Software development and delivery has to be at the centre of a business strategy for companies, of all sizes and in all markets, to survive the application economy.

This is the message that IT management firm CA Southern Africa is communicating to markets as part of its Digital Transformation and the Application Economy roadshow.

The company's next port of call is Kenya on 13 August.

Gary Lawrence, managing director of CA Southern Africa, says there's a revolution taking place in the relationship between customers and businesses that is founded on the increasing promise that technology offers.

"The application economy has arrived, and every company, to survive and thrive, will need to embrace software. There is clear evidence that businesses of all sizes and in all markets, have to embrace the application economy and place software development and delivery at the centre of their business strategy. How organisations adopt the acceleration of technology will define their performance in application economy, " says Lawrence.

He notes that the rise of the application economy means IT capabilities and specifically, the creation of a world-class software delivery engine has now become one of–if not the– definitive competitive differentiators.

"Historically IT has been viewed by the business world as a cost centre, and not a revenue generator. The last fifteen years has transformed this view. Simply put, many organisations' software development processes have not been designed to cope with today's intense demands for: continuous delivery; zero defects to meet user performance expectations, and the consistency of interactions via one channel."

According to CA Southern Africa everything is driven by a connected, mobile, application-based world where customers are more likely to experience brand and interact with an enterprise via a software application than a live person.

"This represents immense opportunity for African businesses," says Andrea Lodolo, chief technology officer at CA Southern Africa. "But making a successful Digital Transformation journey involves many components - from reviewing software development life cycle (SDLC) to establishing how DevOps can improve traditional siloed views on who owns what, and how continuous delivery of quality applications and consequently, competitive advantage, can be achieved."

Lodolo believes the application economy allows companies to redefine their businesses. "All that's needed is access to the right technology where a stable, secured and managed IT platform - backed by the right vision - is the game changer."

Global enterprise software vendors have spoken of the need for businesses to 'digitise' and reinvent processes and procedures, with specific focus on speed, agility and adaptability.

Executives from these vendors have referred to the flexibility and innovation of architecture supporting today's business network systems which, they believe, makes ERP and core software systems all the more relevant.