Software Modernization for the Digital Economy

WORKING SESSION:
RECRUITMENT BEST PRACTICES
MAY 2014
Software
Modernization for
the Digital
Economy
29th May 2015
This presentation is solely for the use of Zinnov personnel and clients. No portion of it may be circulated, quoted, reproduced, or distributed within or outside the client organisation without prior approval from Zinnov

Software landscape is changing dynamically with the emergence of new
age companies
2Source: Zinnov Research and Analysis
WHAT DOES IT
MEAN FOR
SOFTWARE
PROVIDERS?
MESSAGING
TRANSPORTATION &
LOGISTICS
BOOKS
HOTELSRECRUITMENT MUSIC
SOFTWARE IS
EATING THE
WORLD –
DIGITAL
NATIVES ARE
CHANGING THE
GAME

ISVs need to adapt to the changing software landscape
SaaS-IFIED WORLD
Almost all software
will run on Clouds –
hardware and
software will be
hosted on a cloud
and IT services will
be purchased on a
pay-per-use basis
S/W DEV WILL
BECOME FAST AND
CHEAP
Product lifecycles
will shorten –
products / modules
/ solutions will be
developed and
delivered quickly
and cheaply
CONSUMPTION VIA
MOBILE ‘THINGS’
Consumerization
will drive a shift to
devices which will
include mobiles,
tablets, home
appliances,
consoles, TVs, etc..
ALL VALUE WILL
LIE IN DATA
Hardware will
become irrelevant –
all users will care
about is quality of
software and the
level of data driven
decision making it
enables

Constant customer and market feedback is leading to rapidly changing
product requirements
1
2
3
Optimize
Upgrade
Change
The world is at the cusp of
change and we need to
stay prepared to contribute
to this change by
leveraging existing
investments, planning
modernization and
accelerating deployment of
innovative solutions

Software companies need to constantly adapt their product portfolios
Business Agility is the new source of business value
Need for faster product and application development portfolios
Need for reduction of maintenance budgets

Existing software has to undergo Modernization
1 2
4 5
3
SMAC
Enablement
UX
Reengineering
Integration Migration
Re-Architecture

Key Areas of Software Modernization
PEOPLE
PROCESS
TECHNOLOGY
ECOSYSTEM CONNECT

In order to enable software modernization, new roles and responsibilities
need to be created
1Data Scientist
Examines and analyses breadth and
depth of data from multiple sources
using analytics platforms, in order to
derive actionable insights
Data Visualizer
Presents data in a lucid and
understandable manner for
employees, partners, customers, etc.
in order to help them notice trends and
patterns
Product Engineer
Helps in the development of solutions
incrementally and iteratively
Solution Architect
Defines the architecture required to
implement solutions to meet
requirements while ensuring alignment
with the enterprise architecture
DevOps
Enables collaboration between
development and operations staff
through all stages of the development
lifecycle of solutions
Scrum Master
Helps the team in adopting Agile
methodologies better, which are
required for the iterative and
incremental development of solutions
Product Manager
Strategizes, assigns and drives the
development of digital solutions
• Data Analytics
• Platform Expertise
• UI/UX
• Multimedia (Audio & Visual) Skills
• Software Product development
• Agile Methodologies
• Mobility
• Agile methodologies
• Data Analytics • UI/UX
• Agile Methodologies
• Business Knowledge
• Communication Skills
• Mobility
Skills Required
People

The New Talent required is radically different from the traditional talent in
terms of skills, approach, business-acumen and compensation
• Strong computing skills (esp. Natural Language Programming,
Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence) in addition to JavaScript,
HTML5, C++, etc.
• Strong background in Statistics
• Adept at Java, Python, C, C++, HTML, etc.
• Knowledge of statistics not required
• Have a Product approach
• Adept at Agile, Kanban, etc.
• Work in short cycles
• Follow Agile or Waterfall
• Have long project cycles
• Domain expertise/ business acumen is a must-have
• Cross-functional working
• Domain expertise/ business acumen is nice-to-have
• Work in silos
• Usually Masters degree from top universities such as Stanford,
IITs, IISc, King College, CMU, etc.
• A substantial fraction also has a PhD.
• Computer Science graduates from Tier1 or Tier2 engineering
colleges
• Startups and Tech Mafias such as Apple, Facebook, Google, etc. • Typically spread across service providers
• Compensation is high. The median for the following experience
levels are:
• Entry: $ 90K
• Mid-Career: $ 112K
• Experienced: $ 112K (Goes up to $ 300K )
• Compensation is lower. The median for the following experience
levels of a Software Engineer:
• Entry: $ 70K
• Mid-Career: $ 80K
• Experienced: $ 90 - 100K
Skillset
Approach
Business
Knowledge
Education
Talent
Concentration
Compensation
Traditional RequirementsNew Requirements
People

