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The six jobs/Job 05

Modernize the estate

Old systems block AI, because agents need clean data and systems they can call. The work is to know what you run, map it to the business, decide what to keep, replace or retire, and move off what is ending before the deadline.

The decisions

5 decisions make up this job

  1. 1

    Know what you run

    Build the application inventory with owners, costs, fit scores and end-of-support dates.

  2. 2

    Map the business first

    Tie each system to the business capabilities it supports, so changes are planned against the work and not the software.

  3. 3

    Keep, replace, consolidate or retire

    Decide per application, and start with what the dates force. SAP ends mainstream maintenance for SAP ERP 6.0 at the end of 2027.

  4. 4

    Pick the route

    Rehost, replatform, refactor, replace or retire. Each route puts the risk and the cost in a different place.

  5. 5

    Pay down what slows you

    Record and rank technical debt, and set aside a share of capacity to reduce it.

Map the business

Capability models to plan changes against

Models of the business and of the IT function, with value streams and data models built on the same capability IDs.

The whole enterprise in one model

Enterprise Business Capabilities Model: AI-Ready Edition

10
Level 1 domains
112
capability groups
865
capabilities, each with an AI profile
40
readiness assessment questions
Work that crosses functions is defined once, with one home.Open it →
How others did it

Trench Notes on this job

Each page sets out the steps and the documents, and practitioners add what they learned doing it.

  • Leaving VMware after the Broadcom changesRead
  • Planning for Windows Server 2016 end of supportRead
  • Managing the application portfolioPublishes November 23, 2026
  • Running application rationalizationPublishes November 11, 2026
  • Reducing technical debtPublishes February 4, 2027
  • Moving from SAP ECC to S/4HANAPublishes November 3, 2026
  • Negotiating RISE with SAPPublishes November 4, 2026
  • Keeping a clean core in SAPPublishes February 16, 2027
  • Modernizing mainframe applicationsPublishes November 17, 2026
  • Modernizing legacy applicationsPublishes December 1, 2026
  • Migrating a data centerPublishes December 14, 2026
  • Moving workloads from on premises to the cloudPublishes November 10, 2026
  • Moving from Oracle EBS to Oracle CloudPublishes January 15, 2027
  • Upgrading SQL Server before end of supportPublishes December 17, 2026
  • Moving to a product operating modelPublishes January 11, 2027
Choose the technology

Buyer Guides, comparisons and RFP questions

Also on CIOPages

More for this job

Keep reading

Toolkits
Frameworks and templates

Capability models, architecture templates and IT strategy tools to download.

Checklist
Cloud Migration Readiness Checklist

Validate readiness before migrating workloads to the cloud.

Decision apps

Apps for this job

Enter your situation and each app returns a working document you can take into the meeting.

Legacy Modernization MatcherMatch legacy systems to the most appropriate modernization pattern (rehost, replatform, refactor, retire).EOL Countdown DashboardTrack end-of-life and end-of-support dates across your stack and surface migrations to start now.Technical Debt Interest CalculatorTranslate accumulated tech debt into the equivalent interest your team is paying every quarter.Invisible Debt DetectorFind hidden technical debt that does not show up in any ticket queue but is bleeding capacity.Architecture Entropy IndexQuantify how far your architecture has drifted from its target state and where to invest first.Digital Capability Dependency MapMap the dependencies between business capabilities and the technology systems that enable them.

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