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Shawn McCarthy Each competency area requires both depth and breadth, developing what IASA calls “T-shaped” skills — deep expertise in some areas combined with broad knowledge across many domains. This comprehensive model helps architects become true enablers of organizational success.  Rethinking architecture as an ecosystem  Instead of static blueprints that dictate every detail, modern architects steward an evolving ecosystem — one where teams can continuously refine services, products, and platforms. This approach enables:  Faster time-to-value: Shortened cycles between idea and production  De-risked change: Architecture decisions and technology stacks that can shift without major upheavals  Empowered teams: Autonomy in design choices, backed by shared tools, data and standards that facilitate alignment  Continuous evolution: Architecture that adapts to changing business needs and technological opportunities  Key focus areas for modern architects  Vision and strategy Develop and communicate clear architectural vision Align technical strategy with business objectives Create roadmaps for evolutionary change Balance innovation with stability  Platform thinking Build reusable capabilities and services Create self-service platforms that enable team autonomy Establish clear platform governance models Monitor and optimize platform adoption  Community building Foster a culture of knowledge sharing Build communities of practice Enable cross-team collaboration Promote architectural thinking at all levels  Measurement and improvement Define clear success metrics Implement feedback loops Track architectural health indicators Drive continuous improvement  Putting it all together  In this urban planner model, the architect’s job is to:  Envision a cohesive future state aligned to business outcomes  Enable teams with platforms and best-practice patterns  Inspire innovation by reducing friction and celebrating collaboration  Hold the organization accountable for ensuring architectural decisions lead to real, measurable value  The modern architect must balance multiple perspectives and priorities:  Technical excellence vs. business pragmatism  Innovation vs. stability  Standardization vs. flexibility  Global optimization vs. local autonomy  By moving beyond rigid blueprints and embracing an urban planner ethos, the modern architect helps the enterprise navigate complexity, seize opportunities and build a thriving technology ecosystem — one that combines agility, innovation and clear alignment with strategic goals.  VII. Practical implementation guide  Start by establishing some guiding principles as a reference point but also helping teams through their transformation. Teams should know good enough is acceptable and continuous improvement is encouraged. Make the best recommendations/decisions based on the information at hand.  Phase 1: Foundation building  Just as cities begin with basic infrastructure, we start with:  Architecture maturity assessment  Just enough current state knowledge  Business capability mapping  Quick win identification  Baseline metrics establishment  Initial product domain definition  Phase 2: Transformation launch  Like developing new city districts, we focus on:  Cross-functional team building  Measurement framework implementation  Cultural transformation initiation  Pilot program launches  Feedback mechanism establishment  Phase 3: Scale and optimize  Similar to expanding successful urban development patterns:  Pattern replication  Framework refinement  Automation enhancement  Business integration deepening  Governance evolution  Redefining product domains as you learn/mature  VIII. Conclusion: Building tomorrow’s enterprise  The transformation from project-centric to product-oriented architecture represents more than a change in delivery methodology — it’s a fundamental shift in how we create and sustain business value through technology. Just as thriving cities evolve from collections of buildings into vibrant, interconnected communities, our technology landscapes must transform from isolated projects into dynamic product platforms that enable continuous innovation.  Vision of the transformed enterprise  Platforms that accelerate rather than constrain innovation  Self-service capabilities that democratize development  Automated guardrails ensuring continuous alignment with quality attributes  Transparent portfolio health metrics guiding decisions  Engaged teams thriving in a culture of continuous learning  Architecture designed for evolution, not perfection  Strong technical foundations that enable rapid innovation  In the process, architects step out from behind the mysterious curtain — like Oz — and into a role more akin to the curious and imaginative Alice. By fostering collaboration, curiosity and continuous improvement, you’ll build not just technology solutions, but a resilient digital ecosystem that can adapt to tomorrow’s challenges.  Key takeaways for technology leaders  Start with business outcomes, not just technical standards Align DORA metrics and ISO 25010 quality attributes for holistic insight Provide platforms and guardrails that make doing the right thing easy Measure what matters — tie metrics to strategic objectives Invest in talent and culture: a thriving city needs skilled, motivated citizens Design for evolution: domain-driven design and modularity enable faster adaptation Continuously share insights and scale successful patterns Remember, just as great cities aren’t built in a day, this transformation is a journey rather than a destination. The key is to start now, move purposefully, and keep the focus on enabling business outcomes rather than enforcing technical standards. In doing so, you’ll build not just a technology landscape, but a thriving ecosystem that powers your organization’s future success.  