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Difference between revisions of "Bimodal IT Organization (Gartner)"

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Gartner defines Bimodal IT 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, experimenting to solve new problems and optimized for areas of uncertainty. These initiatives often begin with a hypothesis that is tested and adapted during a process involving short iterations, potentially adopting a minimum viable product (MVP) approach. Both modes are essential to create substantial value and drive significant organizational change, and neither is static. Marrying a more predictable evolution of products and technologies (Mode 1) with the new and innovative (Mode 2) is the essence of an enterprise bimodal capability. Both play an essential role in digital transformation."<ref>Definition - What Does Bimodal IT Mean? [https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/bimodal Gartner]</ref>
 
Gartner defines Bimodal IT 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, experimenting to solve new problems and optimized for areas of uncertainty. These initiatives often begin with a hypothesis that is tested and adapted during a process involving short iterations, potentially adopting a minimum viable product (MVP) approach. Both modes are essential to create substantial value and drive significant organizational change, and neither is static. Marrying a more predictable evolution of products and technologies (Mode 1) with the new and innovative (Mode 2) is the essence of an enterprise bimodal capability. Both play an essential role in digital transformation."<ref>Definition - What Does Bimodal IT Mean? [https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/bimodal Gartner]</ref>
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Bimodal IT is helping to solve major issues in how companies move forward. Traditionally, there can be a lot of confusion and pressure on IT departments that have to maintain infrastructure and keep operational hardware running, while also trying to get creative and modernize business operations. Bimodal IT helps to better outline the ways that companies can do both of those things at the same time.<ref>Explaining Bimodal IT [https://www.techopedia.com/definition/32616/bimodal-it Techopedia]</ref>
  
  

Revision as of 17:35, 1 September 2021

What is Bimodal IT?

Gartner Research’s Bimodal IT framework recognizes that traditional development practices are no longer sufficient for organizations with growing enterprise application demand. Instead, the bimodal IT strategy calls for two parallel tracks that support rapid application development for digital innovation priorities, alongside existing application maintenance and operational stabilization projects. [1]

Gartner defines Bimodal IT 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, experimenting to solve new problems and optimized for areas of uncertainty. These initiatives often begin with a hypothesis that is tested and adapted during a process involving short iterations, potentially adopting a minimum viable product (MVP) approach. Both modes are essential to create substantial value and drive significant organizational change, and neither is static. Marrying a more predictable evolution of products and technologies (Mode 1) with the new and innovative (Mode 2) is the essence of an enterprise bimodal capability. Both play an essential role in digital transformation."[2]

Bimodal IT is helping to solve major issues in how companies move forward. Traditionally, there can be a lot of confusion and pressure on IT departments that have to maintain infrastructure and keep operational hardware running, while also trying to get creative and modernize business operations. Bimodal IT helps to better outline the ways that companies can do both of those things at the same time.[3]



What is a Bimodal IT Organization? [4]

A Bimodal IT Organization splits the IT department into two teams, or, as the definition implies, two modes. One focuses on all technology and applications that absolutely need attention. These core systems, legacy applications, and solutions that keep the wheels on absolutely need maintenance. They require a dedicated team, so they should have one.

The second team focuses solely on innovation. What can they build to make the business more efficient and successful? How quickly can they build it? This group is made up of “dreamer” engineers who envision new technology to push their companies forward.


The Bimodal IT Organization - Marathon Runner and Sprinter[5]

According to Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president at Gartner and global head of Research, “CIOs can’t transform their old IT organization into a digital startup, but they can turn it into a bi-modal IT organization.” Gartner's prediction in 2014 was that 75% of IT Organizations that 75 percent of IT organizations would be bi-modal in some way by 2017. they refer to those in the organization that fall under the traditional and predictable Mode 1 as 'Marathon Runners' and those that fall under the innovative and agile Mode 2 as 'Sprinters'.


The Bimodal IT Organization
source: Gartner


CIOs need to create business operations that are both rock-solid and fluid if they want to succeed in digital business, according to Gartner, Inc. At the same time, the IT organization will need bimodal IT to help CIOs efficiently develop the speed and agility their organization needs to meet digital challenges.


The Bimodal IT Organization Chart - The Division of IT Functions[6]

The figure below shows IT functions that has been divided along the lines of Mode 1 and Mode 2. To help emphasize that the two halves are intended to be separate (as part of the Gartner recommendation) there is some color added to the IT organizational chart. On the left of the IT org chart in purple is the Mode 1 group, and on the right in orange is the Mode 2 group. The colors have no particular special meaning here and are only being used to provide a more visually striking contrast and highlight that the two groups within IT are considered separate and distinct of each other.


The Bimodal IT Organization Chart
source: Lance Eliot


See Also


References

  1. What is Bimodal IT? Mendix
  2. Definition - What Does Bimodal IT Mean? Gartner
  3. Explaining Bimodal IT Techopedia
  4. What is a Bimodal IT Organization? Soliant
  5. The Bimodal IT Organization - Marathon Runner and Sprinter Cody Johnson, Salesforce
  6. The Bimodal IT Organization Chart Lance Eliot