Product aligned IT
Over the last few decades, service providers have envisioned, built and delivered complex services to the business which fundamentally is created using a combination of advanced levels of human capital competencies and tools.
Businesses, on the other hand, have been outsourcing service needs to partners and in many ways, made their user community critically dependent on partner services for their day-to-day needs.
As businesses went increasingly digital and the markets demanded quicker turnarounds of services delivered, users and business units struggled to cope with the market movements and providers came under pressure to ‘shift-right’ towards real-time responsiveness to meet business demands
First responses from providers to these ‘new ways of working’ was to offer services through ‘Service Catalogues’ which was nothing more than a requisitioning platform to invoke certain repeatable services from retained and partner teams
The maturity continued towards organizations (both customer and partner) transforming to become truly agile in their response mechanisms and converting traditional IT services to Products, closely aligned with the business – This was the first view of ‘Product Aligned IT’ the core charter aiming to address business priorities and outcome in a standardized repeatable manner.
Moving from mere Service Catalogues to 'productized services' using scripting, hyper-automation and AI, is what businesses need today.
How do we go about creating Products out of traditional services?
This goes back to our time tested practice of RBA (Run Book Automation). Traditional service delivery models will have run books which are operating and resolution procedures scripted for repeatable use – Such Run Books may offer itself for automation of qualified actions, aimed towards operational efficiency or time to resolve with minimal human error. Operating models are often constructed on tech stack and capability levels. Siloed functions manage independent SRs and ticket queues in the traditional construct.
Such runbooks are now converted to ‘Products’ by interventions like scripting, hyper-automation and use of platforms to invoke services from the ready to use product catalogues.
Dedicated cross functional T and E shaped talent will form Squads and processes around specific products or product lines, rather than managing IT as a centralized, siloed function. In a product-aligned approach, squads work closely with product managers, developers, and business teams to ensure that technology is not just supporting the product but actively contributing to its success and relevance to the business.
The end result is a highly responsive squad which will own the product, the business outcome and service quality, all in a highly responsive and agile environment
What do we need to be mindful of, in a Product-Aligned IT setup
- Talent / Resource Utilization and effectiveness: Squads would typically have platform and Chapter leads, Product owners and SMEs at varying levels of competency. Since each product would have its own dedicated squad, there is a risk that resources, such as software tools or infrastructure, could be unnecessarily replicated. This can lead to inefficiencies and higher operational costs. Squads and resources will have to be sized optimally to get the best of a product led service
- Coordination Across Squads: Although product-aligned IT encourages collaboration, coordination between squads when the teams support interdependent platforms can sometimes become challenging, especially if they are working on different timelines or have different priorities. Ensuring alignment between different squads is critical.
- Managing Technical Debt: When squads are focused on business priorities and responsiveness, it can sometimes lead to the accumulation of technical debt, particularly if squads are focused on short-term goals and rapid iterations. Balancing product roadmaps with current business needs, and long-term projected demand will be critical to avoid technical debt becoming an issue.
Conclusion
Product-aligned IT represents a fundamental shift in how businesses consume services today. By focusing on productization of business needs, organizations can create more agile, business / customer-centric environments that drive product (and hence service) success and innovation. While there are challenges to manage, the benefits of improved speed, alignment with business goals, and enhanced collaboration make product-aligned IT an increasingly attractive model for modern businesses. As organizations continue to prioritize customer experience and adaptability, product-aligned IT will play an essential role in driving their growth and success.
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