The survey highlights the balance IT leaders must strike between modernisation efforts and broader business objectives such as profitability, growth, cost control and employee management. With a majority of surveyed executives seeing only marginal improvements to the business post-transformation, many are finding themselves having to justify the purpose and ROI of modernisation efforts.

“The research indicates that there is significant room for improvement when it comes to modernisation programs, and many organisations believe they can – and should – extract greater ROI out of their existing core systems,” said Rimini Street executive vice president global transformation and chief product officer David Rowe. “Enterprise software system roadmaps have been dictated by the vendors, leaving little to no control to the organisation implementing them. This is increasingly changing, and we are seeing more leaders take their roadmap into their own hands to achieve better outcomes by optimising existing systems tailored to their business goals, innovating around the edges, and outsourcing maintenance and support.” 

Survey results show organisations challenged with digital transformation vision, IT modernisation timeline and budget, and seeing greater ROI for the investment

Key findings include: 

• 98% of survey respondents are pursuing digital transformation (DX), but many organisations lack a comprehensive vision for their digital future and fall into “DX fatigue” 
• 88% of survey respondents are running an IT modernisation program; however, more than half say they are behind schedule (61%) and over budget (68%)
• Nearly 60% of respondents say that their modernisation programs were not succeeding beyond marginal improvements for the business
• 81% of organisations believe that hybrid IT is a key approach to IT modernisation

Embracing innovation in IT management and modernisation with third-party support
While 66% of respondents are open to embracing innovative approaches to managing or modernising their IT environments, the current focus on driving profit margin increases and operational excellence can lead organisations to deprioritise innovation efforts. 

Over the next 12 months, the top three IT management priorities for CIOs and CTOs are: 

1. Modernising core systems to create better performance, efficiencies, and lower costs management
2. Keeping existing IT systems running
3. Managing IT budget constraints

To achieve these priorities, executives must take greater focus on areas of inefficiencies within the business. IT leaders surveyed believe they waste a mean of 144 hours per week on low-value management or maintenance tasks for core IT systems. This represents a critical area of the business where executives can work with key stakeholders and outsourced IT support vendors to eradicate waste by streamlining processes and freeing up resources.

The top two influences on business cited are “inflation/the cost of capital” and “finding/retaining the best talent.” With up to 60% of respondents experiencing some dissatisfaction with their primary operational/core IT system vendor, organisations should consider partnering with third-party service support experts who can help stabilise and optimise current systems, as well as provide strategies and roadmaps to well-planned modernisation efforts. Doing so can provide enterprises with valuable guidance and support throughout the modernisation journey, enabling them to foster innovation, allocate their talent resources toward strategic projects while pursuing both growth and profitability.  

You can access the full, comprehensive survey report Operational Excellence is a Key Part of System Modernisation here.