Versent is an Australian technology consulting firm focused on helping enterprises adopt cloud technologies and DevOps practices. They discuss how to identify "walking dead" legacy services and products, prevent technological "infection" through cloud adoption and DevOps practices, and treat existing "infections" by establishing cloud platforms, automation, and continuous delivery. Customers highlighted include large Australian companies that implemented cloud environments, content management systems, API platforms, and data analytics environments on AWS in under 6 months through Versent's assistance.

1. VERSENT
‘HOW WE END
THE WALKING DEAD
IN ENTERPRISE’
One firm’s pragmatic approach to getting
stuff done with enterprise customers.
No selling! Just some stuff we reckon
might help you in your journey.
VERSENT ARE LOUD & PROUD PLATINUM SPONSORS OF THE AWS SYDNEY SUMMIT
Thor Essman
CEO & Founder
thor.essman@versent.com.au
+61 400 211 274
James Coxon
General Manager – Cloud & Digital
james.coxon@versent.com.au
+61 411 451 297

2. WHAT WE’LL SHARE
FOR THE NEXT
45ish MINUTES
• WHAT’S VERSENT?
• HOW TO SPOT THE WALKING DEAD.
• THE EFFECT OF INFECTION.
• HOW TO PREVENT INFECTION.
• HOW TO TREAT INFECTION.
• WHAT VERSENT CUSTOMERS HAVE DONE?
• KEY THEMES FROM CUSTOMERS.

3. PURPOSE
Help Enterprises Act and
Think like Start-Ups
THE VERSENT STORY
JOURNEY
One of Australia’s Fastest
Growing Technology Groups
PEOPLE
Appetite for Change and
Expertise in Delivery

4. • New(ish) consulting firm.
• We do targeted, atypical consulting,
product (SaaS) development & managed
services.
• Ex-corporates who grew tired of mediocrity
& non-delivery.
• We’ve been in your chair and your shoes.
• & now we love to help people like you get
s_it done.
• (we’re always on the hunt for energetic &
enthusiastic people).
WHAT’S VERSENT?
SECURITY CLOUDDEVOPS
DIGITAL API BIG
INSIGHTS

5. SOME FOLKS WE’VE HELPED / ARE HELPING
In
21
month’s
we’ve
grown
to
135
people
and
have
worked
with;
• 78 Customers, with 44 currently active.
• 12 of the top 20 ASX listed companies.
• 4 of the top 6 financial institutions in Australia.
• 8+ Transport & Logistics (planes, trains, trucks, auto’s, and even the roads).
• 3 top telecommunications companies in the region.
• Multiple charities and not for profits.
• Deep into multiple state government agencies (special shout out to NSW Government).
• As well as companies in Gaming, Energy, Manufacturing, Retail, Consulting, and Start-ups.
You
know
who
you
are
but
sadly
we
can’t
use
your
logos…

6. HOW TO SPOT
THE WALKING DEAD
IN ENTERPRISE

7. THE WALKING DEAD - SERVICES
• Organisations that “entangle” their customers in long term “time and materials” projects.
• Lowest cost per day resource augmentation, because technology is “commodity”.
• Body shops that broker people and arbitrage for revenue.
• Anyone who tells you the problem can be solved with more people.
• Specialists in customisation and creation of bespoke assets.
• Global expertise, localmediocrity.
• If you’ve got the “A-Team”, who has the “B, C, .. W Team”?
You
also know
who
they
are.
We
can’t
use
their
logos
either….

8. THE WALKING DEAD - PRODUCTS
Most
of
these
logos
aren’t
here
today…
• That don’t publish underlying functions as API’s or services
• Which offer “one ring to rule them all” and “one size fits all”
• Who create middle man orchestration or brokerage layers
• Designed to stand alone, stand above, or stand apart
• Who aren’t moving to “aaS” = As a Service
• That aren’t designed for speed
• That are hard to change

9. THE WALKING DEAD - ENTERPRISE
Thankfully
there’s
still
time
to
change…
• Those that think a billion dollar project is more likely to succeed than a million dollar
project…
• Non-disruptable sectors or institutions which think change works on a 5-10 year timetable…
• Lowest cost per hour resource augmentation, because technology is “Commodity”…
• Leadership who still believe that “resources” should feel thankful to work for them…
• Seal Team 6 in the Enterprise a.k.a the “Special” team in the special glass room…
• Those that are not building for speed, or at least speed of change…
• Outsourcing problems vs partnering for outcomes….

