Quilt Syndrome: From siled apps to connected business apps.
Imagine that you are the CIO or CTO of a very successful Startup and you are moving quickly to become a Unicorn in the next five years. Your business has a unique value proposition that benefits SMEs and enterprise customers. You started as a single-country organization, expanded into a multinational organization, and now you want to become a global organization. Everything looks promising.
But there is always a but". You had a meeting with your senior architects and they informed you that due to historical reasons, it is not possible to scale at the necessary rate.
You ask them why?
"This is a consequence of our history and success," answers Elizabeth, your IT architecture lead. "Do you remember the old days? We started small, frugally, with a 'every penny counts' mentality, and built MVP (Minimum Viable Products) solutions on Client-Server platforms because they were easy to implement, accessible to administrators, and easy to build new functionality using Agile methodologies. and Scrum.
Bobby, your cloud architect, keep going:
“A few years ago, we migrated many applications to a hybrid cloud, keeping the same architecture and connecting the applications using application communication connectors or APIs. It was the right decision from a cost and performance point of view, but it was not a perfect solution: the reality is that our APIs were designed to support specific use cases, so moving from the current level of maturity to the next will require re- architect these IT connections into an enterprise application communication layer” that quickly addresses specific and generic use cases.
"That's all?", questions.
"Well, moving apps to a hybrid cloud gave us time and cost savings," says elizabeth, “but it was not a complete solution: we need to transform our initial solutions built on an end-to-end framework into a more robust and robust cloud-native IT platform. It's like going from a 'quilt' (“Quilt”: multiple pieces of fabric connected by stitches to build a bed cover) to a new bed cover where each fabric has the same look and feel but is connected without external stitches.”
"Are you telling me that we will develop a super app that covers everything?" you ask.
"No", Bobby intervenes, “we will continue to use multiple applications. This time, each application will follow best practices (cloud native), so they can work together seamlessly and without scalability limitations. In many cases, we will use existing application code to speed up new application creation, refactoring, and composable applications. Remember?".
Does it sound familiar to you?
This is often thought to be unique to Startups, but the reality is that this scenario also occurs in established organizations planning strategic growth plans. They need to review their IT architecture to make sure they can support the incremental business due to exponential growth.
One thing you are sure of is that the business does not have the budget or resources to solve this situation using a big bang approach. And another constraint: a solution is needed, and it is needed fast.
How can an MSP help the CIO/CTO accelerate startup IT transformation and enable exponential growth for the organization?
This is where a managed service provider (MSP) can play a critical role.
An MSP can provide technical talent with proven experience to help in many ways, documenting and executing multiple small projects (stepped approach), so you can respond to business while transforming your organization to your next level of maturity. These are only some of them:
- Cloud Architecture and Migration Services– An MSP can help the startup migrate their applications to a cloud-native architecture, allowing their applications to scale and perform better. They can help assess your existing architecture, identify gaps and issues, and provide a cloud migration plan.
- IT Managed Services– An MSP can provide a team of IT professionals to support the business and operations of the startup. This would include services such as help desk, network management, system monitoring, and security management. This would allow the startup to focus on its core business while the MSP oversees IT operations.
- Billing and Cost Optimization Services– An MSP can help the startup select a cloud service provider that offers itemized billing and tax incentives. They can also help optimize startup cloud costs by identifying areas of inefficiency and suggesting cost-saving strategies.
- API Development and Integration Services: An MSP can provide resources and expertise to develop a new layer of APIs that can respond and scale to the needs of new customers. They can also help integrate these APIs with existing systems and applications.
- Cloud Security and Compliance Services– An MSP can help the startup ensure that its cloud infrastructure and applications are secure and comply with relevant regulations. This would include services such as vulnerability assessments, security audits, and compliance assessments.
Evaluating whether it makes sense to outsource your startup's IT operations? Our team is here to help you!
Contact us via DM cloud_journey@honneservices.com and learn more about how we can help your business.
Author: José Noguera – Country Manager USA