Most IT leaders recognize the critical importance of modernizing their applications and data, but many struggle to kick start the process and outline the right strategy.
A recent report from the IBM Institute for Business Value reveals that 83 percent of North American IT executives believe that modernizing applications and data is pivotal to their organization’s strategy. However, only 27 percent have actually modernized the necessary applications, data, and systems.
For colleges and universities looking to accelerate their application modernization efforts, conducting an assessment of their enterprise application portfolio is a key first step. Greg Peters, the founder of the Strategic Application Modernization Assessment (SAMA) at CDW, suggests that an automated assessment can significantly expedite the modernization process.
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How to Conduct a Unique Application Modernization Assessment
It’s crucial for higher education institutions to conduct a comprehensive assessment that not only evaluates the technology but also assesses whether the university has the necessary staff and resources to maintain certain applications. SAMA aims to break down silos within an institution by involving developers, security teams, network engineers, and other relevant stakeholders in the modernization process.
SAMA monitors a university’s entire application portfolio to identify which applications are prime candidates for modernization, all through an automated process. This approach allows IT leaders to gain a macro-level view of their software updates quickly and cost-effectively.
Peters likens the process to improving a car’s design, where input from various specialists is essential. SAMA’s automated assessment process streamlines this by integrating built-in security scanning, custom reporting, and analysis tools, expediting the evaluation without the need for separate conversations with individual teams.
The procedure begins with CDW engineers setting up a virtual machine to run the SAMA tool within the organization’s environment. SAMA then collects data from the institution’s code repositories, covering multiple languages and applications across mainframes or in the cloud, all done on-premises. By monitoring completed modernization tasks and changes within the application portfolio, SAMA pinpoints areas for improvement.
Why an Assessment Accelerates the App Modernization Process
While a manual assessment of a college’s codebase can take up to 18 months, SAMA can automate the assessment in just two to three weeks, depending on the portfolio size. The assessment scans applications’ metadata and source code, evaluates their cloud compatibility, detects code anomalies, and assesses the security levels of each application.
Following the assessment, SAMA generates two automated reports: one with individual application assessments for modernization suitability, and an executive summary with a complex portfolio heat map, required personnel support, and other key findings.
These reports provide IT leaders with valuable insights and guidance on prioritizing software based on the organization’s strategic objectives. Typically, 8 to 10 percent of the application portfolio is earmarked for modernization, focusing on critical infrastructure or security issues, or easily modernizable applications.
The Benefits of Assessing Your Applications’ Readiness
The SAMA approach streamlines the decision-making process, providing IT leaders with the necessary information to act swiftly. It also serves as a benchmark for achieving digital transformation goals, with ongoing monitoring to track changes in the application portfolio.
By saving significant costs on manual analysis, organizations can reallocate funds towards actual modernization efforts, reaping massive benefits from the streamlined process.
Stay tuned for more insights on cybersecurity challenges facing higher education institutions.
