Driving the IT transformation of your organization can seem like a daunting process, but a few careful considerations can make it a key growth strategy. The transformation begins by taking a hard look at the way your company is organized –– making sure everyone is on the same page, according to Friedel Thurman, Director of Strategic Growth and Industry with Kyndryl.
“One of the biggest challenges in shifting to a single operating model is the traditional enterprise – how it’s structured,” says Thurman. That needs adjustments. But it’s less about the structure and it’s more about the cultural enablement.”
For most organizations data represents a “new natural resource.” Using it and accessing it are critical. The concept of “data fabric” is one way to access it. “Data fabric is the concept of being able to access the right data at the right time from the right place,” says Thurman. “It’s access to the data that will provide an improved customer experience. Having a data fabric that flows from one cloud to the other, and at the right time, in an open, flexible way is absolutely critical.”
Thurman delivered her assessment during a webinar sponsored by Kyndryl. A survey conducted during the webinar revealed that 67 per cent of participants were focusing on zero trust security as part of their cybersecurity strategy.
Security is a huge consideration, according to Thurman, with at least 10 per cent of a typical tech budget going to cover security issues. Like every other part of the transformation, security issues should be dealt with in a holistic way – by integrating a company’s security strategy with its business strategy, cloud strategy, and the overall data strategy.
Mainframe modernization was another consideration for webinar participants. Mainframe modernization is a huge challenge for many organizations, says Thurman. The mainframe is the core system that runs mission critical software and data. “It’s the heartbeat of their environment. But at the same time, it’s written in a way that’s legacy”
Adopting a hybrid cloud strategy is also critical, says Thurman. “There was a McKinsey study that brought forward that organizations that have a hybrid cloud strategy actually have 2.5 times the value of those that have solely a public cloud strategy that you’re going to be able to accelerate the value you bring to your clients.”
A hybrid cloud strategy can lead to improved customer experience by improving dataflow from one environment to another. It also allows companies to reinvent their business models – re-engineering processes through intelligent operations, intelligent design, and self-healing architecture.
One quarter of organizations today have adopted a holistic strategy for IT transformation, says Thurman. “They’re bringing together security, business priorities, regulatory compliance, and core systems. They’re shifting from silos to horizontal-type teams. And those organizations are starting to realize the benefits.”
The results can be incredibly profitable. “There was a study recently released where the majority of business leaders – around 75 per cent – are actually now seeing incredible value in their mainframe or the mission critical systems,” says Thurman.
