Check out three firms who invested in steady, holistic modernization with outstanding success.
In my final two blogs, I explored what modernization actually means, what it takes, and why it issues for improvements like AI. Then, we walked by an efficient modernization strategy knowledgeable by the Forrester Software Modernization Guidelines.
So, what does profitable modernization appear like in the actual world? Let’s check out three firms who invested in steady, holistic modernization with outstanding success. You’ll see how these organizations not solely applied steerage from the Forrester Software Modernization Guidelines within the quick time period, but additionally how they plan to maintain making use of these ideas for steady modernization.
Sapiens reduces downtime whereas rising agility
Sapiens, an insurtech firm serving over 600 insurers throughout 30 nations, confronted a well-known problem. Their legacy apps had grow to be a barrier to scale, since all their administration teams, safety, and monitoring had been put into place earlier than they moved to the cloud. To resolve this, Sapiens knew they needed to embark on a holistic modernization mission that tied collectively technique, processes, and know-how to help their current wants and future ambitions.
Forrester Guidelines #1: Technique. Although their goal was simple, it wasn’t easy. “Our fundamental purpose on the outset was to be updated with our know-how stack,” mentioned Michael Mirel, Head of Cloud and DevOps Middle of Excellence. “To start with, it was IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). We rapidly realized that microservices are the place we must be by way of merchandise.”
After defining their purpose, Sapiens set a plan to infuse AI into their workflows. Log Analytics in Azure Monitor enabled them to evaluate the provision of their companies (for instance, by measuring variety of service calls). From there, Azure Monitor Software Insights helped them higher perceive how their apps had been behaving and alert them to any anomalies, an strategy that wouldn’t have been doable with their on-premises techniques alone.
Forrester Guidelines #2: Course of. Sapiens established a Cloud Middle of Excellence and a chosen group to assist their whole group embrace modernization. The command heart helped information their modernization journey and infused a transformative mindset all through their every day operations.
Forrester Guidelines #3: Know-how. Sapiens began out with conventional IaaS digital machine consumption. Modernization moved them to being a heavy client of Azure Kubernetes Service with direct entry to Microsoft’s product group. And adopting Azure Arc introduced collectively their patching and monitoring dashboards and safety administration instruments in a single pane of glass.
As a result of insurance coverage is a tightly regulated sector, Sapiens additionally sought a strategic accomplice that put fashionable safety on the forefront of their choices. They determined Microsoft Safety was the most effective match to assist guarantee cloud safety and compliance with international rules. Microsoft product groups additionally supplied focused help to constantly enhance Sapiens’ merchandise proper alongside alongside their very own builders.
Steady modernization. Sapiens achieved their preliminary objectives—however they’re nonetheless not accomplished. After migrating clients from knowledge facilities to the cloud, they then launched a long-term modernization mission guided by their Cloud Middle of Excellence. Mirel explains why. “We need to break down the partitions and supply extra self-service to our customers and higher service to our clients consequently,” he says. “If I’m an end-user, developer, tester, or product supervisor, I ought to be capable of spin up one other take a look at surroundings and launch through the evening as a substitute of being depending on DevOps or IT and having to attend a number of days.”
Altogether, Sapiens’ considerate modernization strategy has helped them cut back downtime, improve agility, future-proof the group, and supply higher service to each their engineers and clients. “We’re coping with the most important insurance coverage firms on this planet which can be taking our software program as a service, however we additionally have to interoperate with the prevailing ecosystems of those firms,” displays Mirel. “Because of Azure Non-public Hyperlink, we are able to join cloud to cloud in a single click on, which lowered deployment efforts by 50 p.c.”
Coles will get AI-ready and improves the client expertise
Main Australian retailer Coles grappled with assembly the altering calls for of their clients. They observed consumers anticipated to seamlessly swap between channels (bodily shops, their cell app, and web site), and Coles wished to enhance this physical-digital expertise by modernization.
Forrester Guidelines #1: Technique. To create a seamless buying expertise, Coles wanted to first create a seamless growth expertise. Their groups had to have the ability to make steady, nimble app updates to maintain tempo with shifting buyer preferences. To that finish, Coles outlined a method that saved engineers knowledgeable on what they had been setting to perform and why, so they might make choices that had been aligned to their widespread purpose. After launching their journey, Coles frequently checked their progress with insights from buyer knowledge to make sure their work was efficient.
Forrester Guidelines #2: Course of. Coles additionally took a tough have a look at their processes. Azure DevOps helped streamline workflows by enabling speedy change integration for brand new options in channel apps. Then, they started monitoring (and proceed to trace) their progress by measuring construct time and different KPIs. Anton Vishnyakov, Senior Engineer and Supervisor for Platform Engineering, has seen a distinction. “As a substitute of doing six-week releases, we now do weekly releases. And the construct occasions now take roughly 10 to fifteen minutes, in comparison with what was once a few hours.”
Forrester Guidelines #3: Know-how. To modernize their tech, Coles first recognized Microsoft as a strategic innovation accomplice. They knew Microsoft’s extremely collaborative engineering course of was well-suited to steady innovation, and Microsoft Azure might assist replace their stacks to restrict know-how sprawl. Azure enabled quicker deployments whereas nonetheless delivering a safer and secure web-based expertise for purchasers.