10. HOW CAN YOU
PREVENT
INFECTION?
One firm’s pragmatic approach to getting
stuff done with enterprise customers.
All models are wrong – some are useful!
& some help you get stuff done.

11. THE PATH TO
TRANSFORMATION
/
CORPORATE WHEEL
OF DEATH
As organisations start to tread
the path towards
transformation,
some teams will inevitably be
asked to change the way they
work.
YOUR
CLOUD
PROGRAM

12. SHIFT
LEFT
Get as many, if not all the pieces
on the wheel involved, as early
as you can. Get them adding
stories into your backlog.
IT’S NOT ALL
ABOUT DEVELOPERS
What stories are Security
writing? Or Finance, or Service
Management, or Operations?
SERVICE MANAGEMENT
IS REALLY IMPORTANT
Don’t be a cowboy. Don’t do anything
that endangers a move to cloud (AWS).
The discipline is important – so make it
work for you.

14. But, Enterprises & Start-ups are starting from a very different base
ü ü ü ü ü
No legacy IT to
migrate
DevOps
embedded into
SDLC
Built from scratch
– no ‘off the shelf’
apps
Built for cloud
Discipline&
Automation part
of DNA
? ? ? ? ?
Are your apps built with
elastic, utility, immutable,
cloud ecosystems & 100%
automation as the very
core of their DNA?
*http://www.cio.com/article/2375303/cloud-computing/how-airbnb-used-amazon-web-services-to-conquer-the-rental-market.html
YOU ?
AND YOUR
ORGANISATION’S
PARTNERS
All those
kool kids!*

15. Your App
CoTS Platform
Base Infra
Traditional
Technology
Traditional Layers L.o.B’s
A lot of what we end up
doing:
• Transforming in-
house apps.
• Orchestrating C.O.t.S
products.
• Choreographing
“tricky” ecosystems.
Or a combination of ..
Transformation
to
the
Elastic
Cloud
Orchestration Choreography
BuildFactory
Shared
Services
Orch.
Layer
Your App
CoTS Platform
Base Infra
Shared
Services
LDAP/
State
BuildFactory

16. CLOUD
Cloud
Specifically, AWS’s
Enterprise Native,
Elastic, Utility Cloud
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
realise & live the marketecture, even though
you’re a (regulated) enterprise.
ELASTIC
UTILITY
FAST
SACRIFICIAL
ecosystems that are able to
withstand the rigour of chaos and
blue/green deployments.
everything (everything) automated. SDLC
designed to build
stacks & roles, not nodes.
Auto-scale in minutes.

17. Cattle,
not
Pets
● Nothing
hand
crafted.
All
automated
● Fail
fast
&
fail
often
● Architect
for
failure
SDLC
Considerations
● Build
local
– Think
global.
● Focus
on
feature,
MVP
&
iterate.
● Maintain
discipline.
● Early
look
performance
● What
am
I
logging
&
monitoring.
● Test
Driven
Development.
● Artefacts
&
Automation.
● Paramatise
*all.
● Build
to
fail.
● Build
to
scale.
● CMS:
Extracting
and
injecting
content.
● Plan,
estimate
&
track
delivery
cycles.
● Measure,
measure,
measure.
● Continuously
improve.
DEVOPS
DevOps
Means Different
Things to Different
People.
Define what it
means for you.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

18. SECURITY
Security
Baked In, From the
Ground Up.
18
Infrastructure
● Hardened
at
build.
● Secure
by
default.
● Consistency
across
environments.
● Consistency
across
servers.
● Automated
integration
with
tools.
● Rapid
patch
/
fix
deployment.
● Simpler
compartmentalisation.
● Increased
resiliency.
Deployment
● Automate
base
security
tests.
● Secure
coding
standards.
● Security
patterns:
● Network.
● Authentication
/
Authorisation.
● Account
Management.
● Server
/
Instance.
● Encryption.
● Automated
security
involvement.
● Review
for
exceptions.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