Call to action: Starting your transformation  Assess your current state against the framework provided  Identify your most pressing improvement opportunities  Build a coalition of business and technology leaders  Choose a high-impact pilot area for initial focus  Establish clear metrics for measuring progress  Share successes and learnings broadly  Scale proven patterns across the organization  Maintain focus on continuous improvement  Organizations that successfully navigate this transformation will build competitive advantages through faster response to market opportunities, more efficient use of technology investments, improved ability to attract and retain talent, enhanced capacity for innovation, and greater business-technology alignment.  The time to start is now. Your technology ecosystem’s future success depends on the foundations you build today.  Shawn McCarthy is vice president and chief architect, Global Architecture, Risk & Governance, at Manulife. Len van Greuning is chief information officer, Manulife Investment Management. This article was made possible by our partnership with the IASA Chief Architect Forum. The CAF’s purpose is to test, challenge and support the art and science of Business Technology Architecture and its evolution over time as well as grow the influence and leadership of chief architects both inside and outside the profession. The CAF is a leadership community of the IASA, the leading non-profit professional association for business technology architects. source

Africa’s IT landscape is experiencing accelerated digital transformation due to a young, tech-savvy population, a boost in the gross domestic product (GDP), and an increase in demand for low-latency connectivity. While expanded internet access drives digital growth and opens opportunities for the adoption of more digital solutions, challenges remain in meeting the continent’s connectivity needs. Simply put, there is a direct link between economic progress and IT infrastructure, with robust trade dependent on a strong digital foundation. The state of connectivity in Africa The African Union’s cross-border trade ambitions hinge on a connected Africa with ready access to the internet’s core data routes (called the “backbone of the internet”), neutrality, and cross-governmental cooperation. The first challenge Africa must tackle is increasing interconnection throughout the continent. Interconnection opens access to foreign markets, but it also encourages cross-continental trade. But for the continent to expand to international markets, it needs strong and dependable access to interconnection hubs. And for Africa to become a global powerhouse in the digital economy, leaders on the continent must prioritize: More subsea cable connections to enhance reliability in the event of a cut in other cables Terrestrial cable networks to rural areas with minimal transportation infrastructure Increased investment in digital transformation infrastructure The role of subsea cables in Africa’s digital economy Undersea cables serve as a critical part of Africa’s connectivity journey. Take the regional economic community of 16 countries known as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), for example. It launched a Regional Information Infrastructure Project, enabling access to the international internet backbone through undersea cables. Member states made the first steps to cross-border trade by establishing cross-border transmission links. These transmission links enable the buying and selling of energy between them and the leaders of the South African Power Pool. This has fast-tracked infrastructure projects to upgrade or create energy systems in less developed countries in the SADC trade bloc.1 Overview of major subsea cable projects in Africa With economic progress, Africa needs comprehensive connectivity to fulfil its potential, though the continent has seen an exponential increase in capacity and network infrastructure from its shores compared to those of Europe and the Middle East. For example, 2Africa connects 33 countries (16 of which are in Africa) and delivers internet access to 3 billion people (30% of the world’s population). Other major connectivity projects of note include: The Africa-1 subsea cable system: A 20,000 km submarine cable system linking Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa. The PEACE (Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe) cable: A 15,000 km cable spanning from France to Singapore with landing stations in North Africa, East Africa, and the Middle East. The Equiano subsea cable system: A 12,000 km Google-owned system from Portugal to South Africa with several branches either planned or in operation along the west coast of Africa. Its first landing is in Lagos, Nigeria, with planned branches in Togo and Namibia. Note: Submarine Telecoms Forum lists Equiano’s biggest benefit as redundancy to serve as a backstop against outages that slow or put a stop to trade and other communications. Amidst this progress, however, the lack of data center access raises a big challenge to Africa’s connectivity, as most countries in Africa