{"id":11235,"date":"2022-01-18T19:09:34","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T01:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threecloud.wpengine.com\/?p=11235"},"modified":"2024-02-28T07:49:24","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T15:49:24","slug":"the-path-to-application-modernization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/resources\/the-path-to-application-modernization\/","title":{"rendered":"The Path to Application\u00a0Modernization"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Countless companies\u00a0have\u00a0become dependent on home grown, embarrassingly built, barely running applications\u00a0or tools, and there\u2019s\u00a0always an interesting story about how\u00a0each of these\u00a0situations\u00a0came\u00a0about.\u00a0Perhaps you gave\u00a0an employee slack time to throw something together and see what came\u00a0of it. Or\u00a0you thought\u00a0\u201cwe have no expertise,\u00a0so let\u2019s hire an outside firm (on a tight budget) to get something up and running for us.\u201d\u00a0Maybe you\u00a0found a third-party solution that was\u202f<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">close<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202fto what you needed, and you built something new on top of on it.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">None of this is surprising. The\u00a0entrepreneurial spirit drives innovators to pursue profit quickly\u00a0\u2013\u00a0using the tools at hand\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and worry about optimization, scaling,\u00a0and quality as success allows.\u00a0But what happens when\u00a0an\u00a0application that provided early growth becomes a boat anchor,\u00a0holding you back from pursing the next level of success? That&#8217;s what the\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">application\u00a0modernization<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0movement is all about.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Luckily for IT leaders, a wide range of causes for outdated, legacy applications\u00a0do\u00a0not equal a wide range of approaches to\u00a0their\u00a0modernization.\u00a0Projects that come in on time and at budget\u00a0consistently follow the three phases below, from assessment to setting goals to\u00a0taking action\u00a0with an expert partner.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"none\">1. Assess the Situation Objectively<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Before your organization gets too far down the path of modernization, it\u2019s important to take a hard look at the feasibility of a redo or rewrite of your application.\u00a0Explore\u00a0the following:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">Your application\u2019s business value<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0\u2013 What value does the application bring to your business now?\u00a0What would happen\u00a0if it\u00a0had a major outage?\u00a0Which\u00a0end user needs does it\u00a0effectively\u00a0meet? How could its business value change with\u00a0modernization?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">Budget and opportunity cost<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0\u2013 How much are you willing to invest\u00a0now\u00a0to become future fit? When weighing opportunity costs, think about\u00a0other critical\u00a0projects your team could be working on, but be sure to\u00a0factor in the cost of\u00a0maintaining the legacy system\u00a0as well.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">Other impacts\u00a0to your organization\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u2013\u00a0Think about your people, processes, and organizational tolerance for change. If your application\u2019s end users are employees (e.g.\u00a0your Sales or Customer Service department), how much time do they have to lend their voice to the project? How can you\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">put people first<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0from beginning to end?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">Risk vs<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">.\u00a0<\/span><strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">reward\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u2013\u00a0There are plenty of benefits of application\u00a0modernization, including organizational agility and improved user satisfaction. But have you weighed the risks as well?\u00a0According to a\u00a0report\u00a0by\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pmi.org\/-\/media\/pmi\/documents\/public\/pdf\/learning\/thought-leadership\/pulse\/pulse-of-the-profession-2017.pdf?sc_lang_temp=en\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">PMI<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">,\u00a014% of IT projects were deemed total failures, while another 31% failed to meet their original goals.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"none\">2. Reimagine\u00a0What\u00a0Could Be<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In gearing up for a modernization project,\u00a0acknowledge\u00a0that your application\u00a0should be more than just a tool for today\u2019s needs. It\u00a0should be a platform for your company\u2019s future innovation and growth.\u00a0Conduct\u00a0discovery\u00a0interviews\u00a0to determine\u00a0how\u00a0the project\u00a0could enable entirely new processes, rather than simply planning to migrate to a new technology.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Reimagining your platform without\u00a0establishing clear, measurable goals and a realistic timeline\u00a0will get you nowhere fast.\u00a0Ask whether it\u2019s\u00a0important to your business to\u00a0maintain feature parity with the old system, or\u00a0if\u00a0there\u00a0are\u00a0unused features adding\u00a0bloat.\u00a0Stay\u00a0clear on the new capabilities, offerings, and opportunities you want to add.\u00a0Prepare to closely monitor the total cost of ownership for the new system, by weighing costs to build and operate it against the value it unlocks for the business.\u00a0Your\u00a0final step in this phase, before\u00a0actual work begins, is to pick a path forward\u00a0and decide whether you\u2019ll\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">build a custom application or buy something off the shelf<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"none\">3. Start Your\u00a0Application\u00a0Modernization\u00a0Project<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">It can be intimidating for IT leaders to launch an app modernization project. Perhaps you\u2019ve tried it\u00a0before and\u00a0were part of that 45% fail rate your first time around. Wherever you\u2019re at in the process, getting expert help can ensure your project comes in on time, at budget, and done right the first time.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Working with a partner is different from simply buying an off-the-shelf system. You\u2019ll need to stay engaged throughout the\u00a0project and\u00a0avoid the temptation to throw it over the wall.\u00a0An\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">experienced app mod partner<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0will\u00a0guide your team through proper\u00a0goal setting,\u00a0technical planning and design,\u00a0provide regular and visible demonstrations of progress,\u00a0and help keep everyone focused on the future vision\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">and<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\"> outcome.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Countless companies\u00a0have\u00a0become dependent on home grown, embarrassingly built, barely running applications\u00a0or tools, and there\u2019s\u00a0always an&mldr;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":10801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[292,264],"tags":[389],"class_list":["post-11235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-app-innovation","category-enterprise-apps","tag-app-mod","topics-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3cloudsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}