19. More
Than
Just
Elastic
Compute
Networking AnalyticsCompute
Storage
&
Content
Delivery
Developer
Tools Management
Tools Security
&
Identity
Application
Services
Mobile
Services Database Enterprise
Applications
S3 CloudFront EFS Glacier
Storage
Gateway
API
Gateway AppStream CloudSearch
Elastic
Transcoder
SES SQS SWF
Device
Farm
Mobile
Analytics
Cognito SNS RDS DynamoDB ElastiCache RedShift WorkSpaces WorkDocs WorkMail
Lambda EC2
Container
Service
Elastic
Beanstalk
EC2 VPC Direct
Connect Route
53 EMR Data
Pipeline Kinesis
Machine
Learning
Elastic
Load
Balancing
QuickSight
Elasticsearch
Service
CodeCommit CodeDeploy CodePipeline CloudWatch
Cloud
Formation
CloudTrail Config OpsWorks
Service
Catalog
Identity
&
Access
Management
Directory
Service
Trusted
Advisor Cloud
HSM
Key
Management
Service
Web
App
Firewall
Snowball
Simple
DB
Database
Migration
Service
IOT
IoT
Hubs
Mobile
Hub

20. tales from the battlefields
DevOps
DevOps
DevOps
or

21. HOW CAN YOU
TREAT
INFECTION?

22. Get Ready Build Factory & Automation
& First Workload
Second workload Subsequent
workloads
4-­‐6
weeks
6
months
6
weeks
1
sprint
Live the Dream, but Face Into the Commitment
AWS often refer to this as “the stall”.
Watch for it, it’s often a thing!

23. It’s been 6 weeks,
where’s my environment?
Get Ready Build Factory & Automation
& First Workload
Second workload Subsequent
workloads
2
weeks
6
months
6
weeks
1
sprint
It’s been 45 minutes,
where’s my environment?
It’s gonna take 4 days to
get a server?
Can we get autoscaling to
under 7 minutes?
As if you’ll be re-building
prod!
Current prod stack # = 30
(FYI, non-prod = 331)
SEV-1! The server has
died!!
Oh look, Sev-4-info, a
server died .. & healed
Staff Retention Strategy
Needed
Staff Attraction Index
Proposed
$ CAN
/
ARE
YOU
MEASURING
IT?
Shift the conversation – Shift the Culture

24. Do it done
done
–
But work out
how you are
going to eat
the elephant

25. tales from the battlefields
is it done yet?
(the journey from dev
done to done done)
commitment
curve. it will
probably take
6+6+6

26. Cloud “CoE”: Team Responsibilities
Cloud
CoE
Consulting
Engineering
Support
Help
Guidance
Advice
Continuous
Improvement
Roving
competency
that
“bursts”
into
portfolio
teams
to
lend
a
hand

27. A Champion Team
Analytical
Mathematical
Creative
Conceptual
Personable
Helpful
Conservative
Traditional
Rational
Emotional
Form Function
IN OUT
Beware:
The
Concept
of
“Owing”
a
Team
In order to create a truly sustainable, champion tech
team:
o Ensure a healthy blend of inspirational generals and
motivated soldiers.
o Ensure a blend of personality types and styles.
o Promote a strong, positive culture & morale.
o Make innovation & continuous improvement systemic
& infectious.
o Ruthlessly avoid building key person risk.
o Assume each team member is “just passing through”
and promote career development, mentoring,
coaching.
o Don’t focus on retaining people. Focus on attracting
talent.

28. tales from the battlefields
Seal Team Six:
“Great” in the military.
Not awesome in
corporations
(actual) diverse
champion
teams.

