Current Blog Series: Answers to the top 10 Questions CIOs face when considering an IBM i Digital Transformation Project
We recently launched a new blog series. Over the next couple of months, we will be discussing the Top 10 questions CIOs face when considering the Digital Transformation of their IBM i application portfolio. Following is the eighth in the ten-part series.
Question 8: Is it safe for me to launch an IBM i transformation project without a deep understanding of my application portfolio?
If you have been following this blog series, it should be quite clear to you that as CIO of your organization, it is up to you to deliver meaningful digital transformation of your legacy IBM i application portfolio. The clock is ticking. Every day that your critical applications remain on the IBM i, you fall further behind your competitors who use modern technology to run their daily operations.
Though you feel the pressure of this urgent strategic imperative, there is no technology available today that ensures safe, easy, and effective digital transformation.
Today's major tech vendors have built powerful emerging technology and cloud platforms that promise exponentially better, more intuitive, and efficient strategic business intelligence. The potential of these technologies is quite compelling considering today's demand on CIOs to support their remote workforce and enable their organization to compete effectively in the post-pandemic economy. Yet, until their organization's critical legacy systems are migrated to a modern platform and their most meaningful operational data is fully integrated with emerging technologies, they cannot reap the benefits of those promises.
Unfortunately, these tech vendors offer no assistance as you cross the chasm from legacy platforms to the cloud and emerging technologies. They have no innovative solution to identify and protect your critical system functionality as you journey to digital transformation.
These tech companies focus exclusively on future capabilities available once your legacy systems are modernized. This leaves you with the task of determining how to protect your greatest corporate asset, your critical application functionality. You have the enormous responsibility of either replacing, rewriting, or migrating your core applications, and you must do so without risking daily operational capability. Bottom line: As CIO, the responsibility for the digital transformation of your legacy systems falls squarely on your shoulders.
Do not fall victim to the siren song of the cloud and emerging technology vendors who promise the world but cannot protect you from the shipwreck of failed critical systems.
If yours is like most IBM i organizations, you have invested decades and millions of dollars developing and maintaining the application portfolio that supports your daily operations. While legacy systems are not glamorous, slick, or modern, they are critical to your business and should not be dismissed. The vital role these systems play in supporting your business must be acknowledged, and significant resources must be focused on transforming them.
Legacy IBM i applications are large, monolithic, and complex by design. Without access to legacy application experts or up-to-date documentation, there is little or no visibility into your system's functionality. Few IBM i shops have access to the original authors of their system or complete, accurate documentation.
There is no way to transform your IBM i application portfolio safely and effectively without understanding the business rules and functionality locked deep in the monolithic system. If you don't know what your system does today, how can you ensure that your new system will provide the essential functionality required to support your daily operations in the future?
Fortunately, visualization technology exists today, such as that of ETS, which clearly shows how legacy systems are organized, where assets are reused across systems and subsystems, and identifies assets no longer used. This technology provides you with a clear understanding of your essential legacy applications' structure, including interfaces and dependencies within systems.
This comprehensive understanding of your legacy systems is an essential prerequisite to developing a clear path forward. Do not initiate an IBM i digital transformation initiative without it.
Kommentare