Embracing modern application architectures and modern development practices has become significant for organizations to drive business growth, finds a recent Frost & Sullivan survey commissioned by CA Technologies.
The modern application architectures include APIs, microservices and containers, whereas the modern development practices include DevOps, DevSecOps. The companies that adopt these practices can quickly adapt and adjust software applications according to market trends and customer demands.
CA Technologies surveyed 1087 IT and business executives around the world to better understand the state of software applications and the related development principles and practices.
“In conducting this study, what we found most intriguing was the focus amongst line of business leaders on software development and their willingness to engage budgets and detailed efforts in order to drive results,” said Alexander Michael, director of Consulting at Frost & Sullivan.
Key findings of the CA Technologies report:
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Business executives now play a key role in software decisions
As per the report, titled “What Business Executives are Learning about Software Development and How it is Helping Achieve KPIs”, 85% of business executives (beyond the IT department) are involving in decisions about software development and acquisition.
This is because the digital transformation is now impacting more lines of business. Alexander Michael said that software sits at the heart of most digital transformation projects.
The survey finds that out of the four challenges for an organization, three are associated to digital initiatives. Around 84% of respondents said that modernizing the development and delivery of software and applications is very critical for a successful business.
“In order to compete in today’s rapidly evolving market, organizations must center their thinking around how every line of business and IT contribute to achieving the company’s digital objectives,” said Ayman Sayed, president and chief product officer at CA Technologies.
“A modern application architecture is the foundation that, once in place, provides a platform for more flexible and agile software development, giving organizations the ability to plan and pivot to address customers’ changing business needs.”
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Software is critical to achieve KPIs
The goal of every department in an organization is to achieve key performance integrators (KPIs). Over eight in ten business execs said that software is the key to achieve KPIs.
In the era of digital transformation, the department leaders have started to think like modern CIOs. They reported that applications developed using modern architectures can help them more effectively achieve business goals.
Departments that adopt modern development practices are eight times more likely to say that their apps are good at supporting their KPIs. Further, they are six times more likely to say that their apps are better at delivering business insights as compared to their competitors.
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Over a quarter of apps are developed by in-house software engineers
An interesting finding of the research was that over a quarter of applications (28%) were developed by in-house software engineers. Although most software is developed by in-house IT departments, a large share is still bought from external vendors.
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Modern application architecture development significant for a successful business
Modern application architectures are capable of improving the levels of connectivity, scalability, and security. This can enable digital businesses to access billions of users across different networks and devices, and provide a better experience to partners, customers, suppliers, and employees.
Business executives responded that modern application architectures help them easily develop software, at the same time generate powerful insights and accelerate time to market.
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Modern application architectures improve ability to integrate applications and data
Business executives and central IT departments generally have different digital projects, but their aim is to improve the integration. The integration is important across business functions for comprehensive insights.
Modern application architectures support the integration of digital projects across the organization. According to report, a majority of mature organizations use APIs and enterprise platforms for seamless integration of applications and data.
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Software Development Issues Put KPIs and Security at Risk
While there are numerous advantages of modern application architecture, they also come with new challenges. A majority of high-development organizations said that management and monitoring the APIs, microservices and containers are challenging for them. APIs and microservices are new risks to the organizations.
Around 56% of business executives reported that software issues have negative effect on their KPIs. Further, 67% said that their organizations sometimes overlook security to expedite development.
Also read: Top 4 development trends in cloud of which every developer should be aware of
In the digital economy today, the ancient saying “there is nothing permanent except change” carries more weight than ever. Organizations need to adopt modern application architectures to keep up with the change, and to lay foundation for more flexible and agile software.
Read full report here.
Images source: CA Technologies
