Well, the reality is that depending on your role it means very different things to different people. For some it could be that the hardware and software is out of date, whereas for others it could be moving to containerised applications, using Red Hat technologies such as Red Hat Open Shift and/or Ansible. Alternatively, it could be as simple as moving from CAPEX to OPEX pricing model.
However, for me modernisation is a journey with a vision, which can be used to drive your strategy. If your hardware is legacy, it’s likely to be replaced for compliance and regulatory reasons. Therefore, rather than just carrying out a standard hardware refresh, consider this a business driver to ask, “what else can we do?”. Below are just a few examples of questions to ask:
- Would AI benefit me
- Is the new hardware and software AI ready
- Can I automate the upgrades or use Ansible for continuous integration
- Are you running containerised applications or looking to
- What is your strategy around VMWare?
- Will public cloud be involved?
- What do I need to integrate with?
As mentioned previously it can mean different things to different people, and the key point is to understand what it means to you. It’s possible that it could be very simple and on the other hand it could be complex. The most common question about a modernisation strategy is, how much is it going to cost and what benefits will we see? Having been in a variety of modernisation projects, some of the benefits can be easily seen, for example adding automation, where a hardware refresh to enable automation later will still see benefits in that the application is faster and there are fewer security gaps. However, from a business perspective an application running faster for the cost might not see this to be a potential benefit, where the new hardware and software is the enabler to drive benefit and drive innovation against your competitors.
Therefore, it’s never too late to ask yourself, your peers and your business leaders what your modernisation strategy will be for the next 3 years and where you are on the journey. Even in 2025 I’m still seeing a requirement for 5250 web / browser-based access. The question I urge you to ask yourself is “what is the long-term strategy”? This is likely a short-term solution, which the longer-term strategy is implemented.
If this blog entry has piqued your interest, please contact your Meridian IT Client Director, or myself ([email protected]), for a chat.
