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Composing for agility

November 25, 2022 5-MINUTE READ

RESEARCH REPORT

In brief

  • As the pace of business has increased, so has the need for agility and resilience.
  • Accenture’s global survey of companies across industries found half had to rapidly transform across multiple business areas in the last two years.
  • To future-proof and achieve differentiated outcomes, organizations may need to undertake systematic, continuous total enterprise reinvention.
  • A composable tech approach employing interoperable solutions can boost agility, helping companies keep pace and nimbly respond to new opportunities.

Amplify speed to value through prebuilt, interoperable solutions.

Compressed transformation requires agile new solutions

For businesses, the pace of change is gaining speed—the average transformation timeline has shrunk from several years to a mere 18-24 months. The need to transform rapidly, combined with geopolitical, economic and environmental uncertainty, means companies face more complex, multifaceted challenges than ever before.

We surveyed more than 4,000 C-suite execs across geographies and industries between December 2021 and March 2022 and found in the last two years, one in two companies had to transform at great speed—often on several fronts. We call this compressed transformation: changing rapidly and in multiple business areas at once—connecting enabling systems, data and processes across functions and platforms.

Technology can play a key role in enabling and accelerating total enterprise reinvention, as organizations must embark on systematic, continuous transformation to future-proof and achieve differentiated outcomes.

The interoperability edge

By integrating technology, applications and IT systems, interoperability improves transparency, agility, scalability, productivity and even customer experience. Our research shows companies with high interoperability can measurably increase revenue.1

1Enterprise Applications Software Global Survey Findings, Accenture, March 2022.

5%

in revenue growth is possible for companies with high interoperability versus those stuck in the technology status quo.

$8B

more in revenue over 5 years for a $10B company with high interoperability, compared to a $10B company with low interoperability.

2-4%

is the modest cash increase in IT/apps for companies with high interoperability, even while handling as many/more diverse apps in the IT stack.

Interoperability through composable tech: The possibility is now a reality

One way to achieve interoperability is with composable tech—building on the digital core that powers the enterprise to rapidly incorporate new or enhanced capabilities by adding applications, supporting easy integration.

Composable tech requires a fundamental shift—from creating a technology architecture composed of static, monolithic and standalone parts to creating one comprised of composable pieces.

Composable tech compresses transformation time by leveraging proven, repeatable solutions that can be configured and reconfigured at speed to address changing business needs—and set the stage for rapid value realization.

Composable tech is made possible by the convergence of three technology trends:

  • The foundation, Cloud, is now ubiquitous, supporting hyperscale computing in an organization’s core operations and at the edges.
  • The ecosystem posture has changed to open architecture. Organizations are free to pick and choose their applications based on industry, functional or customer need—not provider.
  • Integration services are widely available and cost effective, making interoperability faster, cheaper and more accessible.

Bringing composable tech to your organization

You can take three key steps to unlock value faster for your organization using a composable tech approach:

1. Build on your digital core

Companies are most agile when their applications are run in the cloud and built on a digital core—the organization’s backbone. The digital core layer stores the operational platforms that keep the business running. It underpins total enterprise reinvention by providing agility, flexibility, easy interoperability and resilience. 

2. Create one enterprise data model

An underlying enterprise data architecture paired with structured data helps the business keep pace amid rapid change. A digital integration hub can provide the integration and data management services needed to make sure data and applications work together seamlessly.

3. Accelerate with proven, repeatable solutions

To be truly agile and drive real-time reinvention, companies can harness pre-integrated, preconfigured solutions that plug into their core operations at speed. These solutions are often curated for specific industries and functions, letting organizations easily plug the technologies of tomorrow into today’s business. 

Composing your team

A composable tech approach requires one-of-a kind technologies and one-of-a-kind talent and teams. As part of Accenture’s delivery model, we designed key roles that come together to serve the end customer. 

We also created a first-of-its-kind Composable Tech Studio that brings composable tech to life for our clients at the pace of business change. The studio supports faster builds, configurations and deployments of composable tech solutions, improving agility and speed to market for clients. 

Value via agility

Composable tech is not just about accelerating the path to financial value. Composable tech is also a key driver for unlocking greater innovation, reinvented experiences and strategic outcomes.  

As Accenture invests in composable tech solutions, we help clients configure applications today at the pace of change. Are you ready to speed your path to value in a multiplatform world?

Emma McGuigan

Global Lead – Enterprise & Industry Technologies

Brian McKillips

Senior Managing Director Growth & Strategy Lead – Enterprise & Industry Technologies

Brian is a Managing Director helping lead Accenture’s Ecosystems & Ventures business.

Meet the team

Emma McGuigan

Global Lead – Enterprise & Industry Technologies
LinkedIn

Brian McKillips

Senior Managing Director Growth & Strategy Lead – Enterprise & Industry Technologies
LinkedIn

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