Emerging Stronger: A Roadmap to AI Readiness

Key points:

Modernization is crucial for businesses to stay competitive and prepare for AI
Common challenges include technical and organizational barriers, including legacy app estates, manual processes, security concerns, and lack of skilled IT professionals
A holistic modernization approach is necessary, involving strategy, processes, and technology
A clear technology strategy is essential, including AI and training
Modern operational and technology processes are critical, including mapping, cloud migration, and adopting modern approaches
Updating technology stacks with strategic partnerships is also important

Microsoft Azure has published a blog post on designing a successful modernization approach for AI readiness. The post highlights the importance of modernization in today’s business landscape and the challenges that come with it. According to a Forrester study, 61% of business leaders plan to invest most in generative AI as they prepare for the next evolution of generative AI-infused apps.

The post also emphasizes the need for a holistic approach, which involves unifying strategy, processes, and technology. This approach is critical for businesses to successfully adopt new innovations like AI.

The blog post provides a checklist for a modernization approach, which includes:

Implement a clear technology strategy: Ensure buy-in from leadership, adopt a mix of broad and focused approaches to AI and generative AI, and ensure all organizational units and technology stacks are well-aligned.
Adopt modern operational and technology processes: Map operational processes to modernization activities, view cloud migration as a means to realize AI value, and adopt modern operational approaches and track outcomes.
Update technology stacks supported by strategic partnerships: Limit technology sprawl and upgrade tech stacks, organize security early, and seek out strategic partners.

The post concludes by highlighting the importance of measuring the outcomes of modernization, tracking cross-business unit and cross-team KPIs, and upskilling employees across all departments to ensure widespread adoption of new tools and technologies.

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