As the market evolves, tech stacks that fail to keep pace can become an actual hindrance to employee productivity. When it comes to your tech stack and whether it’s still working for your employees, asking the right questions is important.
A tech stack, after all, comprises the building blocks of any mobile or web application. And, with digital transformation a necessity in our current business ecosystem, keeping your tech stack nimble is more important than ever. Below, we detail seven questions and considerations to get your team working like a finely oiled machine.
#1 Do Your Employees Have Transferable Skill Sets?
Contemplating React Native? Creating native apps for iOS and Android should be a cinch if you have Javascript developers on board. Transferable skills like data warehousing & analytics, Agile/Scrum methodology, SharePoint, MySQL, API design, and cloud security are also critical if you’re contemplating app modernization.
#2 Will Your Tech Provider Continue to Support Your Current Tech Stack?
For instance, Microsoft continues to have a vested interest in providing strong support for Visual Studio. Whether Facebook will continue supporting React Native is an open question — but there’s also Node.js, supported by non-profits. Of course, any tech stack should ideally be open-source. Here’s why: open-source alternatives allow you to own your data.
Specifically, an open-source tech stack gives you 100% control over the process of collecting and processing consumer data. This is critical when it comes to complying with global privacy standards like GDPR and LGPD.
#3 Does Your Current Tech Stack Meet Your Modernization Goals?
Where apps go, Version 10.1 will always have fewer bugs than Version 1.1. You also need to know how third-party apps will sync with your new tech stack.
For instance, does your current tech stack enable IoT connectivity? Creating solutions within the manufacturing industry involves architectural complexity of the highest order, and older tech stacks simply can’t compete.
With IoT, manufacturing industries can realize the built-in potential of predictive maintenance, which promotes increased productivity (47%) and operations optimization (56%). In particular, IoT tools that facilitate machine overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) optimization and cross-vendor shop-floor integration will be critical to business resiliency in an ever-competitive marketplace.
If your current tech stack can’t support digital transformation or your modernization goals, it may be time for a change.
#4 Does Your Current Tech Infrastructure Address Security Concerns?
Beware legacy tech stacks that represent a security nightmare. One sign of a strong cybersecurity culture is the ability of a tech stack to accommodate a zero-trust approach. In the education industry, multi-factor authentication technology remains a critical protection. A zero-trust approach, however, isn’t about zero-tolerance — it involves authenticating users based on identities rather than network IP addresses.
This kind of security protects teachers, administrative users, as well as students. Building in secure identity and access management (IAM) can be expensive and time-consuming, but it’s also the bedrock of sustainable cybersecurity. And, a robust, flexible tech stack is essential to this kind of security.
The education industry isn’t the only one that can benefit from a zero-trust approach, however.
Between HIPAA considerations, the rising tide of ransomware attacks, and an alarming increase in insider threats, the healthcare industry also needs end-to-end security.
#5 Does the Current Stack Require Extensive Updates?
If perpetual update cycles are required to keep the app operating well with the most recent code base, that’s a problem.
#6 How Flexible Is Your Current Tech Stack? Are There Weak Links in the Chain of Dependencies?
Particularly in the energy sector, every element related to producing, refining, and storing consumable fuels is interdependent. By stepping into a flexible tech stack that works at every level, you can hold onto what your team has already accomplished and leverage tools like Azure to increase drilling hit rates, improve reservoir production, and manage asset lifecycles.
With Azure, you can build out a managed app platform to automate decision-making and achieve rapid, enhanced results — and that’s just the beginning. You can also explore options to create and code your own, customized IoT solutions.
#7 What Are Productivity Levels in Your Current Tech Stack Environment?
An analysis from 451 Research reveals nine key indicators that should be considered when balancing your current environment against the possibility of change:
- Alignment: With the shift to remote working, have your employees rallied around new workflows within the current tech stack?
- Automation: Have you achieved business process optimization at the highest possible level?
- Capacity: Can employees take on new work at reasonable levels without risking burnout?
- Collaboration: Has “meeting culture” overwhelmed productivity efforts?
- Effort: Do employees spend enough time on critical activities?
- Focus: Do employees have time to focus on specific responsibilities without interruption?
- Process: Are workflows effective and efficient?
- Rework: Must you continually revise individual workflows to achieve some semblance of operational integrity?
- Velocity: How long does it take to achieve reasonable goals? All things considered, what will improve if you choose to disrupt the current environment?
To learn how to create the best tech infrastructure for your organization, contact us. Join our clients in the manufacturing, oil & energy, healthcare, engineering, and education industries in achieving optimized operations and increased revenues.