Johannesburg, 17 Aug 2020
The global pandemic is having a dramatic impact on application delivery, forcing development teams to reimagine what they build and how they do it.
This is according to Raffi Margaliot, SVP and General Manager at Micro Focus, who leads the Application Delivery Management business unit within Micro Focus.
Speaking ahead of the Micro Focus Realize virtual customer forum, where he will deliver a presentation on Automation for DevOps Roadmap, Margaliot said: “Organisations are changing their approach to application delivery on two different dimensions.
"The first dimension is how they prioritise where to invest, since software innovation is foundational to these new realities. You have organisations looking to ensure existing systems keep employees productive remotely to building new Web sites or expanding business with new models to keeping pace with a surge in online traffic, and more. The net of this is that development teams can’t do everything in response to their business’ demands.
"The second dimension is that development teams no longer function in the same way with a work from home approach. This is especially impactful for agile and DevOps teams that are used to close-knit working environments where immediate, in-person communication and quick decision making is critical. Development teams are balancing the benefits of actually moving faster (there is more time to focus on core coding) with keeping the team and stakeholders on the same path.”
He notes that in order for them to come back stronger from the pandemic disruptions, companies will need to reimagine not only what they build but how they do it as they return to full speed. “The moment is not to be lost: those who step up their game will be better off and far more ready to confront the challenges – and opportunities – of the next normal than those who do not,” he says.
Margaliot says application delivery teams are now under more pressure to deliver great experiences, and at lower cost.
“As teams crank out or update software to keep pace, they run a serious risk of delivering underperforming and less quality releases. As consumers and users become less forgiving and more willing to find alternatives, the need for exceptional experiences is paramount to retain customer loyalty,” he says.
However, increasing demand doesn’t necessarily come with more budget and resources, he notes. “This forces development teams to pay more attention to their efficiency, backlog prioritisation, and simplifying the tooling infrastructure.”
Combined, these forces should become a catalyst for change, say Margaliot. He believes there are five key measures that should be put in place to reap benefits in the future:
- Accelerate or double down on the move to agile and DevOps practices;
- Take stock of application portfolios to rationalise and prioritise efforts that have the most impact;
- Get serious about measurement so that teams and processes are at peak efficiency; and
- Increase automation and shift testing left to test earlier and more often.
With all the uncertainty in the world right now and the changes in how we live and work, Micro Focus is uniquely positioned to help customers. Margaliot says attendees at the upcoming Micro Focus Realize virtual customer forum will leave with an understanding of how our capabilities and recent innovations can help address the challenges to continuously improve their software delivery.
Margaliot, SVP and General Manager at Micro Focus, will deliver the opening address on day two of the three-day Micro Focus Realize virtual customer forum. This event will be staged in partnership with ITWeb on 15, 16 and 17 September.
Click here for more information and to secure a place at this event.
Share