A well-structured Technical Career Path needs to be created for employees
Implementation &
Maintenance
Development/Design & Ownership Conceptualization
Developer Senior Developer Technical Lead
Architect -> Senior Architect -
> Chief Architect
• Fixes small bugs & does
small-scale implementation
• Works with the UI/UX
designer with the Project
Manager acting as liaison
• Undertakes module
ownership and process
design responsibility of the
module
• Undertakes overall
ownership of most of the
system; does short-term
decision-making
• Here on, can decide to be a
Manager or an Architect
• Complete ownership of the entire system
with all decision-making power at the
process design and conceptualization
level (which framework to choose, etc.)
• With progressive seniority, the breadth of
responsibilities increase.
Business Analyst
• Operates & maintains
pre-defined statistical
models
• Develops statistical data models and
analyses them using regression, K means
clustering, etc.
• Ownership increases with progression to
Principal role
Senior Business Analyst
• Creates cloud-based analytics
platforms
• Develops algorithms for data modelling,
simulation & optimization
• Designs experiments, generates
business insights and visualizes results
Note: Some of the tools commonly used include SCOPE, R, JMP, SQL, WEKA, MATLAB, SAS, Mahout, Scikit-learn, etc.
AnalyticsEngineering
Principal Business Analyst
Note: Some of the tools commonly used include JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, Angularjs by Google, etc.
People

A comprehensive approach that tackles the challenges inherent at each
stage of Technical Career Path maturity is required
HR Groundwork Pilot Role Models Scalability
Institutionalization
& Growth
To create policies
regarding TCP to
ensure a good
launch
To spread
awareness,
exposure and
create processes to
enhance TCP
To create the core
members of TCP to
ensure quick wins
and demonstrate
value in this path
To inspire the
workforce by
interaction with
successful people in
TCP (in and outside
the org.)
To design
processes around
ICs* such that the
Digital model keeps
growing
Communication - Basic
To create general awareness about TCP among the
broader workforce
Communication - Advanced
To provide better understanding of TCP to targeted
workforce who are inclined towards it
Societal Acceptance
To create awareness and increase acceptance among employees’ peers/family about the roles & responsibilities of an IC* in
the company and the value it generates
1 2 3 4 5
6B6A
7
Note: *Individual Contributors
People

People
Tech
Implementation
Complete
Solution 1
Solution 2
Solution 3
Solution 4
Implementation in
process
Agile methodology is preferred in the development of modern solutionsIncremental execution of prioritized solutions
Process
Continuous Tracking
Update
Product
Backlog
Create Sprint
Backlog
Prepare People,
Technology & Org
Structure feature by
feature
Implement
Solution
incrementally
and
iteratively
feature by
feature
Sprint
Review
Working
Solution
AGILE
DEVELOPMENT
Software Modernization requires incremental & iterative execution
Process

Distributed Agile can be implemented for geographically distributed teams
Key Drivers for Distributed Agile in Solution
Development
• Barriers to communication and
collaboration
• Misunderstood Requirements
• Differences in standards, processes and
tools
• Cultural differences and/or insensitivity
• Lack of common ownership
• Lack of trust, coordination and visibility
across geographies
Best Practices for adopting and implementing Distributed Agile
Fostering cross-pollination and face-to-face real time communication
Tools for platform integration, sprint & release planning, real/near time team
communication, reporting and security
Using collaboration tools (with real-time feedback) for scrum artifacts such as
product backlog, sprint backlog, burn down reports, etc.
Remote pairing for common resource ownership
Proxy product owner for each geography
Some Effective Agile Tools
Process

DevOps enables minimized time to market for software which will speed up
the modernization process
Business
Development
Test/ Quality Assurance
Operations
Idea
Customer Friction
Pre 2000’s
Waterfall Development
Cycle time: Months or Years
Business
Development
Operations
Idea
Customer
Agile
2000’s
Iterative Agile Development
Cycle time: Weeks or Months
Business
Development
Operations
Lean
2010’s
Lean with DevOps
Cycle time: Hours or Days
DevOps
Idea
Customer
Process

As DevOps increasingly is becoming a necessity, the impact is felt by all
organizational functions of software providers
Business Engineering
Human Resources
“How does DevOps impact
business strategy?”
product development?”
“How does DevOps impact organization structure and
talent pipelines?”
1 2
4
IT/Operations
“How does DevOps impact IT infrastructure and
operations?”
3
Process