29. WHAT VERSENT’S
CUSTOMERS HAVE DONE

30. “All In” DevOps/Cloud Ops Transformation
Foundation
Enterprise
Native Cloud
Capability
Embraced “DevOps” Culture to Automate Everything
Designed & Built “Enterprise Native Cloud” in < 5 months
Established standardised “Build Pipeline” for further transformation
Content
Management
System
Established new CMS capability on Enterprise Native Cloud
Start to Finish in 20 Weeks
Auto-Scaling, Auto Healing and Full Elasticity
Transitioning to a Full Managed Service
API
Platform
for
Microservices
Implemented Secure API Services Gateway
API Service Catalogue & Self Service Registration
Auto-Scaling, Auto Healing and Full Elasticity
Transitioning to a Full Managed Service
“Big
Insights”
Data
Analytics
Environment
Secure data analytics environment for internal and external data
1st, 2nd & 3rd Party Data Aggregation
Transitioning to a Full Managed Service
Client
Use
Case
– ASX
Top
20
Company
CLOUD DEVOPS
DIGITAL
API
BIG
INSIGHTS
Programs
executed
/
executing
in
parallel
in
less
than
>
6
months

31. Transforming from Mode 1 to Mode 2
CLOUD
DEVOPS
Client
Use
Case
– Australian
Financial
Services
Company
DIGITAL
Time
to
Build
“Full
Stack”
Monthly
Cost
Reduction
Sustainable
Culture
Change
Time
to
Transform
a
new
Application
78%
<1hr
6
Weeks
Yes
Applications/Platforms
• Transformed integration stack in 17
weeks
• On-boarded 2nd application in 6 weeks
• Currently transforming CMS platform
• Changed full stack environment
expectationsfrom 3 months > 30 mins
DevOps
• Led with “DevOps First: Culture
• Created Momentum & Profile
• Focused on Full Stack, not just Dev
• Integration into Enterprise
Tools/Services
Enterprise Native Cloud
• Operating Model redesign and update
• Created “COE” for Cloud 2.0
• Designed / Delivered Cloud 2.0
Foundation
• Standardised “Build Factory” to align to
DevOps standardsand culture
Shifted
left
to
DevOps
Culture
with
Enterprise
Capability

32. Delivering Open Data and Fostering Innovation
Client
Use
Case
– Australian
State
Government
Agency
Private API - External
• Lower Technology Costs
• High Delivery Efficiency
• Improved Service Levels
• Improved & Consistent Omni-Channel User
Experience
• Low Risk, Low Management
Public API - External
• Unlimited customer reach
• New Innovation and Usage Patterns->
Market Discovery
• High Risk, Management & Strategy Critical
• Proactive Customer Engagement for
Business
Partner API - External
• Changed Mindset from “Build It All” to “Partner in
Ecosystem”
• Improved Customer Experience, Customer Reach
• New Revenue Streams
• Entry to new customer segments, online channels
• Medium Risk, Management & Strategy Critical
VPC contents
Check
out
– http://opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au

33. AND SO
IN CLOSING ..

34. KEY THEMES
• Automate everything… (yes, EVERYTHING).
• Robots are coming for your jobs…
• Leadership / Sponsorship with a mandate.
• Embrace the change and get stuck in.
• Unrelenting roadblock removal.
• Useful and pragmatic micro deliverables.
• Delivery demonstrable value.
Change
is
the
only
constant
so
build
for
change.
Loads & loads of manual tasks
(done by loads & loads of people)
Loads & loads of automated tasks
(created by (far less) people)
Old
School
New
School

35. SECURITY CLOUDDEVOPS+ + =
ACTUALLY realise all the “ilities” and
“marketectures” that are associated
with InfraCode, Automation and the
Utility, Elastic cloud.
DIGITAL APIs BIG
INSIGHTS+ + =
ENABLES (the) business to realise the
potential of faster time-to-glass.
Capitalise on emerging markets. Gain
Confidence through consistency &
collaboration.
PEOPLE CULTURE
& =
EMPOWER your people / teams /
business to do great. Foster a culture
of “yes”.
VERSENT - DISCIPLINE, AUTOMATION & TRANSFORMATION
WHAT
THE
COMBINATION
GIVES
YOU…

36. VERSENT
THANK YOU