The document discusses managing IT systems using the metaphor of a technology garden. It outlines 6 principles for cultivating a technology garden: get the basics right, create a common language, cultivate peer relationships, work towards common goals, manage IT as a portfolio, and work with the right suppliers. These principles are meant to help organizations deal with the complex ecosystem of technologies, external influences, and need for ongoing management that their IT systems require, similar to a garden. Key topics discussed include automation, containers, collaboration needs, balancing stakeholder interests, and challenges around monitoring and controlling distributed systems.

1. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
1The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Dale Vile
Research Director & CEO
Freeform Dynamics
www.freeformdynamics.com
REVISITED!
2006 - 2015

2. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
2The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
 UK based industry analyst firm
 Community research model
 Close partnership with The Register

3. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
3The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
So what’s
gardening
got to do
with IT?

4. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
4The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Sound familiar?
 Complex ecosystem
 Made up of many ‘living’ things
 All competing for resources
 Lots of external influences
 Continuously changing
 Needs management

5. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
5The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Influences
Your Technology
Garden
Infrastructure, Applications,
Data, Services, Devices, Users
Market and
competitive
dynamics
Consumer
technology
trends
Changing customer
behaviour and
expectations
Changing stakeholder
and user behaviour and
expectations
Evolving enterprise
technology, techniques
and delivery models
Changing regulation
Business objectives
and performance
The as yet unknown

6. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
6The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Leave any
garden for
long
enough….

7. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
7The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
The 6 principles
 Get the basics right
 Create a common language
 Cultivate peer relationships
 Work to common goals
 Manage IT as a portfolio
 Work with the right suppliers

8. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
8The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
THE
BASICS
Functional
essentials
Delivery of
projects
Delivery of
service quality
Get the
basics
right
Topical discussions:
 Pace of change
 Virtualisation
 Automation
 Smarter delivery
1

9. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
9The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Moving on from silo-based automation

10. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
10The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
The Goal?
Containers?

11. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
11The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Create a common language
The
business
The end
customer
The IT
team
Topical discussions:
 Consumer influence
 High expectations
 Buzzword confusion
 The power of ‘show’
2

12. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
12The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Cultivate peer relationships
Topical discussions:
 Source of innovation
 Risk and responsibility
 BYO / shadow IT
 The ‘people’ factor
Always running to catch up
Included from the outset
3

13. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
13The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Evolving
collaboration
needs
Software
development
project
Marketing launch
or campaign
Product
development
program
Topical discussion:
 Software now integral
to so many activities

14. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
14The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Work to common goals
User
preferences
and desires
Hard-core
business
needs
IT delivery
and ops
needs
REALPOLITIK
Topical discussions:
 Balancing interests
 BU / BU alignment
 Silos within IT
 Motivation & metrics
4

15. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
15The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Motivation & metrics
Considerations:
 Cause and effect
 Impact lag

16. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
16The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Manage IT as a business portfolio
Cost
Value
Risk
Topical discussions:
 Time to value
 Longevity of value
 Experimentation
 Lifecycle management
5

17. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
17The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Cradle to grave
Creation
Retirement
Common issues:
 Drift
 Clutter
 Sprawl

18. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
18The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
So what’s the unit of management?
Monolithic black box
application
Component based
application
API-centric service
or ‘product’
Mobile app
 Ownership, funding
 Security, performance
Challenges:

19. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
19The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
The monitoring, control and security challenge
Challenges:
 Granularity
 Distribution
 Complexity
 Cost
 Risk

20. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
20The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Not just software
Source
code
Creative
assets
Creative
copy
Project
control
Specs &
designs
Software
development
project
Marketing launch
or campaign
Product
development
program

21. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
21The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
The weakest link

22. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
22The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
But I just
needed to
quickly…..
Tactics:
 Policies
 Guidelines
 Training
 Monitoring
 Alerting

23. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
23The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Work with the right suppliers
Key considerations:
 Perspective
 Vision and values
 Problem definition
 Cultural fit
Criticality to successLevelofspend
6

24. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
24The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
The 6 principles - revisited
 The basics
 Common language
 Peer relationships
 Common goals
 Portfolio approach
 The right suppliers
 Project delivery, Agile, DevOps
 Customer view, power of show
 Proactive, tech-driven innovation
 Silo busting and collaboration
 Inclusive management and control
 Sync’d with your values and needs

25. Copyright 2015 Freeform Dynamics Ltd
25The Technology Garden Revisited, Perforce on Tour, London, September 2015
Thank you!
Dale Vile
Freeform Dynamics Ltd
dale@freeformdynamics.com
www.freeformdynamics.com