Solving the App Modernization Puzzle: The Three Non-Technical Lessons
Say “app modernization” to a room filled with technologists, data experts, and developers, and the discussion inadvertently shifts into a technical stance.
Yet, it was not the lift-and-shift vs. refactoring or the nuances of transforming applications to a container framework that took center stage in a recent CDOTrends-Microsoft roundtable discussion, “Solving the app modernization puzzle: Do you have the right pieces?”
Instead, for the technology and digital experts participating in the lively discourse, non-technical questions determined the eventual success.
The puzzle pieces have changed
The most important point raised by the participants is the realization that app modernization is no longer an option.
Participants, from banks to petroleum conglomerates, acknowledge that app modernization needs to occur — fast. One of the major drivers is the pandemic, which shifted behaviors of end customers and employees to become more digital-savvy (regardless of whether they were ready for it).
As companies prepare for a new era where pandemic lockdown measures stop being a significant business factor, it is clear that end customers and employees continue to judge digital convenience as part of a company’s future worth. This is a significant factor for all companies across different industries as they look to use cloud and digital transformation to lure new end customers and keep their current employees.
Simply digitizing apps is no longer enough, either. A poorly designed app modernization strategy can even see your most loyal customers defect and tarnish reputations built over decades.
From the company perspective, many also see app modernization as part of their business resilience play as they face the prospects for a challenging economic climate in the coming years.
Gaurang Shenoi, Microsoft’s Asia solutions lead for Azure apps and infra, felt companies are getting serious about app modernization. He added that they no longer see it as a departmental project but an organizationwide strategy to add agility and resilience to their corporate strategies.
In the past, legacy and technical debt were two factors consistently cited as standing in the way of app modernization. While these factors still pose major challenges, the participants, during the discussion, acknowledged that they could no longer use them as reasons for not moving forward.
During the discussion, many acknowledged that they are rolling out corporatewide strategies for becoming cloud-first and modernizing their apps — even for their core, legacy ones. They are also well aware that it will not be a smooth road.
Frame your journey
One major point that Shenoi pointed out early in the discussion is the need for a better plan and not to do app modernization with blinders on.
He shared that many companies end up pivoting or making expensive strategic changes to their app modernization efforts later in their journey because they did not consider all the elements right at the beginning. To ensure you do not become reactive to unforeseen challenges, you need to plan better.
For Shenoi, that means bringing all the stakeholders to the same table at the planning stage. “We also need to bring the security, the risk, and compliance components into the equation, all of them aligned to the methodology,” he said, adding that risk management and the ROI need to be clear upfront.
Companies like Microsoft can help with their various frameworks. Shenoi discussed the Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure and the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework during the discussion. In his presentation, Shenoi highlighted the five guiding tenets: reliability, security, cost optimization, operational excellence, and performance efficiency.
One of the significant advantages of these frameworks is to offer a best practices-based roadmap for determining which workloads need to be modernized and how they impact the overall journey. And since app modernization is a journey, Shenoi noted that it allows companies to monitor their progress and make quick pivots as needed.
A framework-based approach also helps companies to focus on all the major questions upfront.
“If I were to advise a customer on how to get the best out of their transformation journeys, it would be to consider everything in the planning stage. So, you have to plan well and know what your baselines are as you can only improve things you can measure,” said Shenoi.
You’re not alone
There are many reasons why app modernization cannot be done all alone. First, no company has a limitless or bottomless budget. Even if you have the best plan and battle-proven frameworks, you need all your stakeholders on board.
While many participants acknowledged that getting the senior management stakeholders’ buy-in takes a lot of effort, they also realize the need to get their partner companies on board.
Many participants’ companies are forming steering committees, groups, and adding it as a major focus for their centers of excellence. Many of these are no longer run by IT teams alone but involve representatives from different departments and subsidiary companies. Some are now extending these upstream and downstream to their partner companies.
One of the participants from a major conglomerate in Malaysia noted that the idea is not to “front” app modernization as an IT project. Instead, business stakeholders and partners need to get involved right up front. If it is seen as an IT project, it becomes a challenge during execution, where data sharing and interdepartmental politics become flashpoints.
Other participants also added that companies need to shift their perspectives on vendor-customer relationships. Shenoi observed that in his conversations with customers, many were looking to build stronger, long-term relationships with solution providers.
The benefits are well-documented: knowledge sharing, best practices from other industries, and a better understanding of new features and roadmaps. Shenoi added that sharing knowledge allows industries to build best practices that will ultimately benefit all incumbents. It also helps industries work closely with their end customers and regulators to ensure no glaring gaps in their plans.
“So treat us as partners and let us know what challenges you're facing. And we are happy to support you in that journey,” he added.
Win small first
App modernization can be a huge undertaking, especially if you’re a company with a long history and many legacy apps.
It is a major decision to decide whether to make a legacy app cloud-ready or retire it in favor of a more modern variety. It can also be costly.
It was a question that some participants raised during the discussion. They were concerned about rising cloud-related costs and sticker shock from app modernization efforts.
Shenoi advised companies to get their ROI picture clear — they need to clearly define the business use case for modernizing a workload or app. “Then start small. Get quick wins out of the way, and you can use these as proof points for the management and to build the business case for a wider app modernization strategy,” he said.
Such an approach also helps companies to build their talent and knowledge pool. In a talent-scarce market, hoping to get the right talent might not be the right approach. But using quick wins (or even failures), the knowledge gained can give you the confidence for bigger app modernization projects.
It also allows you to break down increasingly complex app modernization puzzles and find out the right pieces to solve them.
Winston Thomas is the editor-in-chief of CDOTrends and DigitalWorkforceTrends. He’s a singularity believer, a blockchain enthusiast, and believes we already live in a metaverse. You can reach him at [email protected].
Image credit: iStockphoto/Freer Law