have a national data center.2 In fact, nearly 300 million Africans live more than 50 km from a fiber or cable broadband connection.3 With Africa poised for expansive economic growth stemming from its burgeoning digital transformation, a lack of connectivity threatens the bright future the global community sees for the continent. The importance of terrestrial cable networks Without the resilience of international connections within Africa to global digital infrastructure through subsea cables, analysis of the number of data centers on the continent becomes futile. That is why major service providers have invested in terrestrial connections that link African nations and subsea connections linking the African continent to the rest of the world. One recent example from the cloud computing space is Google’s announcement of the Umoja fiber optic cable route, which connects two of the continent’s strongest economies, Kenya and South Africa. Other examples are the efforts of Orange to link markets in West Africa or cross-border fiber routes by Yafibr. Also, the investments from satellite companies in Africa will bring internet access to the masses. Either by providing backhaul links for 4G/5G base stations by Avanti or SES or direct internet access, such as SpaceX’s Starlink or Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Increased digital infrastructure investment unlocks Africa’s economic potential Other drivers of digital infrastructure include latency and data sovereignty. From South Africa to Kenya and the other 52 African nations, each will want to retain data within their countries to protect state secrets, the privacy of citizens, and intellectual property rights. But to build this data residency, increased data center and digital infrastructure investment is needed. Let’s examine recent trends in digital infrastructure investment. For instance: The African data center market has a 12.34% compound annual growth rate, outpacing North America’s data center market growth projections by 1.34% between 2024 and 2029.4,5 The African continent has made much needed progress in terrestrial network infrastructure and boasts 1.2 million km of terrestrial fiber networks as of 2022. That’s up from 820,000 km in 2017. Yet, it’s clear the continent will benefit from more progress in this area.6 The African Union’s strategy for digital transformation in Africa lists expanded data center infrastructure and cross-border connectivity as a main priority for the continent’s growth plan.7 Increased investments in data center development unlocks the emerging potential of Africa’s economy. Partnering with a provider like us with an expansive network of data centers on the African continent speeds strategic development for enterprises looking to tap into the burgeoning economy. The impact of improved connectivity in Africa Intra-African trade stands at 16% of global exports today. In comparison, in Europe and Asia, that percentage is 69% and 59%.8 To increase trade between nations, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) proposes an incremental reduction of tariffs, which is estimated to boost trade to 52%.9 With the internet economy of Africa poised to make up 5.2% of the continent’s GDP or $180

As agentic AI starts to permeate into core processes and enterprise workflows such as software programming, cybersecurity, ERP, CRM, BI, supply chain, retail, and other areas, the trust equation will shift from informational trust issues to transactional trust issues. The latter include ensuring appropriate levels of human oversight, accountability, transparency in decision-making, exception handling, and so on. While the no-code/low-code nature of agentic AI will streamline BP redesign efforts, it’ll be critical to spend a suitable amount of these time savings on thorough testing across all workflows and scenarios. Even though your AI is now smart enough to handle exceptions, it’ll be important to carefully test these situations as well.     Decide on AI policies… …to align with and clearly communicate to end users, and proactively impact trust levels in your implementations. Aligning with various national and international pacts and other forms of standards, policies, and agreements is a great way to demonstrate commitment to AI ethics to end users. For example, the EU AI Pact supports “voluntary commitments from the industry to adopt the principles of the EU AI Act before its official implementation.” Your AI governance practices can be a key differentiator, so it’s important to communicate internally as well as with customers and partners.   source

“A lot of companies have plenty of ability to implement AI capabilities in-house if they’re smart about the way they build those capabilities and they’re very careful and conscious about the cost profile of the technologies they put in place,” he says. “There is absolutely a sweet spot of relatively easy-to-access capability at a modest price that many technology organizations are perfectly capable of reaching.” Liberty Mutual has been experimenting using its own nonpublic, internal version of ChatGPT, called LibertyGPT, for the past two years and has nine use cases in production, including document summarization at scale; 18 use cases in R&D; and a long list of potential uses. Tony Marron, managing director of Liberty IT in Belfast, Northern Ireland, says the nine production use cases save the company about 200,000 hours of human labor and generates about $100 million in savings.  Reaping those benefits required a very high level of change management and integrating business and technology team members, Marron says, including data scientists, engineers, and operational employees. There is no plan for an AGI use case, he maintains. source

