What is Bimodal IT?
Gartner defines Bimodal as the “practice of managing two separate but coherent styles of work: one focused on predictability; the other on exploration. Mode 1 is optimized for areas that are more predictable and well-understood. It focuses on exploiting what is known, while renovating the legacy environment into a state that is fit for a digital world. Mode 2 is exploratory and experimenting to solve new problems and optimized for areas of uncertainty.”
Fig 1: Mode 1 vs. Mode 2 – two required elements for growth and sustainability
Predictability vs. exploration, well-known state vs. experimentation, new ventures vs. the current market share – these are all choices that we face in business and the marketplace every day. The Bimodal IT is no different, it is facing these same tough choices in the digital world. However, as technology leaders, we need to manage these apparently conflicting, yet mutually reinforcing modes to continue to grow and adapt to the changes in the marketplace.
Fortunately, there is a better way now for the technology and the business leaders to collaborate and continue the Bimodal IT path without hiding the application servers under the desk. SaaS applications or a Cloud-first strategy could be the answer.
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