One of the major challenges any organization faces when embarking on a digital business transformation initiative is integrating all the legacy systems that existing processes already depend on.
It’s generally not feasible to rip and replace every platform employed, so Digital CxOs typically need to fund a lot of expensive software development efforts or, alternatively, define a higher layer of abstraction that makes it simpler invoke various processes.
One such example of the latter approach is a FICO platform from the same organization that is best known for tracking credit scores. Today FICO announced it has made more than 20 updates to that namesake data virtualization platform, including an extension to a digital twin and simulation capability that makes it simpler to test the impact changes to business processes might have on key performance indicators (KPIs).
The overall goal is to make it simpler for Digital CxOs to safely experiment in a way that provides visibility into how any proposed change to a workflow will impact the business, says Bill Waid, chief product and technology officer at FICO.
Other new capabilities include an ability to pull in AI models developed by third parties as well as updates to the various types of artificial intelligence (AI) models that FICO provides to analyze credit and synthesize data. In the near future, FICO will also be leveraging generative AI to add natural language capabilities to the platform, notes Waid.
In addition, the platform has been updated to enable the processes of data in real-time and batch mode at scale to enable organizations to address more event-driven use cases, says Waid.
Finally, FICO has added a global optimizations resolver, hardened the security of the core platform and made available additional tools for managing the lifecycle of a process.
FICO already provides all the integrations to legacy platforms via connectors it provides and is primarily focused on the retail and banking sectors, while relying on partners to make its platform available in other vertical industry segments. Regardless of who delivers the core platform, the focus is on providing organizations with a platform for managing processes at a high level of abstraction that was designed for business users rather than IT professionals, says Waid.
In general, business executives are not especially interested in how digital business transformation is achieved as much as they are achieving specific goals, adds Waid. “The business only really cares about the outcome,” he notes.
Each organization will need to decide what digital business transformation path makes the most sense for them but during challenging economic times the patience business leaders have for these efforts to return an investment naturally wears thin. Digital CxOs now, more than ever, need to demonstrate an ability to enable businesses to dynamically adjust to rapidly changing business conditions that are becoming increasingly difficult to predict in a world where multiple ongoing conflicts will flare up in ways no one expects.
The challenge, as always, is making it simpler to model those events in a way that ultimately makes organizations resilient enough to adapt whenever and however required.
