By Chenthil Eswaran, Practice Head of Enterprise Business Applications, Aspire Systems
The enterprise software industry has long claimed to be doing things differently. But it wasn’t truly tested until early 2020, as the pandemic hit businesses all over the world. Then, it turned into a feverish scramble towards whose application/product was more easily integrated, flexible, scalable, and cost-efficient. Furthermore, there’s no discounting the impact of SaaS on the enterprise IT ecosystem. Even before COVID-19, it pressurized the leading OEMs of the world to adapt. Today, the stakes are higher because a lack of innovation may lead to extinction.
Many future-thinking enterprises have already set sail on deeper digital waters – from leveraging Infrastructure as a Code to adopting mature AI and ML-led automation frameworks. They are cautiously riding the current wave – trying to navigate past evolving security threats and UX disruptors. The blurry line across human-machine relationships contributes to this need to stay fluid. The growth of cloud enablers and AI accelerators is changing the way applications and systems are connected to and controlled by the enterprise.
But when a huge chunk of the global workforce suddenly had to go digital last year, it became clear that the future is all about creating and, more importantly – sustaining a fluid IT mindset. Don Scheibenreif, a distinguished research vice president at Gartner, had recently said, “Composing – flexible, fluid, continuous, even improvisational – is how we will move forward.” That way, there’s always leave room for the enterprise to adapt to changing business goals such as:
• Meeting higher ROI expectations of business applications
• Using autonomous business applications to cater to the modern user
• Streamlining HR, finance, procurement, and legal teams
• Augmenting organizational decision-making capabilities through data insights
Having said that, predicting the future of enterprise IT is only half the struggle. A key area to be addressed is how the IT workforce and business users respond to this change. While it has been a little over a year since the lockdowns began, the human mindset shift required to smoothen the transition is still a work in progress. Digital transformation is so far beyond merely upgrading the technology infrastructure. There’s a cultural change aspect to the fluidity that must be given top priority.
After all, the enterprise’s ability to bring in new technologies or cutting-edge business practices is dependent on how well employees understand their role in implementation – and their contribution to its success. Let’s look at what an enterprise can do to get buy-in from IT and business users – ultimately empowering them to be more fluid with the technology they use.
• Develop a cultural risk management program at the leadership level to address cultural challenges before they happen
• Showcase clear alignment of new enterprise IT software to not just organizational objectives – but employee goals too
• Create a mechanism for business users to share their feedback regarding application performance, work productivity, and user satisfaction
• Build or modify performance management KPIs to reflect on current work-from-anywhere requirements
• Form a team of cross-functional advocates who champion the need for change in the way business users work with applications and systems
Another boardroom mandate for the enterprise is to make that the IT application stack is clutter-free. Despite the competitive advantage of fluidity, it also creates the danger of a bunch of source codes running wild. For instance, enterprises may choose workforce productivity, but in the process, they may leave their systems open to more security threats. The technology stack represents the digital backbone of the business. Unless it gets streamlined, there will be disruption to day-to-day operations – including cost, data, and compliance-related risks.
The future of enterprise IT will be fluid because, as evidenced over the last year, that seems to be the driving philosophy behind the apps that modern users use. Why should their experience with the IT apps they use – during business hours – be any different?