Fit for the future
Digitization & IT
Digitalization presents companies with major challenges, but also with even greater opportunities. It stands for radical change in companies, business processes and products. Based on technical networking and the 24/7 exchange of information between systems, devices and people, information is available, changeable and can be generated at any time, mobile, without delay and almost free of charge. This is made possible, among other things, by high computing power and storage capacities, fast (wireless) networks, mobile devices, sensors and derived technologies such as wearables, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, digitalization is not just an IT issue and affects companies and business models.
Legacy systems are reflections of their time of origin
In reality, many customers have large legacy systems that have grown over decades and are being put to the test in light of the current digitization debate. These legacy systems contain huge amounts of valuable code and data as well as specialist logic.
Systems of this type cannot be switched off at short notice and then replaced by a standard solution. Strategies are therefore needed for structured and continuous renewal. Software systems are always a reflection of their time of origin. In addition to older technologies, they also contain assumptions about the working and economic conditions of the respective time, such as business operations between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., paper-based processes or price intransparency. Technical features such as hard-coded values, duplication and condition cascades are only a small aspect of older systems. Technical improvements alone are not enough here. A selective update of the business processes incl. innovative approaches are necessary.
Progressive design and structured roadmap development
When renewing software, a strategic view must be taken of the requirements in five to ten years’ time. This prevents the new solution from being outdated even at the time of completion.
Once the target image has been clarified, various paths and possible intermediate steps should always be examined for its implementation. Partial optimization, architecture changes, replacement of infrastructure components, platform migration, redesign and rewrite can be such intermediate steps.
Due to the scope of critical business systems, it is usually advisable to carry out the renovation project in stages over several years with temporary mixed operation of old and new. If this is successful, there is no need for costly parallel maintenance, a feature freeze is unnecessary, the benefits of the renewed solution can be experienced promptly and the risks of the project are reduced.
Being fit for the future means being innovative and cost-efficient – both technically and professionally.
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HOW DIGITALIZATION IS COMPATIBLE WITH EXISTING (LEGACY) SOFTWARE
Dr. Markus Pizka
OBJECT FORUM MUNICH 2017 (ICPC)