Versent targets modernisation ROI with AI-powered App Xray

by Lilia Guan, as seen in arnet.com.au 07 Jul 2026

Risk, compliance and the human factor shape AI modernisation.

Lachlan Wright, Head of Moderinsation, Versent

As organisations modernise their technology environments to support AI adoption, justifying the investment increasingly depends on linking it to clear business outcomes, with success measured against key performance indicators (KPIs).

For mid-market service providers such as Versent, helping customers realise that value is critical, particularly as they face growing pressure to demonstrate a return on investment (ROI) for technology investments, according to head of modernisation Lachlan Wright.

“Instead of just identifying technical issues, we tie everything back to business outcomes – security risk, scalability, compliance, or missed opportunities,” he said. “Decisions aren’t just about cost savings, but also what value can be unlocked.

“That thinking is becoming more important in the mid-market.”

These mid-market organisations are facing similar expectations to enterprise but without the same resources, so having clear visibility matters, Wright observed.

“Risk and compliance are key areas,” he told ARN in an interview. “Many organisations don’t have time to go deep on them, so quickly identifying gaps is valuable.

“Governance, risk, and compliance are converging.”

To meet this challenge, Versent created App Xray which was debuted at AWS Summit Sydney in April. The AI assessment tool helps organisations build a business case for modernisation before committing to major technology decisions.

According to Wright, App Xray was initially designed to meet enterprise requirements. However, it proved particularly effective in the mid-market, encouraging organisations to take a more strategic approach to technology investment.

“App Xray is that first step – it’s really about giving people clarity before they commit to the modernisation process,” Wright said. “They can go in with their eyes wide open and make decisions they can be confident in.”

Rather than simply identifying issues such as an outdated Java version, the tool examines the business impact – whether that means missing functionality, limited scalability, increased security risk or non-compliance.

Having greater visibility before embarking on modernisation initiatives helps organisations identify and address risks earlier.

This is particularly valuable for organisations dealing with legacy technical debt, unfinished features, compliance and security gaps, as well as applications running on-premises or in under-optimised cloud environments.

“A big part is getting ahead of risk,” observed Wright. “These programs are full of data and risk, and historically you went in blind. Now, you can go in with clarity and make decisions based on data.

“That leads to better commercial outcomes, less dependence on pulling resources away from other work, and fewer surprises.

“It doesn’t capture everything, but it improves things by surfacing issues early.”

For managed services customers, it helps address long-standing issues — applications they’ve struggled with for years — reducing cost and complexity over time. It benefits both sides and supports long-term partnerships.

While mid-market organisations haven’t had the time or resources to deal with many of these challenges, they can now – a very different situation from 10 to 15 years ago.

Wright said conversations with customers have changed from technology that is “old and terrible to deal with” to how modernisation can help organisations unlock their broader business strategy. Essentially, App Xray accelerates what consultants and engineers do.

“It makes analysis of code bases, binaries, documentation, and everything else much quicker, but it’s not accountable for the final outcome,” said Wright.

App Xray has reduced application assessments that once took four to eight weeks and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete to a matter of days.

The human connection

However, human expertise remains central to the process. To support customers, Versent continues to run workshops that play a key role in capturing business context and operational knowledge that cannot be derived from data alone.

“The important part is still the human experience, accountability, and that intangible understanding of what people need and what works for them,” explained Wright.

For example, in a recent engagement involving a mid-market organisation in a regulated industry undergoing an acquisition, this approach was used to support due diligence, getting a clearer view of compliance, risk, technical debt, and functionality.

That gave the acquiring party more confidence and enabled a more informed decision – a good example of driving a better business outcome.

“We’ve had customers that have gone and paid for strategies and advice,” Wright noted. “They buy a tool and roll out licences, but there’s nothing to show for it.”

This is because the challenge has shifted from implementing AI technology to driving user adoption.

“We’ve set up a whole practice around making sure the tech parts are easy — we can do that really well — but also helping people get used to it [and] adopt it,” Wright said. “[Also,] learn how to use it well, make it part of their lives, and deal with some of the fear around it is taking their jobs.

“As soon as people start using [AI] properly, they tend to feel a bit better [knowing it] can’t replace everything. I think that actually gives people comfort when they go and use it.”

That human reaction to AI varies within organisations, even for a technology service provider like Versent.

“We’ve got engineers in the business, some who’ve been around a while and don’t flinch at this stuff because they’ve seen it before,” Wright said. “It’s one of those things where you’ve got to do it or you get left behind.

“More importantly, you’ve got to do it to get comfortable, because as soon as you start using it, you realise this can’t replace a person.

“People still want to talk to people and have human interaction … that part still matters.”

Modernisation starts with clarity. Learn how Versent’s App Xray helps leaders quantify risk, identify opportunities, and make confident investment decisions – backed by expert guidance every step of the way. Contact Versent today. 

App Xray is also available on the AWS Marketplace.