Take is Slow! Don't Be an Automation Nightmare Many companies rush into automation. Management thinks that by introducing auto-function, they will save money quickly. They want to run automated systems immediately that combine too many variations, too many human decisions, and too many disconnected systems. It is tempting to automate as much as possible. Think of a sci-fi movie you like--automation looks cool, right? Not so fast. The Webvan story from 2000 is considered the baseline for failed automation. Webvan decided to build its 07/28/2017
Many companies rush into automation. Management thinks that by introducing auto-function, they will save money quickly. They want to run automated systems immediately that combine too many variations, too many human decisions, and too many disconnected systems. It is tempting to automate as much as possible. Think of a sci-fi movie you like--automation looks cool, right? Not so fast. The Webvan story from 2000 is considered the baseline for failed automation. Webvan decided to build its
Coming to Term with IT Automation and IT Integration In this post, we’re trying to achieve clarity. Specifically, clarity between a pair of common IT terms, the definitions of which can sometimes seem to overlap: automation and integration. We think it’s time to reach consensus on how these two critical IT concepts are used, and in the process detail how they work together. Automation can basically take one of two paths. It can be script-based or it can be an end-to-end solution (let’s call it “workflow”). Scripting in the context of 09/18/2014
In this post, we’re trying to achieve clarity. Specifically, clarity between a pair of common IT terms, the definitions of which can sometimes seem to overlap: automation and integration. We think it’s time to reach consensus on how these two critical IT concepts are used, and in the process detail how they work together. Automation can basically take one of two paths. It can be script-based or it can be an end-to-end solution (let’s call it “workflow”). Scripting in the context of
The Last Magic Arrow in IT: Automation Looking back at the evolution of IT innovation in the recent past reveals a punch-list of familiar buzzwords: agility, transformation, cost-cutting, etc. The promise of IT has always been in its ability to effect genuine change in organizations — the kind of impact that translates to the bottom-line benefit (think ROI) sought by every business. Now that these buzzwords are part of our everyday IT vocabulary, what’s left? We’ve identified and implemented all the advantages — we’ve 08/11/2014
Looking back at the evolution of IT innovation in the recent past reveals a punch-list of familiar buzzwords: agility, transformation, cost-cutting, etc. The promise of IT has always been in its ability to effect genuine change in organizations — the kind of impact that translates to the bottom-line benefit (think ROI) sought by every business. Now that these buzzwords are part of our everyday IT vocabulary, what’s left? We’ve identified and implemented all the advantages — we’ve
IT Orchestration - A Real World Tree House? (Part 2) … continued … What makes an orchestration safe, flexible, and adaptable? Increasing safety, what IT formally calls “utility,” often requires us to leverage the basic features of products or processes and to forego the more advanced features. Why? Because the basic features are more mature and are less likely to change, thus breaking our orchestration. Basic features are also more likely to be useful in more than one orchestrated workflow. If an advanced feature is a critical enabler, then 10/25/2012
… continued … What makes an orchestration safe, flexible, and adaptable? Increasing safety, what IT formally calls “utility,” often requires us to leverage the basic features of products or processes and to forego the more advanced features. Why? Because the basic features are more mature and are less likely to change, thus breaking our orchestration. Basic features are also more likely to be useful in more than one orchestrated workflow. If an advanced feature is a critical enabler, then
IT Orchestration: A Real World Tree House (Part 1) When I was a child, my grandparents took me to see the Disney movie based on Johann Wyss’ The Swiss Family Robinson. This was in the days when seeing a movie meant going to a theater, and I recall the sense of wonder where anything could happen in that big magic box of a building. The most lasting memory, though, of that childhood experience is of the sprawling tree house the Robinsons built with its connecting paths high in the trees. It occurred to me recently that the art/discipline of IT 10/08/2012
When I was a child, my grandparents took me to see the Disney movie based on Johann Wyss’ The Swiss Family Robinson. This was in the days when seeing a movie meant going to a theater, and I recall the sense of wonder where anything could happen in that big magic box of a building. The most lasting memory, though, of that childhood experience is of the sprawling tree house the Robinsons built with its connecting paths high in the trees. It occurred to me recently that the art/discipline of IT