Extra particularly, options together with Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Kubernetes Service helped Coles get buyer insights throughout channels to additional refine their operations. Once they had been prepared to show these insights into significant product updates, they might then use Azure App Service to check them earlier than launch. All of the whereas, Azure API Administration ran within the background to assist Coles preserve safety on the forefront of each stage of the method.
Steady modernization: Since embarking on their journey, Coles has solely deepened their relationship with Microsoft. Microsoft groups and choices are serving to them constantly refine their operations, resulting in larger Azure companies ROI and a seamless, well-orchestrated buyer expertise throughout channels.
Because of their considerate modernization strategy, Coles is now AI-ready, and so they’re already utilizing analytics and AI to foretell stock distribution, optimize employee scheduling, and extra. Coles’ engineers are additionally in a position to rapidly combine new product updates to handle points and add new options, a profit that’s not misplaced on Patrik Mihailescu, Senior Engineering Supervisor, Internet. “We’re going to be transferring to every day deployments within the subsequent six to 9 months and positively with the Azure tooling, that’s going to be tremendous key in enabling us to go even faster.” They will additionally safely create these modifications by testing them independently with Azure App Service earlier than they’re deployed, serving to preserve safety and compliance.
Credit score Europe Financial institution NV improves safety and streamlines the event course of
Credit score Europe Financial institution NV confronted a broader modernization problem, their quickly growing older on-premises infrastructure. Although the financial institution serves practically a million clients globally, their IT groups usually discovered themselves ready on {hardware} deliveries and continuously managing on-premises complexity. It was time for a brand new strategy.
Forrester Guidelines #1: Technique. Recognizing the necessity for holistic modernization, Credit score Europe Financial institution NV outlined a plan to completely reshape their infrastructure, beginning with changing their on-premises techniques with the cloud. The cloud would streamline duties for his or her IT group and allow scalability, since groups would now not want to attend on {hardware} or spend time configuring advanced, dated techniques. Then, they turned to their workforce. Modernizing offered a serious studying curve for the financial institution’s IT groups, in order that they developed a plan to upskill workers on cloud ideas.
Forrester Guidelines #2: Course of. Credit score Europe Financial institution NV additionally wanted to revamp their processes and measure success. They paid shut consideration to their buyer onboarding time all through their modernization, and ultimately discovered that they’d lowered it from three days to 9 minutes. “We now provide a contemporary, participating digital banking platform,” says Ulaş Ergin, IT, Digital Banking, and Software program Structure Division Supervisor. “All the things has been revamped for smoothness and pace, making the entire banking expertise extra satisfying.”
Forrester Guidelines #3: Know-how. When launching their tech transformation, Credit score Europe Financial institution NV wove in safety from the beginning by selecting the Microsoft Azure cloud. As a frontrunner in safety and compliance with built-in instruments for monetary companies, Azure might assist them handle their delicate knowledge in accordance with industry-specific rules. They then tackled their aged infrastructure with Azure Kubernetes Service, a managed container orchestration platform. AKS helped simplify their operations and pace up growth, leading to smoother useful resource administration and a extra environment friendly surroundings arrange course of.
Steady modernization. Credit score Europe Financial institution NV continues to find new alternatives within the cloud. They’re utilizing Azure Cognitive Companies to enhance the safe dealing with of buyer ID pictures and are constantly releasing new options and merchandise. Subsequent, they’re turning their consideration to GitHub Copilot to remodel their in-house banking system.
Now, Credit score Europe Financial institution NV’s safety is stronger than ever, since migrating to the cloud enabled them to undertake digital, mobile-based delicate tokens and biometric authentication. They’ve additionally improved their buyer expertise and even launched new companies like real-time foreign currency trading, which might have been inconceivable on their outdated system. “Buyer suggestions has been overwhelmingly constructive,” displays Berkay Çavuşoğlu, Program Supervisor. “Our company clients famous that the system’s efficiency is quicker.”
The financial institution has additionally accelerated their growth cycle by easing the system arrange course of and administration with Azure. Azure handles many on-premises duties behind the scenes, reminiscent of upgrades and safety patches, so builders can deal with extra strategic duties. “We now not have to handle the underlying infrastructure, which drastically lowered the operational pressure,” displays Teoman Sevinç, DevOps Specialist. “Up to now, if we wished to make updates to our surroundings, it will disrupt our non-production setup. However with Azure, managing and establishing environments is streamlined, which positively impacts our growth life cycle.”
Are you prepared to start out your modernization journey?
With that, we’ve wrapped our weblog collection on software modernization—however similar to modernization isn’t accomplished, there’s at all times extra to study. When you missed them, revisit my earlier blogs within the collection on the fundamentals of modernization and the main points of an efficient modernization strategy.
Don’t overlook to additionally learn the foundational texts that guided our work: the Forrester Consulting Software Modernization Guidelines that Microsoft commissioned, and the Forrester Consulting examine Unlock Aggressive Benefit with Software Modernization. You may as well try the next assets:
