CIOs need to stay laser-focused on improving time to value, says Ed Macosky, Chief Innovation Officer, Boomi.
CIOs are speeding up on Digital Transformations need to stay laser-focused on improving time to value.
That means, when they’re looking at what to invest in, CIOs need to stay hyper focused on bringing in technology that moves the needle and sets the business up for success amid uncertainty.
In particular, I anticipate we’ll see CIOs turn to low-code integration technology to offset skill shortages, pull in more benefits and minimize disruptions.
Here’s what I believe that will look like.
To combat IT skill shortages while addressing mounting pressures to keep costs in line, some businesses will take on low-cost applications that serve niche needs, creating numerous data silos that lead to quality and governance issues.
To address this, we will see more CIOs partner with their C-suite peers and adopt low-code iPaaS/automation tools that provide governance and security, while still fulfilling businesses’ needs.
Low code was expected to take off in 2023 with Gartner saying the market should increase by 20%.
When speaking with other CIOs, I’ve found that they’re seeing low-code data application platforms serving two purposes: They enable IT teams to do more with less and they allow employees in non-IT departments to create integrations that they need to improve their job. With many companies pausing on hiring, low-code application integration is one way to enable employees to do more with less.
Most companies have already invested in numerous data and cloud-related technologies, but by taking on too many applications, organizations are now experiencing modernization choke points, holding up operations and leading to sunk costs.
To avoid wasted investments and maximize their ROI, companies will look to consolidate and integrate key applications and technologies to provide better automated and integrated experiences to their end-users, employees and customers.
For instance, there’s usually a best of breed cloud for each type of application or workflow. However, the gains from those different clouds could be minimal at best without application integration, as they could lock data in silos, require employees to laboriously transfer data to other applications or hinder the overall employee experience.
ERPs drive companies. Organizations use them to plan and oversee all of their resources, from money to people to materials. In times of uncertainty, ERPs and their data and insights are even more critical.
Though many CIOs are focusing on ERP modernization efforts, they need to reprioritize how they get there. Instead of finishing a laborious migration or starting to move to a whole new system, CIOs are looking at application integration. With the innovations in integration platforms over the last few years, they’ve become a strong contender to improve the mileage of ERPs, whether that’s by integrating and supporting new ERPs or bridging the gap between old on-premises ERPs.
In fact, 94% of organizations worldwide are using a composable ERP strategy, according to Boomi data. By using application integration, CIOs can improve employees’ experience with their ERPs and help to improve the accuracy of the system without extensive infrastructure updates, among other benefits.
The business landscape changes more rapidly every day. To succeed, CIOs will need to do the same.
I foresee application integration technology – powered by low code – playing a key role in helping CIOs do so, enabling data to move at the speed of business. Time is money, and with limited resources, CIOs can use easy-to-implement application integration to help overcome the skills shortage, maximize their cloud benefits, and move forward on ERP modernization.