Nvidia today added new Nvidia inference microservices (NIMs) for AI guardrails to its Nvidia NeMo Guardrails software tools. The new microservices aim to help enterprises improve accuracy, security, and control of agentic AI applications, addressing a key reservation IT leaders have about adopting the technology. “One-in-ten organizations are already using AI agents today, and more than 80% plan to adopt AI agents within the next three years,” Kari Briski, vice president of enterprise AI models, software, and services at Nvidia, said in a press conference Wednesday. “This means that you don’t just build agents for accuracy of the task, but you must also evaluate AI agents to meet security, data privacy, and governance requirements, and that can be a major barrier to deployment.” Briski explained that beyond trust, safety, security, and compliance, successfully deploying AI agents in production requires they be performant. They must stay on track while remaining fast and responsive in their interactions with end users and other AI agents. To that end, Nvidia today introduced three new NIMs for NeMo Guardrails aimed at content safety, topic control, and jailbreak detection. source

Trade operations teams face increasing pressure to tighten processes, reduce costs, and ensure compliance—all while managing complex infrastructures and siloed systems. But there’s good news: Automated orchestration solutions and generative AI (genAI) are helping teams address these challenges and reshape the trade operations landscape. One significant challenge companies face is the shift to T+1 settlement cycles, which reduces the time to complete a trade from two business days to one. This tighter timeframe forces operations teams to adapt quickly; past strategies of assigning more employees to handle increasing volumes no longer suffice. “Our clients have been through a transformation of offshoring, nearshoring, and trying to remove costs,” said Mark Wilson, Managing Director, Capital Markets at Accenture, in a recent panel discussion. “But the need to continue to do more with less is greater than it has ever been.”  This means firms must adapt work orchestration solutions that integrate processes across legacy systems, improving efficiency and minimizing risk. But organizations don’t need to overhaul their entire infrastructure to take advantage of the advances that such orchestration offers, said Ryan Clare, Head of Corporate Transformation and Automation at Jefferies, during the panel discussion. Instead, he suggests layering orchestration tools on top of legacy platforms. “The legacy platforms do their job very well,” he said. “You build a layer on top that just connects into them.” This “fabric layer,” as he calls it, enables greater automation while maintaining essential core operations. This helps avoid costly overhauls. Generative AI in Action: Adding real value GenAI also plays important role in transforming operations and is already delivering tangible benefits. “We’ve used genAI for email automation—reading emails, doing analysis, inserting the results into workflows, and generating responses,” said Wilson. “For example, if a client asks about the status of a trade, genAI can pull the information from the order management system, generate the response, and place it in the user’s outbox for review.” These capabilities reduce manual effort, ensure accuracy, and streamline communication. “It just allows you to start and finish the task much quicker and get to the answer faster,” said Clare. While genAI is often hyped as revolutionary and with the potential to replace staff, John Almeida, Global Head of Wealth and Asset Management at ServiceNow, said he thinks genAI will instead be a technology used to enhance productivity. “I don’t believe genAI is going to replace people,” he said. “It complements humans by making them more efficient—handling low-value tasks like summarizing documents so employees can focus on higher-value, customer-facing work.” Transforming Trade Operations One Process at a Time: A Panel Discussion Accenture + ServiceNow: A work orchestration game-changer Accenture has developed a new Intelligent Work Orchestration solution for the capital markets industry. Developed on the ServiceNow platform, Intelligent Work Orchestration bridges operational siloes with a single pane of glass—a centralized hub where teams can access everything they need to track progress and identify pain points. Accenture’s solution is built around three core pillars: End-to-end process management to automate core trade processes Gen AI-powered email automation to streamline communication Centralized command centers to offer real-time insights for faster decision making To learn more about how Accenture and ServiceNow are driving operational efficiency across capital markets and financial services or get in touch visit our resource page. source