DevOps can provide a competitive advantage during software
modernization and is on its way to becoming a hygiene factor
Impact of DevOps on Business Strategy
 DevOps positively impacts the scalability, cost and quality for software modernization.
However, these factors do not lead to a sustained competitive advantage
 DevOps speeds up the time to market tremendously, which allows companies to try
out more innovations in the market – this continuous innovation allows software
providers to gain a competitive advantage
 Scale
 Cost
 Quality
 Speed
Unlimited Users, Data and Transactions
Lean Operations
Zero Downtime
Sustained Innovation
Sustainable Competitive
Advantage
Hygiene Factors
Business
business strategy?”
1
Process

DevOps positively impacts the process of modernization by removing
bottlenecks through automation
Engineering
2
 DevOps positively impacts the process of modernization by removing
bottlenecks through automation, providing full-stack testing and
increasing collaboration with the operations team
Development Architecture
Code Development
Testing/QA
IT Architecture
Environment Development
Deployment
Dev Ops
 Architects need to think holistically and work with Dev
and Ops teams as they design and enhance the
application
 Environments need to be architected in a manner to
allow for the evolution of the applications, both as they
are developed and projected to evolve
 It requires Ops to allow Developers to take more
responsibility of the operational characteristics of the
applications they are building
 Deploying at each instance the full stack that includes
the environment, middleware and the application being
deployed is essential for improving quality
 All teams should start using the same Change
Management and Work Item Management tools
Process

Development and IT Architecture stop existing as silos and work towards
building a common ‘Deployment Architecture’
Development
Architecture
IT Architecture
Deployment
Architecture
 Architecting for Deployment
 Architecting for Resilience
 Consolidated Development Architecture
Simplify and streamline the design. This includes standardization of infrastructure components, but
also removing architectural elements which were originally intended to ensure other quality
attributes, now overruled by the higher priority of deployment
The system as a whole needs to be as available as possible
With DevOps, from an architectural point of view, the development and target environments form
one system with three main categories of users: developers, operators and end-users
Engineering
2
Impact of DevOps on Architecture
Process

Development teams focus on creating easily configurable applications
for automation and removing hardcoded application resourcing
Engineering
2
Impact of DevOps on Development
 Coding for Configurability
 No Hardcoding of Application Resources
It should be possible to configure all aspects of the application, while
making it ready for deployment. Applications should not depend on
specific machine configurations but should be able to detect machine
capabilities and change accordingly
An application should not depend on hard-coded machine paths for
additional information or on specific IP addresses for connectivity. It
should be possible to specific such information while packaging the
application or while deploying the application to the target platform
 DevOps requires the Development team to collaborate closely with the
Ops team
 The application code needs to be written with requirements for DevOps in
mind
Process

QA teams are highly automated and aligned to Continuous Integration
 QA teams need to align their testing to DevOps through a focus on
automation and standardization
 QA needs requires skill-sets of automated testing environments
such as Selenium and Watir
Receive build deployed on environment
designated by QA
Perform functional and regression testing
Sign-off on build after keeping build under
observation
Traditional QA
All pre-testing tasks, clean-ups, post-testing tasks, etc. are automated and
aligned with the Continuous Integration cycle
All test cases are automated and achieve near 100% code coverage
Environments are standardized and deployment on QA boxes is automated
Focus of DevOps QA
Engineering
2
Impact of DevOps on Testing/QA
Process

DevOps needs to be integrated into existing IT Infrastructure with new tools
and skillsets to cope with changing demands
“How does DevOps impact IT
infrastructure and operations?”
 DevOps requires a new set of tools which seamlessly integrates the
development through to deployment
 The IT operations for DevOps needs to have knowledge of operating
DevOps tools across 3 functional areas: Continuous Integration and
Continuous Deployment and Monitoring/Logging
Continuous Integration
Continuous Deployment
Monitoring & Logging
DevOps Area Popular Tools
Fabric
Impact of DevOps on IT Infrastructure & Operations
IT/Operations
IT Infrastructure & Operations?”
3
Process

DevOps creates changes in the organization structure and a requirement
for sourcing DevOps talent through fresh hiring and re-training
Human Resources
“How does DevOps impact organization
structure and talent pipelines?”
A simplified Org
Structure with DevOps
 Organization Structure designed for collaboration between Development &
Operations
 Talent pipeline designed to attract fresh DevOps talent as well as re-training of
existing operations teams
Impact of DevOps on HR
“How does DevOps impact IT infrastructure
and operations?”
Human Resources
3
Process

