Thanks to the leaps and bounds that technology has made in the last few decades, business and commerce has changed irreversibly. Not only have businesses become more reliant on technology, but the technology that for decades was considered the standard is now seen as legacy. This is precisely why IT modernization has sprung to the top of many businesses’ priority lists. A modern approach to technology can help businesses unlock new value in many areas of their organisation. But IT modernization can be a tricky undertaking. We spoke with TechQuarters, one of the many London IT support companies that have been working with businesses over the last decade to modernize their IT strategies. They told us about the benefits that can be drawn from modernizing, and how to do it the right way.
Benefits of IT Modernization
The benefits of modernizing one’s IT infrastructure and strategy are extensive. Below are three key examples of what businesses can expect from this process.
- Reduce Long-Term IT Costs
At its core, IT modernization is about replacing a business’ reliance on legacy solutions – the most common of which are server-based networks and data centers. Rebuilding systems so that they are based on modern solutions (such as the cloud) can help businesses eliminate capital expenditures (such as hardware investments) and save money long-term through operational expenses (which can be deducted from taxes).
- Improve Organisation Productivity
As mentioned above, IT modernization often involves implementing modern systems and solutions to save company’s money. But these same systems and solutions can also help organisations be more productive. For example, the cloud (which is an integral technology to modern IT) can open many opportunities to forge more efficient workflows.
- Become More Agile
IT modernization can also inject flexibility and speed into an organisation’s operations. For example, a cloud migration opens the opportunity for remote and hybrid work. It may also open the door to spinning up new services and integrating new solutions internally. For example, TechQuarters’ ability to continue providing IT support London companies relied on during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic was largely down to the fact that they themselves are a company with a modernized infrastructure and business model.
Top Tips for IT Modernization
Working with a professional IT partner can help businesses undertake a modernization project much easier. In fact, TechQuarters work providing IT support financial services companies rely on has often involved large-scale modernization projects (such as digital transformation, cloud migration, etc.) Below are some tips on the best way to approach modernizing…
Focus on Streamlining
The reason IT modernization is needed by so many businesses, is because they have already experienced a decade or more of IT evolution that has led their IT infrastructures becoming increasingly complex, and haphazard. Integrating new solutions into an infrastructure built on legacy systems is asking for trouble. According to TechQuarters, IT modernization should largely be about streamlining architecture, and developing a model that is future-proof.
To develop IT architectures that are future-proof, modular, and streamlined, businesses need to prioritize agility. Platforms that are flexible enough to accommodate a range of functions and solutions, in a range of configurations, can be benefit businesses down the ride by ensuring that they can pivot their stack in response to new ideas and demands.
Leverage Services, Not Assets
In the ‘olden days’ of IT, infrastructure was built on assets, such as servers, databases, purchased software, etc. The trouble with adopting an asset-based mindset is that one can become too invested in that asset – discarding it when it is no longer useful might seem like a waste; however, clinging onto a legacy solution to get the maximum ROI is a bad idea. Modern IT infrastructure are often built on services, instead – i.e. Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, Software as a Service, and even Hardware as a Service. The benefit here is that the investment is directly equal to its use – if it becomes necessary to replace the service, no investment is lost.