In a global economy where innovators increasingly win big, too many enterprises are stymied by legacy application systems. As a consequence, these businesses experience increased operational costs and find it difficult to scale or integrate modern technologies. According to research from NTT DATA, 90% of organisations acknowledge that outdated infrastructure severely curtails their capacity to integrate cutting-edge technologies, including GenAI, negatively impacts their business agility, and limits their ability to innovate.[1] Retaining outdated technology may seem like a cautious approach but there are mounting inherent dangers. Maintaining, updating, and patching old systems is a complex challenge that increases the risk of operational downtime and security lapse. Modernising with GenAI Modernising the application stack is therefore critical and, increasingly, businesses see GenAI as the key to success. The solution—GenAI—is also the beneficiary. Indeed, more than 80% of organisations agree that scaling GenAI solutions for business growth is a crucial consideration in modernisation strategies.[2] The myriad potential of GenAI enables enterprises to simplify coding and facilitate more intelligent and automated system operations. By leveraging large language models and platforms like Azure Open AI, for example, organisations can transform outdated code into modern, customised frameworks that support advanced features. GenAI can also harness vast datasets, insights, and documentation to provide guidance during the migration process. This allows for a more informed and precise approach to application development, ensuring that modernised applications are robust and aligned with business needs. The business benefits of GenAI-driven modernisation The benefits of powering application modernisation with GenAI are clear. According to Forrester, for example, the approach accelerates and simplifies onboarding for new learners and developers, powers more effective digital governance, and improves the user experience.[3] Looking ahead, GenAI promises a quantum leap in how we develop software, democratising development and bridging the skill gaps that hold back growth. The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) will be redefined and various job roles will merge into a unified, frictionless workbench of expert creation. The norm will shift towards real-time, concurrent, and collaborative development fast-tracking innovation and increasing operational agility. Considerations for success As enterprises look to integrate GenAI solutions into their application modernisation programmes, making the right technological choices is key. Some solution considerations include: Productivity: Does the solution deliver the level of productivity required for largescale code migrations? Speed: Does it deliver rapid, secure, pre-built tools and resources so developers can focus on quality outcomes for the business rather than risk and integration? Alignment: Is the solution customisable for -specific architectures, and therefore able to unlock additional, unique efficiency, accuracy, and scalability improvements? Scalability: Does it allow for enterprise-grade DevOps integration, scaling to cover the entire modernisation process,  for efficiency, differentiation, and maximised business value? The foundation of the solution is also important. Look for a platform that is based on a strong technology partnership, with proven expertise. NTT DATA’s Coding with Azure OpenAI is a prime example of just such a solution. The platform can automate up to 80% of code generation and transformation,  as well as helping reduce time-to-market by 50%.[4] GenAI-based modernisation and coding platforms will prove fundamental to business success in the years ahead. Through these solutions, enterprises will be able to accelerate application modernisation and development, saving time and money while catalysing innovation. For a deeper understanding of these insights and to learn more about -how your organisation can effectively implement GenAI strategies, we invite you to explore the full report. [1] NTT DATA, Global GenAI Report, 2024 https://services.global.ntt/en-us/campaigns/global-genai-report [2] Ibid [3] Forrester, The Rise of Application Generation Platforms, May 2024 https://www.forrester.com/blogs/the-rise-of-application-generation-platforms/ [4] NTT DATA, Accelerating Legacy Application Modernization with NTT DATA Coding and Azure OpenAI, 2024 source

Zack Hicks: DTS is a strategic function for our company, and in recent years, we’ve concentrated on moving towards a product and platform strategy that allows us to achieve economies of scale. Kimberly-Clark operates in more than 50 countries, and DTS has IT leaders in our business offices and manufacturing plants, which are typically located near our consumers. We also have several global digital and technology centers in strategic locations, including multiple sites in the United States, as well as Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Poland, the UK, and India. So we truly are a global company, with team members around the world. While we do have people that are regionally focused, the remainder of my roughly 1,400 direct team members are working on a global scope, for global programs. Part of our DTS strategy has involved realignment, with about 200 members of my central team re-focusing to be more aligned with the business functions. Most of those are Data and Insights professionals, to ensure our business can leverage analytics as fast as they need to, particularly around consumer, competitive, and internal data insights. We’re also hyper-focused on modernizing and leapfrogging our supply chain capabilities, with an eye toward potentially extending our supply chain into our commercial partners. That is a game changer in the CPG industry. source