@cparizo: I think that mostly happens because companies don't think the actual staff using the system will be capable of telling the requirements. From what I've seen, it's totally the opposite. Unless you spend time with the actual users and get to know them, you cannot create something that will be useful for them.
Agreed. Too often IT doesn't consult with users on what their job actually entails during app design and implementation. That's not just true for cloud; it's true everywhere.
The statement, "Meet with users, not just department heads, and have them walk you through their day-to-day tasks" is key once the decision is made to move legacy apps to the cloud or any type of major migration. End-users will have the most input since they work with the app daily. So taking ample amount of time for analysts\developers to gather requirements from users will play a major role in the success of this type of effort.
Good article. Read an interesting whitepaper on upgrading legacy systems "Y2K 12 Integrating next generation technology to transform your business" it offers good information on technology and implementing new systems to transform your business @ bit.ly/S8p1W4
Also, the experts in these legacy apps could have retired or moved on to different organizations, leaving behind little to no documentation about the solutions they pulled together years ago. At the time they were creating these systems, there weren't many (any?) easy to use knowledge-sharing applications so that's another reason companies want to get away from these systems sooner rather than later.
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of large enterprise clients are asking Gartner what to do now with their legacy apps. Two decades' worth of data to migrate can be a real pain - and with IT budgets expected to remain stagnant, finding the money to do so can be problematic.
This is a huge issue for many organizations. While startups can jump right into cloud with both feet if they choose, many well-established midsize and enterprise organizations have spent years heavily investing in legacy systems, proprietary applications, and custom code. As these solutions age, they need replacing--but the data inside can't be cast away, and some apps remain important to a company's success and organizational structure. It didn't surprise me to read that Gartner had spent so much time focusing on this issue, Christine! I'd imagine a lot of their consulting business comes from this area.
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The US National Security Agency learned the hard way that it can be dangerous to give a contractor too much money and access, with too little scrutiny. The NSA and other government agencies hire tens of thousands of contractors
a year to analyze data. Edward Snowden -- who revealed himself as the NSA leaker after fleeing the country -- was one such contractor, reportedly holding a $122,000 salaried position at Booz Allen Hamilton at the time of his departure.
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Big-data and analytics tools enable marketers to understand customers as individuals, identifying unmet needs and addressing each customer as a "segment of one," says John Kennedy, VP corporate marketing, IBM.
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Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Monaco kicked into high gear today, and we've already begun to see news emerging from that lovely city-state by the sea.
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