While organizational agility is crucial for businesses to stay competitive in the current technological landscape, many companies face significant challenges that hinder their ability to adapt and innovate.
A survey of more than 1,000 C-level respondents across 12 countries in Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, conducted by IDC InfoBrief and sponsored by IFS and Boomi, revealed two major obstacles are aging systems and a lack of technical knowledge at the board level.
These issues can stifle growth and prevent organizations from responding swiftly to market changes, and addressing these challenges is essential for businesses aiming to enhance their agility and achieve sustained success.
According to the survey results, working capital and inventory imbalances (56%), volatile demand (53%) and unpredictable supply chains (48%) have been major obstacles over the past three years.
Additionally, legacy applications (60%), lack of integration (48%) and inflexible or monolithic applications (43%) are further hindering efforts to mitigate these issues, impacting overall efficiency and risk management.
The survey revealed more than two-fifths (41%) of organizations lack a composable strategy, risking stagnation and increasing technical debt.
Composability refers to the architectural principle and approach in software design and development where systems are built from modular, interchangeable components.
These components, often referred to as services or microservices, are designed to work together seamlessly through well-defined interfaces (such as APIs) to create larger, more complex systems.
While seven in 10 C-suite executives surveyed said they recognize the value of a composable architecture, less than two in 10 board-level professionals share this understanding.
Ed Macosky, chief product and technology officer for Boomi explained adopting a composable strategy means increased agility, cost reductions and faster response times to disruptions.
“After adoption, businesses will have visibility and control at a higher level, where leaders can see, stack and swap out building blocks as business or technical requirements evolve over time,” he said.
This approach enables organizations to adapt and move faster to market changes, moving businesses upward and forward.
He said organizations can focus on educating executives on the long-term business and economic benefits that they will see by adopting modern, composable architectures.
By fostering a culture of growth and learning, organizations can highlight how technology initiatives align closely with business goals and implement education programs across the company from the executive level down.
He suggested creating a clear and strategic roadmap for the transition to composable architectures and outlining the steps, timelines and expected outcomes.
“This will help executives to embrace a composable design based on technology that maximizes reusability, democratization, visibility and control that will help realize the benefits,” Macosky said.
The survey also found 89% of respondents identified API-driven innovation as crucial for composability, with over half (51%) emphasizing the need for seamless integration between process workflows and 37% highlighting the importance of single-platform solutions.
Macosky said these insights underscore the essential role of APIs in developing adaptable and flexible business systems, reinforcing the notion that the future of business applications is composable.
“Businesses can effectively utilize APIs by collecting data and feeding data between different systems, applications and platforms,” he explained.
This enables the consolidation of data from various sources, allowing seamless communication between them and enhancing real-time data integration.
With the survey highlighting the importance of API-driven innovation and seamless integration between process workflows, Macosky noted organizations must define clear API objectives that align with long-term business goals.
“Regularly review your objectives and make necessary updates along the way,” he said.
That includes ensuring data connectivity and set up standard protocols and formats for consistency and ease of integration across different systems.
“By doing so, organizations can ensure their API strategy is effective and relevant in the long run,” he said.
