every tool does.
After many months of managing all of this risk, teams are starting to feel it. Around 80% think their complex tech landscape is slowing product launches, impeding customer experiences and, ultimately, hurting revenue and profitability. Over 60% believe tech sprawl makes governance and compliance issues worse due to data siloes.
Overcoming The Complexity: Six Crucial Questions
The current situation is untenable, but with the right tools and strategy in place, it’s possible to get the necessary visibility to calm the chaos in your unique landscape. Picking the right tool to help you achieve this versus one that just ends up being another app to manage comes down to asking the right questions early on. Here are six crucial ones to get you started:
• Can this tool discover and map all technology assets, from hardware and software to cloud resources and integrations?
• Can it visualize and document the relationships between different components, data flows and dependencies?
• Can it monitor the current inventory of all tech assets, their configurations and metadata?
• How does it handle integrations between modern and legacy systems?
• Does it support cloud and on-premises systems, and can it provide visibility across the two?
• Can it help evaluate workloads for cloud migration and provide recommendations for optimal deployment?
Just like no two digital transformation projects are the same, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. When you ask the right questions and find one that fits your unique landscape and goals, you can begin to streamline redundant integrations, unlock data silos and reduce the burden on core systems through smarter load distribution. The reward comes in the form of greater data accessibility, which can empower business leaders to make smarter decisions faster. In turn, the looming challenges of governance, efficiency and innovation can become easier to manage.
Bringing order to chaos allows businesses to finally start reaping the full potential of their technology investments, both old and new. In this age of upheaval, gaining complete insight across your infrastructure is the difference between floundering in chaos and plotting a confident path forward. By taking control of tech sprawl, businesses can finally drive and embrace change on their own terms.
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