Bi-Modal It: an Introduction

Bimodal IT refers to the management practices that enable users to explore opportunities for improvement and exploit optimal strategies to deliver the best results within the applicable constraints. The practice of Mode 1: Exploration and Mode 2: Exploitation are both adopted independently and optimized for the challenges and opportunities facing IT-driven organizations.

Gartner, a leading IT research and advisory firm, introduced the concept in 2014.

In this article, we’re taking a look at the concept of Bimodal IT, its goals, and its benefits so you can consider whether it’s the right fit for your team.

Two modes of Bimodal IT

IT technologies and processes are, in general, classified as legacy and modern.

• Legacy systems and techniques are well understood, they enable predictable operations and present little risk of change.
• On the other hand, modern systems and methodologies offer new opportunities, promise efficiency improvements and operational excellence.

In an enterprise IT environment, organizations maintain both the legacy and modern IT environments. The underlying motivation of adopting separated bimodal management practices for the two contrasting mechanisms of enterprise IT is that there is no single optimal approach to managing both. Therefore, Gartner proposes the following two modes of bimodal IT:

Mode 1: Exploitation

The Mode 1 of exploitation focuses on and optimizes areas of IT that are generally predictable and understood and may require a high level of security and safety. This mode may include the traditional internal, back-office workings of IT such as:

• Securing systems and servers
• Storing sensitive data

These are operational use cases where organizations face limited flexibility to modernize applications, systems, and processes from their current legacy state. At the same time, they also fully understand the internal workings of the systems and risks involved in adopting specific changes.

Therefore, organizations can potentially optimize their approach to exploit and modernize specific components of their legacy environment. This management practice will involve calculated risks. Organizations will be well aware of the risks—such as cost, security, and performance—and can devise a risk mitigation strategy to eliminate possible uncertainties.

Mode 2: Exploration

Mode 2, in contrast, is focused on optimizing IT areas that are uncertain, experimental, or exploratory. This mode often comprises the development of external consumer technology and is often correlated with agile and DevOps cultures.

An important characteristic of practices suitable for Mode 2: Exploration management practice is the focus on innovation. Bimodal capabilities enhance the ability of organizations to focus product development and improvements in areas that present low risk in the event of change; or unprecedented business opportunities through (digital) transformation and change.

In the latter case, high risk is naturally attributed to change. Therefore, Mode 2 encourages risk mitigation strategies such as short and iterative change that creates and sustains value over the long term.

An example is the use of the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) for product development. Instead of investing significant capital into developing new products, this strategy recommends testing a hypothesis with a small working solution in its most basic and simplistic form. Based on user feedbackv, this model is upgraded iteratively until it has transformed into a market-ready product. As the stage is reached following a journey of iterative improvements based on end-user feedback, Mode 2 management practice of exploration also mitigates the risk while guiding innovation in the correct direction.

(Read more about application & software modernization.)

Bimodal IT stats

Since most organizations are already running IT workloads and apps in the cloud, together with legacy IT environments, the Bimodal IT framework is relevant for most business organizations.

Recent research finds that 81% of all organizations have already adopted a multi-cloud strategy. 84% of the organizations already operate a hybrid mix of legacy and modern cloud-based infrastructure systems. For these organizations, it makes sense to run parallel tracks of a Bimodal IT strategy where:

• Mode 1 deals with systems of records
• Mode 2 deals with Systems of Innovation
• Both modes are optimized to run systems of differentiation.