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The term “digital” encompasses various meanings, and when we refer to digital modernization, we are specifically addressing the modernization endeavors that align with a digital transformation initiative.
Put differently, there are numerous aspects within the enterprise IT landscape that may warrant modernization. However, the question arises: which specific modernization challenges should be prioritized to effectively bolster your digital transformation initiatives?
The Basics of Digital Transformation
Digital transformation encompasses a range of initiatives aimed at dismantling organizational silos to better align the enterprise with customer requirements.
While technology plays a crucial role in driving digital transformation, the success of any initiative hinges on placing the customer at the forefront. As we emphasize, digital transformation is empowered by software but guided by customer-centric principles.
The transformation of organizational silos also entails a fundamental technological aspect. Conway’s Law posits that a company’s technology organization tends to mirror its people’s organization, and vice versa.
In simpler terms, an enterprise with a segmented organizational structure—such as distinct business units or departments—will likely develop segregated technology stacks for each of these organizational components.
As a result, each organizational silo within the enterprise accrues its own set of challenges, presenting unique opportunities for modernization over time.
Prioritizing Modernization Initiatives for Digital Transformation
Every organization confronts distinct challenges and pursues unique goals, making each digital transformation endeavor tailored to the specific needs of the enterprise undergoing the transformation.
Despite this variability, certain fundamental principles guide the identification of crucial modernization efforts, often referred to as digital modernization projects.
The primary and foremost principle involves directing attention towards the customer experience (CX) and, to a certain extent, the employee experience (EX). The focal point of any digital transformation initiative must be the customer, with employees considered as a customer type since IT serves their needs as well.
Consequently, prioritizing the modernization of CX becomes imperative. Are the applications that customers (and employees) engage with modern and fully functional? Do these applications cater to all customer requirements and seamlessly operate across various devices or touchpoints significant to the customer base?
The second guiding principle in prioritizing digital modernization is cross-departmental process transformation. Organizations often need to reshape their business processes, aligning them with customer and employee requirements rather than internal organizational silos.
For instance, evaluating the existence of end-to-end customer journeys that genuinely support customer needs, as opposed to merely prioritizing sales objectives, is crucial. Are employee-facing processes, like new hire onboarding, streamlined across interactions with different departments?
The third principle, a fundamental best practice in all IT projects and initiatives, gains heightened significance in the realm of digital modernization: if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
The enterprise IT landscape is replete with aging applications, outdated platforms, and various legacy systems. However, the mere age or use of obsolete technology does not automatically warrant modernization. Assess whether the existing system fulfills current customer needs and if there might be a more strategic allocation of limited modernization resources.
In the context of digital modernization, align potential projects with the first two principles—CX focus and process transformation. If a modernization project does not align with these principles, it may not represent the optimal use of resources.
Unlocking Digital Modernization with Low-Code
In the realm of modernization technologies, ranging from COBOL language translators to cloud migration tools, organizations often utilize a mix of tools to facilitate their modernization efforts. While these tools play a crucial role, they tend to reinforce existing technology silos rather than directly addressing the core priorities of digital modernization.
To truly succeed in the era of digital modernization, organizations need technology that not only encourages collaboration across organizational silos but also serves as the ‘glue’ that binds diverse modernization efforts together. This is where low-code tools and platforms, exemplified by solutions like Yoroflow, come into play.
Low-code doesn’t just empower professional developers; it also enables non-technical, citizen developers to create applications. These platforms promote collaboration among teams and engage business stakeholders in the application development process.
Moreover, low-code tools possess the capability to seamlessly connect with a variety of existing applications and technologies, either through built-in connectors or with minimal additional hand-coding.
Once integrated with these resources, the collaborative application team can incorporate them into customer-centric, cross-organizational applications—precisely what is needed for organizations to thrive in the realm of digital modernization.
The Intellyx Perspective on Low-Code and Digital Modernization
The application of low-code technologies in digital modernization is versatile, contingent on the organization’s specific transformation goals at any given time.
In instances where the organization is overhauling its business processes as part of broader process transformation initiatives, low-code tools offer a collaborative and customer-centric approach to facilitate the restructuring.
Alternatively, when the focus is on application modernization to support a customer-centric mobile-first strategy, low-code emerges as an ideal tool for advancing such strategic objectives.
Enterprises may also be engaged in infrastructure modernization projects, such as cloud migration or the adoption of Kubernetes within a cloud-native computing strategy. Low-code proves valuable in supporting these initiatives, introducing collaboration, swift application development, and a customer-centric mindset to even the most intricate infrastructure modernization endeavors.
Despite the advancements in fully modern infrastructure initiatives, organizations may still find themselves entrenched in outdated, siloed organizational structures. Successful digital modernization requires active efforts to break free from such patterns within the organization.
In this context, low-code tools and platforms play a pivotal role in propelling enterprises forward in their digital modernization journey and, consequently, in their broader digital transformation initiatives.
