Chris Livesey, SVP and GM, Application Modernisation and Connectivity Solutions at Micro Focus.

Chris Livesey, SVP and GM, Application Modernisation and Connectivity Solutions at Micro Focus.

Organisations do not need to eliminate the past to make way for the future. While the wider software industry seems obsessed with ‘the new' and will often pursue attainment of the new at any cost, the fastest way for organisations to leverage new technology is to build on what they already have.

Taking place in Johannesburg for the first time, Experience Micro Focus Universe, brought to you in partnership with ITWeb, is now open for registration. You're invited to join us as our guest for the day on Thursday, 6 September 2018, in the Polo Room, Inanda Club, Sandhurst, Johannesburg. Click here to register your interest.

So says Chris Livesey, SVP and GM, Application Modernisation and Connectivity Solutions at Micro Focus, who will present at Experience Micro Focus Universe 2018, to be held on 6 September, at the Inanda Club, in Sandton.

He says large enterprises have made huge investments in their existing business applications. This software often encapsulates unique and differentiating customer processes and governs incredibly valuable business data, which is often not surfaced or integrated in a competitive way.

"These applications don't need to be superseded or replaced; they can instead be modernised, integrated and extended. And how successful are those ‘big transformational' projects in delivering new applications in any case? As most companies now seek to leverage cloud, mobile and analytics, Micro Focus has an approach and a product portfolio that can get them there quicker, without the cost and risk of throwing everything away and starting again."

Xhead = Hybrid IT centric market

According to Livesey, the market is hybrid IT centric, and one where many organisations have expanded quickly from the large local market onto the global stage. They've adapted products and services along the way, resulting in a lot of technical variety, complexity and diversity.

There are challenges associated with these factors, that he says Micro Focus is well placed to assist with. "Micro Focus has a good track record in meeting these challenges, and we are looking forward to sharing our insights with the South African market."

Speaking of why the event has extended to South Africa, Livesey says: "South Africa is one of our strong existing markets and presents an opportunity for Micro Focus. The country has a reputation in the IT world for being forward thinking and innovative. I have seen this up close and personal by working with companies in South Africa on and off for almost 20 years, including large organisations in financial services, mining, telecoms and retail."

During the event, Livesey will present a keynote, ‘Bridging the Old and the New', which will focus on sustaining innovation where organisations can realise new value from existing assets and integrate things in new ways to surface new capabilities and returns.

He will also discuss the optimised use of resources and what organisations need to do to realise their full potential, while recognising the inherent value in everything they have invested in over time, and at the same time, moving forward to invest in the things that they calculate will have the best returns.