As purpose-built software and applications of previous generations continue to age, they place an ever-increasing number of limitations and risks upon the organisations they once delivered value for. As a result, the need for technology modernisation has rapidly risen on the agendas of CTOs and CIOs in many sectors, especially those that are strictly regulated.

End-of-life and out-of-support ‘legacy’ technologies are often plagued by inflexibility, security vulnerabilities and a difficulty to source operational capability. However, these same systems are often extremely well-embedded within an organisation’s technology stack and can be performing a wider range of functions than is known or tracked by IT. In some cases, the run costs of these technologies are low enough that the comparatively high cost of alternative solutions continues to delay their replacement.

The nature of legacy technology means that modernisation programs are complex undertakings that often end up being shelved, at a large cost to the organisation. But failing to modernise can result in lost market opportunities, reduced agility to respond to change, compliance issues and a weakened competitive position.

To mitigate this, companies are abandoning ‘big bang’ approaches and adopting a more ‘agile’ approach to technology transformation. Elixirr Partner, Eric Rich shares his views: “We partner with many of our Sr. IT Exec clients on tech modernisation and digital / data transformation initiatives. The proven formula for success we experience most often is when IT works hand-in-hand with the business to define a target future state of enterprise architecture and technology capabilities that enable the business strategy to be achieved then executes a prioritised roadmap of manageable and targeted tech change initiatives that ultimately evolve into the future of IT. Small, incremental improvements in every aspect of tech enablement – prioritised based on business needs – delivered ‘at pace’ using a sprint-based execution approach allows IT to generate real value for the business and paves the way for self-funded IT transformation, without disrupting business operations along the way.”

Having a strong Enterprise Architecture (EA) capability should be the first focus for any modernisation program. The role of EA is pivotal in ensuring that technology transformation initiatives are aligned with business strategy and executed in a way that maximises their impact. EA serves as the key ‘solver’ of the entire modernisation process, from assessing the current technology landscape to implementing new, future-ready solutions.

Untangling the web

Before removing any expired component, platform or application from an organisation’s existing enterprise architecture, it’s critical to understand the functionality it provides and its relationship with other upstream and downstream systems. Enterprise Architecture capability provides the expertise and tooling to map the flows and interdependencies of the ecosystem around the legacy technology being targeted. This robust mapping ensures that organisations can mitigate risks such as data loss, process disruption, or integration challenges.

Beyond this mapping activity, it is critical that the organisation undertakes a detailed impact analysis activity to truly understand the consequences of decommissioning a legacy system. This involves not only identifying the integrations and connectivity with other systems, but assessing how the removal of the targeted legacy system will impact business processes, user workflows, user experiences and value chains. Enterprise Architecture plays a facilitator role, providing a holistic view of the technology landscape. It helps anticipate and mitigate the challenges associated with prematurely removing technology that the business may unknowingly depend on. As new technologies enter the market, architecture functions can now be supported by powerful tools (such as Sparx, Ardoq, and LeanIX) that remove some of the administration of ‘untangling’ the web and building impact assessments. Leaders must consider how they empower their architects by ensuring they have the tools and capabilities to enable an effective modernisation initiative.

Setting the direction for future solutions

Enterprise Architecture should also play a large role in setting the strategic direction for an organisation’s future technology estate. As organisations work through legacy replacements, Enterprise Architects play a crucial role in defining the scope and architectural requirements of new solutions, with a view to ensuring the replacement solution aligns with the architectural principles, IT strategy and the overall business strategy. Further, EA should be the decision maker for whether the future state solution is bought off-the-shelf, a custom-built solution, or a solution that’s delivered through a strategic partnership.

Focusing on reusability and scalability of new solutions can yield additional benefits in both current and future transformation initiatives. Through encouraging the adoption of future-proof, modern solutions characterised by modular, component-based architecture, EA enables an organisation to create a technology estate that is flexible to business needs now and in the long run. A robust and effective reusability mandate reduces costs and redundancy, while accelerating the deployment of new capabilities within the organisation, as demonstrated by the UK Government Digital Service’s GOV.UK Design System, which standardised components across departments to reduce development time and costs, while ensuring scalability for evolving user needs.

Enterprise Architecture also plays a crucial role in ensuring integration and seamless communication between various modules, applications and platforms. A strong EA capability ensures that high levels of integration are delivered to maintain operational continuity, and to avoid the downsides of siloed applications within the technology estate. Having a comprehensive strategy for delivering integration throughout allows EA to set the organisation on a path to more efficient, connected applications and platforms.

Architecture can’t deliver modernisation alone

While Enterprise Architecture is the cornerstone for technology modernisation, it cannot work in isolation and needs to be complemented by other capabilities.

A successful modernisation initiative hinges on effective sourcing and procurement practices. While EA provides the blueprint, sourcing teams must ensure that their processes align with this blueprint, delivering solutions that offer the best value and align with the organisation’s long-term goals.

Additionally, any technology modernisation program should be staffed with expert engineering capabilities. Such expertise is essential for transforming architectural plans into practical, operational systems that deliver real value. Engineering teams should be focused on incorporating future-ready practices in testing, security and performance into their considerations. 

Finally, the sheer size and complexity involved in delivering technology modernisation necessitates well-developed project management practices and capabilities. Project managers are the key to ensuring timelines and budgets are met, and risks are managed effectively. They coordinate the efforts of various teams and play a large role in keeping the modernisation program on track. Given the scale of such initiatives, it’s no surprise that technology transformation investments are projected to account for 55% of all information and communications technology investments by the end of 2024, according to IDC.

Modernisation programs can deliver incredible benefits

Modernisation programs are daunting undertakings, often pushed down the to-do list as organisations prioritise more attractive initiatives, or those that bring faster efficiencies. However, the risk posed by an aging technology estate can become too big to ignore. While risk often serves as the catalyst for initiating modernisation efforts, modernisation is not solely about avoiding risk. Modernising your technology estate from outdated and cumbersome to new and agile offers numerous benefits.

Organisations undergoing a modernisation journey can unlock many advantages, primarily through lowering the cost to change and therefore improving agility. Compared with legacy systems written in outdated languages, upgrading and making changes to modern systems is considerably cheaper and lower risk. Additionally, modernisation enhances agility by implementing scalable technologies that enable organisations to respond swiftly to market changes, customer demands and regulatory requirements. It also significantly improves security, as legacy systems are often vulnerable to cyber threats due to outdated software and lack of support.

Finally, modernisation supports innovation by providing a flexible technology stack that allows organisations to experiment with new ideas, explore new business lines, rapidly launch new features and deploy emerging technologies such as AI, IoT and cloud computing. Famously, modernisation of the tech stack at Netflix delivered improved scalability, access to data, and computing capability. This enabled the company to pioneer personalised content recommendations for its users – an innovation that is now an industry standard for streaming.

Maximise the potential of your future technology estate

Beginning a modernisation journey is not just about bringing your technology estate up to speed – it is about delivering real, tangible benefits such as increased security, resilience, innovation and agility. If you are interested in ensuring the success of your technology transformation, consider partnering with experts who can help you align your enterprise architecture with your strategic goals. At Elixirr, we specialise in guiding organisations through technology modernisation journeys, ensuring you meet today’s demands and build a foundation for future growth. Contact us today to discover how we can help you turn transformation challenges into opportunities for sustained success.

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