Insights for design IT architecture.

KORSIT is an ambitious, international player in the world of digital products, such as gift cards. KORSIT wanted to know better how their architecture was put together so they could then modernize it. “I always divide the IT architecture into four layers,” says Jasper. “The top layer is the process layer: what products and services do we offer our customers, through which channels, and what do the value chains and primary business processes look like? The second layer is formed by the applications that support these processes. The third layer consists of the data produced or used by the applications. The fourth layer is the infrastructure and thus the technical foundation. Team Rockstars IT conducted interviews to bring the bottom three layers into focus – from a technical perspective.”

“We looked at each application on a per-application basis,” said Rockstar Thomas Kool. “Among other things, we saw that quite a lot was still done manually.” Two experienced Rockstars interviewed all the stakeholders who could outline the entire IT landscape, who together had an overview of all the building blocks and components, and who knew how everything works together. We then looked at where the vulnerabilities were. Those insights were plotted against market standards, then a best practice and gap analysis were created.

Rockstar Gertjan Schouten fed back the findings of the Architecture Scan during a one-day workshop. Jasper: “We brainstormed with our team on site at Team Rockstars IT about what they had encountered and what the logical next steps were. We made the outcomes part of our digitization strategy for the next two years. The Architecture Scan report made it easier to budget for what needed to be done, confirmed some suspicions and made prioritizing easier.”

“Normally within organizations there is a whole team of specialists who deal with architecture, operations and lifecycle management of the information systems,” Jasper continued. “As is often the case in SMEs – and thus in a digital native scale-up like KORSIT – ambitions are high and capacity is still scarce. For us, working with Rockstar Thomas was instrumental in helping us modernize our infrastructure, which both our customers and our engineers are happy with. Thomas worked with the team to create a plan to make the most of Amazon Web Services, AWS.”

Meanwhile, the migration to AWS is in full swing. Next step is to hook up with a managed services party. Jasper: “In doing so, we not only ensure a successful migration, but also ensure that we can continue to innovate afterwards. Team Rockstars IT together with AWS has looked at which parties can help us with this. As a result, I feel relieved, coached and guided in the choices I have to make. I need to worry less about current vulnerabilities and have confidence in AWS.”

When Jasper entered KORSIT as CTO, he noticed that the distinction between interns and Rockstars was not immediately apparent. “You see no distinction between a Rockstar and in-house software developer when it comes to loyalty and commitment. They pay attention to continuous knowledge sharing, bring patience and understanding, and stay positive during the transformation. I think that’s really fantastic. The Rockstars are really part of the company. When it comes to team building, they think constructively and they are also part of it all during the ‘fun moments’.”