Digital Adoption Framework

A lot get's talked about Digital, but there are few comprehensive approaches to adoption available for reference. 

This is why I was interested when I came across Vadrim's DAF diagram, reproduced below. Enjoy!

Post Digital Outsourcing - Going for Value

One of the things which always has frustrated me when dealing with traditional outsourcing companies has been the huge gulf between the Sales Proposition and the Reality of Day-to-Day Service.

Companies usually think they are going to buy the best skills in the market and get access to superlative service from a transformational partner who delivers agility and control, so they can forget about the complexities of running IT. In reality they get bland, slow moving and unimaginative bottom up services which are slow and expensive to change. Where people have looked for partnership, this has usually failed to materialise as relationships descend into "Robust User-Supplier Conflict" (or RUSC). In fact the traditional model has been an anti pattern to progressiveness and this has only been made worse by offshoring to Asia, where extreme cultural differences and expectations have only made things worse.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, The Death of Outsourcing, this model is no longer sustainable in the light of all things digital. So what can a Post Digital Service Provider offer now that XaaS threatens to steal outsourcing's breakfast?

The reality is that, whilst XaaS does a lot to free an enterprise from the Tyrrany of Infrastructure, XaaS introduces new complications as the overall technical environment is much more complex; Digital also means that enterprises need to learn to move quicker with disciplined lean practices that enable continuous change. New IoT based models also bring new challenges of scale.

So the new breed of Digital Service Partner needs to position itself to avoid RUSC and focus on Assured Value, Integration and Speed. Where: 

• Assurance covers secure and consistent delivery of change and operations;
• Value focuses on user and customer experience, insight and the right quality at an affordable price;
• Integration deals with the complexity of identity and integrating multiple sources of XaaS services as well as working with multiple SI partners and in-house development teams to deliver joined up services;
• Speed addresses agility, continuous change, innovation and responsiveness to changing business and technical opportunities and risks.

Such services are likely to include 3 key elements:

1. a Foundational Use of IT Access Service - everything needed to deliver a user device centric service, e.g. smart phone, pad, laptop and supporting network, gateway, office automation software, storage, print, peripherals and anti malware based services.
2. a Service Integration And Application Management Service (SIAM) - which integrates and delivers services on a Hybrid Cloud basis. This is likely to include Architecture Management (AMO), Programme Management (PMO), Service Delivery (SMO), and Security Operations (SOC and Security Operational Processes), as well as Activity Based Costing (along TBM or OBASHI lines).
3. a Lean System Integration Service - which can provide specialist development and implementation skills, but also embraces partnering with internal and 3rd party partners and provides support for the full range of Agile and DevOps processes needed to deliver continuous change.

Naturally there will be other more specialist services which may come too, e.g. computer forensics and advanced threat intelligence, Fleet Management for IoT devices, or managing innovation communities as innovation goes social. But these will be value adds building on a core foundation.

The End of Digital Adolescence

Are we growing from just talking about it to doing it?

Over the last 18 months I have attended a number of events with CxOs and other senior stakeholders from many different companies.

A key theme has been that we are all being pressed to do something, as we all work in organisations where customers, employees, business partners and senior managers expect us to be doing something and most of us have.

A key concern has been that we are all scared that we have missed something. Is there an "Unknown Unknown" that will emerge to destroy the new value that we are trying to create. We have all been thinking a lot about the subject and I think that collectively we have come to the following conclusions:

The 3 technologies that we have to get to grips with are:

• Identity Management (and subscription)
• Encryption
• Integration

The things that we should worry less about are:

• Security of the various PaaS and IaaS offerings, as the vendors who supply them spend a lot more time and money securing them than most user enterprises can dedicate or afford;
• Traditional technology selection approaches and worries about vendor lockin - the richeness, utility and value of the continuously evolving offerings obviates the need.

The things that we need to get good at are:

• DevOps - so we can move at Digital Clock Speed
• Service Integration (or SIAM) - so we can run this seamlessly from end-to-end
• (agile) Enterprise Architecture - so we don't lose track of what we've got (where we are spending money) and what we want to achieve in the future
• Security Governance - again so that we

The conversations that we have with other stakeholders in our businesses should focus more extensively on Business Value, rather than infrastructure maintenance and "keeping the lights on". But we also need to establish a different approach to projects, applications and investments, as the traditional ROI based Capital Appraisal, Invest and Forget model does not fit the continuous evergreening needed to sustain Digital Assets and keep them relevant in the face of customer demands.

There are plenty of other things as well, each worthy of a blog of its own, but this is the gist of all these discussions and power breakfasts.

The End of Outsourcing?

Most of us who have been in the trenches dealing with Outsourcing Partners in the last few years are puzzling over where it all is going. 3 major forces are changing the current model as we know it:

(A) Exhaustion of the Indian (or Off-Shore Labour Arbotrage) Value Proposition;
(B) The move to Everything as a Service (XaaS) as new players offer different types of service;
(C) The death of Monolithic Service contracts, as enterprises pursue increasingly complex Multi-sourcing models.

The original attraction of the Indian model was access to a large pool of well qualified talent which was artificially cheap as a consequence of exchange rate differences. As the offshoring model was pursued, the "Unseen Hand of the Market" has moved to erode the price benefits through year-on-year wage inflation and adverse currency movements. Additionally, as demand has risen, the talent has "followed the money" impatiently pursuing promotions, increased status and the opportunity to only work with the latest technology. This has led to unfettered job hopping, resulting in the loss of knowledge and the failure of individuals to develop deep experience. This has eroded the value proposition around talent. On top of this long distance relationships carry a heavy overhead in building them up and maintaining them, and the off shore players have developed business models and practices which assume that demand will continue to build at the same aggressive rate as previously. Many enterprises are actively taking things back on shore or in house.

The move to XaaS means that many of the traditional "box shifting and box running" services which were foundational to classic outsourcing are redundant. The traditional outsourcing players are losing the core "economy of scale" type services which they used to provide to IaaS and PaaS providers. Further more, the opportunities around traditional application based services are being eroded by SaaS providers. So although there are some niche opportunities where things like European data protection legislation or defence contracting requirements offer some opportunities, most of the market is moving to platforms such as those offered by Amazon and Microsoft. 

The continuous move to multi-sourcing started in the late 90s and has gradually built up steam over the last 20 years, especially as XaaS is now becoming the norm. This should also offer opportunity to move up the food chain to offer more value added services around Service Integration. Yet there is little evidence that any of the main outsourcing giants understand Service Integration or that there is appetite within customers to pay for it.

When I look at it, even in the area of Cyber where Security Operating Centre (SOC) services are in increasing demand, it seems that new entrants from the Aerospace and Defence industry have recognised and pursued the opportunities more aggressively, building both technical capability and market credibility.

So if you are looking at your service and sourcing strategy, it's time to think about what your model is, what kind of suppliers you need and to quiz them on their vision and direction. Otherwise you may be lumbered with a failing partner.