Steve - don't wait to integrate and automate

I was recently speaking to a friend of mine who is an IT professional at an outsourcing firm. To protect his anonymity, I’ll call him “Steve.” Steve’s company has multiple contact center facilities here in the US, and each of those centers has different telephony platforms and a bouillabaisse of partner, legacy and proprietary applications to connect with.

I wasn’t surprised when Steve told me that new projects took too long to launch, that changes required him to take down during business hours, and that the company was constantly hiring new agents to replace those who left out of frustration due to constant changes and difficult-to-use systems.

But I was surprised to hear him tell me – after suggesting to him the adoption of an SOA integration platform for standardization and BPM tools to orchestrate web services – that introducing one more computing system was the last thing he needed.

Huh? What?

Steve told me he and his peers agreed that a zero tolerance policy had been put in-place with regard to new systems. “Make due with we have – make it work,” was the edict he and his co-workers had placed on themselves. Folks, this simply doesn’t make sense.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like Steve. He’s a nice guy, and I think he’s a pretty smart fellow too. But in this case, Steve is missing the boat: SOA and BPM are exactly what his company needs to optimize their processes and to maximize their current IT investments.

Steve… if you’re reading this… don’t wait to integrate and automate. I’m telling you this as a friend!

SOA This. SOA That. Dolls Re-Enact SOA Confusion in Cute YouTube Video

In this YouTube video featuring "Greg the Architect", played by a doll (distant cousin of Ken Doll fame, perhaps?), Greg is tasked with implementing an SOA solution by his oppressed boss who is literally under the foot of "The Big Guy". Overwhelmed by the complexity of SOA and not-so-professional vendors, Greg is belittled, confused and ultimately yaks "SOA" in the toilet. A cute video from SOANowJournal, a publication sponsored by industry giant TIBCO.

Fred On Tech

I'm pleased to announce that my colleague, Fred White, a super-sharp technologist and all-around good guy, has published his new blog, Fred on Tech. His blog will feature trends, analysis and the latest, most interesting topics in the world of enterprise-level technology.