Software Providers need to adopt Multi Speed IT in order to cater to rapidly
changing requirements
Speed =
Slowest
Speed =
Faster
Speed = Fastest
Service
Integrate
Access & Expose
Consume
Data Backend Service ESB/SOA Service
Curated Data
(Internal/
External)
Standardized API Layer & Management
IP AppsConsumer Apps
Software Products
Partner Services
WebMobile
Device & Things
Partner  Rapid development environment to
speed up development process,
coupled with full-coding Integrated
Development Environment for
flexibility
 Allows continuous integration &
feedback
 Business participates in application
development while IT supports them
(& ensures compliance)
 Browser-based dev. environment
 Aggressive time-to-market
Adaptable to constant change
 Tools such as Apigee and Mulesoft
integrate legacy systems with cloud &
SaaS apps, Business Management
software (SAP, Salesforce), etc.
 The API Layer effectively exposes
the data to developers and partners
 API-led connectivity enables legacy
system access, unlocks data value &
reduces legacy service disruptions
Legacy System Integration
Agile Speed
Technology

New Age technology and tools are imperative for software modernization
Project Management
Enterprise Scale
Programs
Automated Configuration
Management
Cont. Integration
Automated Unit Testing
Alerts & Monitoring
Code Repository Version
Control
PROCESSES & TOOLS
AGILE
DEVOPS
Technology

Software providers should implement modern technologies that are
powerful, effective and easily maintained
UI Frameworks MVC Pattern
Data Visualization
Web Apps
Native Apps
App Dev. Platform
User Experience
Web Services
Security & Identity
Management
Open APIs
Mean Stack
Middleware
Data Storage
Data At Scale
Data to Insights
ETL
Cloud Deployment
OS
Data
OS/
Infrastructure
• Understanding mobile
users
• Time Space constraints
• Touch, Location, Proximity
sensors
• Mobile Design Patters
Fundamentals:
Virtualization &
Tenancy Models
Software Defined
App
Framework
Technology

Software providers need to establish partnerships across the ecosystem in
order to leverage their talent, technologies, expertise & services
Partnerships
Service ProvidersUniversity Connects
Platform Partners Start Up Connects1
43
2
Ecosystem Connect

IBM, SAP and Salesforce.com are some of the best platform partners
across Analytics, Mobile App Development and Collaboration
2
3
1
Mobile
Application
Development
Platform
(MAPD)
Advanced
Analytics
Platform
(AAP)
Collaboration
Platform
SAS, a leader in AAP, provides a
wide range of advanced analytics
(predictive analytics, optimization,
forecasting, text analytics, simulation,
etc.) to yield insights for solutions for
risk management, customer
intelligence, retail & other domain-
specific offerings
SAP, a leader in MAPD, provides
development & services for user-
centric mobile apps for
employees, partners and
customers on an integrated,
open, standards-based platform*
Salesforce is a Collaboration
Platform leader in both Platform
Capabilities and Organizational
Capabilities
Ecosystem Connect

A holistic approach needs to be adopted by software providers to engage
with startups
2
3
5
Drive the internal change
Create an Internal Marketplace
Connect with start-ups across the
entire value chain
Partner with existing start-up facilitators
41
• Facilitate interaction between start-ups and
internal teams
• Promote and incentivise Entrepreneurship
• Ideate, Build and Execute on new ideas
Acquire Targets
• Create a network of accelerators focussed on
emerging technologies
• Align your CoEs with accelerators to provide
start-ups with the soft and hard infra
• Create a marketplace for start-ups to
connect with and be mentored by business
units
• Validate the start-up ideas/products by
deploying them in the organizational
workflow
• Partner with industry initiatives such as
NASSCOM-10k, Productnation etc
• Partner with MNCs existing accelerator programs
• Connect with university incubation programs
• Make strategic acquisition of growth
stage/Mature companies
• Buy IPs to grow non linear revenues
• Partner with startups for a joint GTM strategy by
providing SI services on top of products
Ecosystem Connect

Software providers need to collaborate with new entrants doing disruptive
innovation to stay relevant
IBM Global Entrepreneur
Program for Cloud Startups
enables emerging companies
and connects them into IBM’s
vast global network of clients,
consultants, Innovation
Centers, developers,
SAP launched Startup Focus
as a global program to help
promising startups in the Big
Data, predictive and real-time
analytics space develop new
applications on SAP HANA and
accelerate market traction.
Microsoft BizSpark has an
association with 100000+
startups 1500+partners in 165+
countries and 100+ Microsoft
Innovation Centers
Software providers need to get out of their own silos, cultural barriers, and corporate jargon and go to the startup
community on their terms
Software providers get to know a broad swath of vetted entrepreneurs for months or years prior to making an
investment or acquisition decision
Ecosystem Connect

