In November 2015, Paris Orly International Airport was forced to ground all its flights due to a software failure. The program that failed was called DECOR, and was used by air-traffic controllers to transmit weather information to pilots. It was an important piece of software, and one that you might expect to be pretty sophisticated. It was running on Microsoft Windows 3.1. Originally released in 1992. Worse still, many of the people with the expertise needed to fix the system had retired, making an upgrade in the near future a necessity.
Thankfully, such examples are the exception, not the rule, and most businesses realised they needed to update their digital capabilities a long time ago. Instead of disparate systems split up in many different ways, companies are realising the benefits of digitally enabled systems that are centralised, homogenised and efficient in ways they have never been before. Making sure our modern, digital age – where programs from a thousand different developers, running on hardware from a hundred different manufacturers, have to communicate frequently and instantaneously – is allowed for at a business-wide level is imperative.
Get with the program In February 2016, Deloitte released its annual Tech Trends 2016 report, and listed the eight biggest areas businesses are focusing on with their IT strategies. The list echoed insights from a range of other organisations, from the World Economic Forum and Future Today Institute through to Gartner and IBM. All of these organisations agreed technologies such as the Internet of Things, virtual reality and blockchain would have a part to play in our digital future.
But Deloitte also identified a more fundamental change to the way technologies are used. Many businesses, the report found, are currently in the process of ‘reimagining core systems’; while they may have a flashy app that runs on the very latest versions of iOS and Android, their backend systems – which power essential functions – are astonishingly old and beginning to cause problems. Some larger companies, particularly in the financial services sector, could still be using custom-built systems that were set up for them in the 1970s. An even greater number of firms are relying on IT systems that were put in during the digital expansion of the 1990s.
“Some larger companies could still be using custom-built systems that were set up for them in the 1970s”
These core systems are a significant drag on any new function that is implemented, and make it unacceptably difficult for companies to keep up with newer competitors. Google, Facebook and Uber certainly aren’t held back by such legacy systems.
These out-of-date core systems and a compartmentalised approach to IT solutions are the barriers stopping companies making the most of their investments. Like the individual players in a symphony orchestra, digital systems may do well on their own, but only through coordination and focus can they produce a sublime masterpiece.
With the variety of digital systems now in use, this is no easy task. Technologies as varied as cognitive computing, application programming interfaces (APIs) and hybrid cloud systems must work together while implementing conceptual approaches, such as data visibility and collaborative workspaces. These disparate ideas are great on their own, but better together.
Diverse technologies Given the bewildering range of technologies available, a company could be forgiven for simply not knowing which way to turn.
One of the many new opportunities to explore is artificial intelligence (AI), also known as cognitive computing or machine learning. No longer the stuff of science fiction, it’s now possible to simulate a human’s cognitive capabilities through the use of complex computer systems. Such systems are able to sort and process information far more quickly than any human could, and make recommendations that are more informed than any single person could offer. And, like humans, cognitive technologies are able to learn, adapt and improve.
But whether you’re a human or a machine, learning needs to be sustained by access to high-quality and relevant information. In order for cognitive technologies to do this, they need access to so-called ‘dark data’, i.e. data stored in ways that have until now made it inaccessible to computers. That’s often formats humans would find very easy to interpret – pictures, videos, Facebook posts – but wouldn’t mean very much to a traditional computer.
APIs can be a great way for businesses to maximise the value of their data. Opening information up and encouraging development beyond company walls can help businesses discover new uses for their data, and to develop new services and even business models.
While each of these opportunities could be tackled one at a time, in order for them to be put to truly transformative use they need to be approached as a whole. Otherwise the end result could be disjointed, disconnected and, ultimately, ineffective.
Clouded view This is one of the reasons tech companies have been so keen to offer new cloud computing services over the last few years. Google’s cloud system combines storage, computing, data analytics and machine learning, while Amazon Web Services brings the expertise of one of the internet’s biggest retail and logistics firms to businesses across the globe. But, as the cloud services industry evolves, it is leaders in business transformation that are coming to the fore. IBM, for example, has over 100 years of finding solutions to clients’ technology problems to bring to the table.
A major benefit of working in the cloud is it means you can keep all your critical business information and processes in one place. With the right fully integrated system, employees in Lisbon, Lagos and Llanelli can work on a single set of documents simultaneously. Even better, businesses can take advantage of powerful computer systems that would be impossibly expensive for them to buy outright. By taking advantage of cloud systems where necessary, businesses can remain competitive for a relatively low cost.
If businesses don’t move soon, it might become too late; people, organisations, and (thanks to the Internet of Things) even washing machines are generating information at a rate we would previously have thought impossible. This volume of data is as extraordinary as it is intimidating, and will be one of the biggest forces driving business in the 21st century. If companies don’t develop the most efficient and effective systems to ride that tsunami, they will be washed away by it – and by the commercial advantage it will give to more capable competitors.
This is not going to stop. Business is changing, and there are going to be more companies who find their antiquated backend lets them down in the face of a younger, more innovative start-up that has moseyed into their industry. But by building systems that fire on all cylinders when needed, any business can be ready for the future.