The Industrial Revolution changed the world and continues its inexorable march forward. The next wave of this revolution is now impacting IT. Reminiscent of past industrial movements, we are witnessing upheavals in how the work is done. Automation, supply-chain models, and standardization are rendering the old model of IT obsolete. Learn why this new revolution will change your life and how you can thrive in this new world. Hint: Your presence at #ChefConf is an indicator that you are part of the future, not the past!

1. Welcome to the
IT Industrial Revolution
Are You Ready?
Glenn O’Donnell, Principal Analyst
April 25, 2013

2. © 2013 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 2

3. Data: US Department of Agriculture and Bruce L. Gardner, American Agriculture in the Twentieth Century
1929
Stock
Market
Crash
1996 = 1.0
Trend 0.4%
Multifactor Agricultural Productivity Index
Mass Disruption Drives Change

4. The latest big disruption (Economics)
China
Latin America
World
EU
UK
US
No US decline
since 1958!
Source: The World Bank (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD)
Greece
Spain
India

5. The latest big disruption (Complexity)
201320122011201020092008
Virtualization
Cloud
BYOD
Social Media
Accelerant
Real Complexity
Manual
Ability

6. Poorly managed disruption = volatility

8. The business loves industrialization
unnecessary^
^
traditional

9. © 2012 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
Welcome to the Industrial Revolution
! Put discipline into your processes
! If work isn’t strategic, let someone else do it
! Automate everything you can
! Adapt the people (skills and org)
the next wave of
^

10. © 2013 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 10
Pursue process discipline
Use ITIL as a guide for process but avoid ITIL religion
› Start with “low-hanging fruit”
• Incident, problem, change, configuration, request
› Apply to the whole service lifecycle
› Process is difficult for the
traditional IT worker
• Break tradition!
› Don’t automate unless you
have discipline in processes
• Good things faster?
• Bad things faster?

11. © 2013 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 11
What is “strategic” work?
Functions that make your business different
› Is it innovative? What is innovation?
› Does it make your business different?
› Is it “intellectual grunt work?”
› Why is cloud exploding?
› Focus on business needs
• What they NEED, not what they WANT

12. © 2013 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 12
Automate repetitive functions
› Task Execution
• Individual tasks
• Repetitive tasks are candidates
› Process Flow
• Connects tasks and decisions
• Workload automation and RBA
› Decision Trigger
• Analytics (not just monitoring)
• When and why to take action

14. YOU ARE HERE
The evolution of trust and technology
Real Complexity
Manual
Ability
Automation
Silver Bullet
Trust Gap
Trust
Evolution
Automation Evolution

15. Will automation replace my job?
• Don’t fear automation … embrace it!
• This is the future … be a part of the future!
• History has not been kind to those who
resist the inevitability of progress!

17. The revolution is changing the people
› IT, as we’ve known it, is dead
› Many skills are diminishing
› New skills are emerging as highly desirable
› New sourcing models — not just cloud!
› Organization structure will be in constant flux

18. Hot new roles emerge
Ø Business relationship manager
Ø Automation architect
Ø Service engineer
Ø Service manager
Ø Vendor manager
Ø Process owner

19. © 2013 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 19
What happens to the geeks?
Geek
› Performs geek work
› Loves change
› Innovator
› Wonderful future!
Geek Imposter
› Performs geek work
› Dislikes change
› Sustainer
› Doomed
Photo
Credit:

20. YOU CAN $UCCEED
in an industrialized future
Ø Disruptive economics and complexity leave you no choice
Ø Instill discipline in your processes
Ø Outsource functions that make sense
Ø Automate everything possible (and practical)
Ø Adapt your skills to meet the new reality
Ø The automators (YOU) are inventing the future
Business leaders demand that your organization evolve

21. Thank you
Glenn O’Donnell
+1 617.613.8826
godonnell@forrester.com
@glennodonnell