Software Providers need to narrow skills gap to cater to new age
requirements
Academic Initiative
collaborations with more than
1,000 academic partners to
design and teach curriculum to
undergraduates and graduates
on big data and analytics skills
2
1
3
Narrow skills gap by building talent for new age
requirements
Create branding in universities fresh talent pool
Leverage cutting edge technology & research professors
CONSEQUENCES OF STRONG UNIVERSITY CONNECT
Ecosystem Connect

It is critical to establish connects with universities with related software
development propensity
PEOPLE
INFRASTRUCTURE &
PROGRAM
ENGAGEMENT OTHERS
40% 30% 20% 10%
Professor Rating: 20%
Student Profile Rating:
20%
Parameters to be considered
include:
• Related Research
Propensity
• Available Skillsets
Infrastructure Rating: 15%
include:
• Relevant Software
Labs & Tools
• Relevant CoEs/
Cells
Program Rating: 5%
include:
• Related course
program
Finance Considerations
Rating: 15%
Amenability to desired
Engagement Model: 5%
Mindshare Rating: 5%
include:
• Related publications
& Papers
Partnership Rating: 5%
include:
• Existing related
partnerships with
other companies
List of shortlisted universities for partnership
Zinnov recommends the following framework for targeting & selecting universities
Ecosystem Connect

It is critical to engage with niche Service Providers with product
development capabilities
This parameter would measure the
number and effectiveness of the Solution
Accelerators of the service providers
This parameter would evaluate whether
or not the service provider has a geo-
presence in the desired geographies, or
its proximity to the same
This parameter would evaluate the presence
and effectiveness of Scaled Agile Network
presence and capabilities of the
platform partnerships the service
providers has
Product Development capabilities of
the service provider
This parameter would be used to measure the
presence of advanced skill-sets (Big Data
Analytics, Machine Learning, Natural Language
Processing, Mobility & UI/UX)
Advanced Skill-sets
Solution
Accelerators
Service Provider
Footprint
Scaled Agile Framework
Product
Development
Capabilities
Platform
partnerships
*
Service Provider
Selection
Framework
Ecosystem Connect

Service Providers vary vastly in their modernization capabilities, processes
and platform partnerships
Product development
capabilities
Significant non-linear revenue
Continuous integration, rapid prototyping and
incremental development
Mature business models (Outcome based etc.)
Inconsequential non-linear revenue
Leverages waterfall or spiral methodologies
Traditional business models (T&M, Fixed
Price etc.)
Parameter New Age Service Providers Traditional Service ProvidersService maturity Service maturity
Advanced Skill-set
Skillful at advanced technologies such
as Natural Language Programming,
Machine Learning, Artificial
Intelligence
Nascent understanding of growing
technologies
Solution Accelerators
Strong PES capabilities around
solutions accelerators (both vertical
specific & agnostic )
Moderate focus on solution
accelerators. Larger focus on services
as compared to solutions.
Global Footprint
Primary presence in the Bay Area,
New York and Bangalore due to
concentration of skill sets in these
areas
Wide spread global presence due to
non-dependency on emerging skill
sets
Scaled Agile Framework
Dynamic adoption of distributed agile
amongst product and IT teams
Gradual transformation towards agile,
primarily standard waterfall model in
existence at large
Platform Partnerships
Leverage Product/ Platform players in
360 degree partnerships – To “Sell
with“ & “Sell through”
Traditional revenue sharing “ Sell with
“ strategy observed with technology
players
Ecosystem Connect

Bangalore
69 "Prathiba Complex",
4th 'A' Cross,
Koramangala 5th Block,
Bangalore-560 095.
Phone: +91-80-41127925/6
Singapore
Level 42, Suntec Tower Three
8 Temasek Boulevard
Singapore 038988
Phone:+65 6829 2123
Texas
21, Waterway Ave
Suite 300
The Woodlands
TX-77380 USA
Phone:+1-281-362-2773
Beijing
Meilifang Tower 4, Entrance 4,
10/F #1003,
11 Beiyuan Shuangying Road,
Chaoyang District, Beijing
China 100012
Thank You
Gurgaon Office:
First Floor,
Plot no. 131, Sector 44,
Gurgaon-122002,
Phone: +91 124 4420100
California Office
3080 Olcott Street
Suite A125,
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: +408-716-8432

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