5 Reasons Why Every CIO Should Embark Upon a Product Modernization Journey

The sheer existence of self-driven cars and reusable satellite launchers in today’s world has confirmed my belief that technologies evolve drastically over time. Of course, this extends to businesses, making it pertinent for them to constantly transform in all aspects. Keeping up with the rising demands of tech savvy customers and maintaining a competitive edge calls for ridding the business of primordial technologies that do very little for their growth.

In fact, most businesses that still rely on legacy applications (think monoliths, mainframe applications, etc.) will tell you how much they would love to switch to modernized versions of their existing IT systems. But, the seemingly complex persona that modern technologies have unwillingly taken on stops them from taking that first step.

The truth of the matter, however, still remains that businesses need to invest in continuous product modernization that will empower them to adequately scale. To top that, with the help of seamless integration with new-age systems, they can ultimately meet dynamic business needs and achieve a positive impact on their bottom line. The onus of this typically lies with CIOs who recognize that the C-suite depends on them to achieve steady growth and meet rising expectations for agility. And to sustain these goals, they are consciously steering towards legacy modernization.

But, before I walk you through the key reasons why every CIO must have product modernization in their arsenal, let me briefly tell you how it works.

Product modernization is a multi-step process that starts with assessing and analyzing your existing legacy application. After establishing the areas in which your legacy systems could use some sprucing up, you need to:

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To ensure feasibility of modernizing legacy systems, a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes in handy. This will highlight the key features of the revamped product without heavy investments. Think of it as a solid teaser for what’s to come.

Once the prototype gets an A-Okay from the relevant stakeholders, you can move on to the development phase and finally execute a roll-out of your modernized legacy systems.

Now, allow me to circle back to CIOs and why they should dig a little deeper into this strategy.

Studies show that business heads are considering investments in innovation and modernization at the cost of increased expenses. And to achieve that seamlessly, product modernization is the way to go! With that in mind, here is my list of top 5 reasons why CIOs should consider product modernization:

1.      Increased Agility

Agility in the current times can be a game changer for businesses. Sharing data, deriving insights, and making data-driven decisions makes it possible for businesses to effectively scale and achieve remarkable progress. When you invest in product modernization, you are essentially facilitating a system-wide improvement for your business that enables you to deliver superior quality products at a speed that is faster than your competitors.

2.      Reduced time to market

Product modernization automates a lot of your business operations and gives your IT systems a much-needed overhaul. This not only reduces the number of errors, but also by default mitigates the time needed to correct them and in turn, reduces the overall time to market. Increased productivity and enhanced efficiency are a great selling point for product modernization.

3.      Enhanced Quality of product- resulting in a more reliable product

In the face of disruptive competition, delivering a best-in-class product is what will set your business apart. Since most of your business operations are now supported by cutting-edge technologies, the quality of your end product will be superior to your competitors. Additionally, leveraging these modern technologies will also result in a more reliable product with increased ability to function without failure.

4.      Reduced costs

One of the key highlights of product modernization is migrating from an on prem data center to Cloud. The minute you do that, the costs associated with on prem data center are wiped off. A study I recently read said that American organizations spend more than 70% of their total IT budgets on maintaining legacy software. With product modernization, an investment in the right strategy will avail exponential returns that will easily surpass the initial investments and reduce your total costs by over 13%.

5.      Employee satisfaction

Humor me for a minute and look up “Product Modernization” on a supremely slow browser. Frustrating, isn’t it? A common problem stated by employees of the IT industry is that they have to work with poor quality, outdated software that often takes ages to perform even basic operations. This not only affects their performance but also fuels anxiety and stress associated with meeting deadlines. A robust, yet modern IT system can do wonders in boosting employee morale!

I’m sure that by now I have convinced you to remodel your IT systems and consider investing in product modernization strategies. Reach out to us to know more about how we helped a world-leading software product development company modernize from a legacy desktop applications to a mobile-first web app with re-engineered UX.