Food for thought vis-a-vis
DevOps.
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Fall Conference
Season Kicks off with
VMWorld
It's been a rare few
months since Charlie
and I have been on
the road, but the
respite has come to
an end.
I'm on my way to
VMWorld in Las
Vegas, while Charlie
is speaking at a
conference in
Colombia this week.
We'll be at a number
of other conferences
over the next few
months, speaking at
some of them.
It's also webinar
season -- see the
bottom of this email
for dates and times.
And as always, if
you run into me at
VMWorld, be sure to
ask for a copy of
your Agile Digital
Transformation
Roadmap poster!
--
Jason Bloomberg
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New content from
Intellyx |
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Two
apparently distinct
movements are in the
process of disrupting
the world of
enterprise application
development: DevOps
and Low-Code.
DevOps is a cultural
and organizational
shift that empowers
enterprise software
teams to deliver
better software
quicker – in
particular, hand-coded
software.
Low-Code platforms, in
contrast, provide a
technology platform
and visual tooling
that empower
enterprise software
teams to deliver
better software
quicker -- with little
or no hand-coding
required.
Two disruptive
approaches with
remarkably similar
value propositions.
Except that one emphasizes
hand-coding while the
other replaces
it.
The obvious question:
are we in for some
kind of appdev battle
to the death, as the
two disparate
approaches fight for
supremacy?
Or are we somehow
setting ourselves up
for a delightful
Kumbaya moment, where
DevOps and Low-Code
live together, happily
ever after?
If we take a closer
look at these
questions, however, a
number of subtleties
emerge. Low-Code can
help DevOps adoption –
and vice versa.
And while Kumbaya
won’t make it to our
playlists any time
soon (thank goodness),
fleshing out the
vision of appdev in
the fully digital
enterprise highlights
important aspects of
both movements we
might have overlooked.
Splitting
Up the Build vs.
Buy Decision
One of the toughest
decisions any IT exec
faces during their
career is whether to
buy a commercial off
the shelf (COTS)
software package or
alternatively, get
their team to build
one from scratch.
The advent of the
cloud split up the
‘buy’ part of this
equation, adding
various subscription
options to the
standard licensing
models that have been
around for decades.
Today, Low-Code is
having the same effect
on the ‘build’ part.
It’s no longer build
vs. buy. Instead, the
‘build’ option has now
split into two: build
with Low-Code vs.
hand-code.
According to many of
the Low-Code vendors,
the hand-code option
will soon be a relic
of days past, as their
platforms will cover
the full spectrum of
bespoke software
solutions.
While this sweeping
statement may very
well become true at
some point in the
future, today’s
Low-Code platforms
don’t replace the need
for enterprises to
hand-code software
entirely.
What is true today,
however, is that the
Low-Code platforms are
maturing rapidly. As a
result, the types of
applications suitable
for Low-Code are
growing in number,
while the number of
applications an
enterprise has no
viable alternative but
to hand-code is
shrinking.
If an organization
believes its DevOps
efforts focus entirely
on the hand-coding
part of this equation,
therefore, then the
inescapable conclusion
is that the need for
DevOps in the
enterprise is actually
shrinking –
with its demise only a
few years hence, if
that.
However, the
assumption we based
that conclusion on is
deeply flawed. In
fact, if IT leaders
have focused their
DevOps efforts solely
on hand-coded
applications, then they
don’t understand the
point to DevOps.
Two
Sides to DevOps
Depending on whom you
ask, you are likely to
get two quite
different perspectives
on what DevOps is and
why an organization
would want to adopt
it.
First is the
appdev-centric view:
DevOps is a cultural
and organizational
shift for creating and
deploying better
software faster – with
a particular emphasis
on hand-coded
software. Yet, while
it’s difficult to
argue with this
perspective on its
face, it’s not the
whole story.
That brings us to the
other view of DevOps:
an approach to
breaking down
organizational silos
by instituting a
culture of
cross-functional,
collaborative
self-organization in
order to better align
software efforts with
customer needs and
demands.
Software plays a
central role in both
perspectives, of
course – but the first
view centers on
hand-coded software as
DevOps’ central
motivation. This
perspective would lead
to an eventual demise
of DevOps as Low-Code
matures.
The second view,
however, centers on
software as an enabler
of an end-to-end focus
on the customer:
end-to-end in the
sense of the customer
at one end, systems of
record on the other
end, and the entire
enterprise in between.
In other words, this
view of DevOps centers
on what it means to
become a digital
enterprise.
Furthermore, when we
say software in this
context, we’re not
referring to
hand-coded software per
se. Instead,
we’re talking about
the full breadth of
software-based value
in the enterprise,
from the
software-defined
network to the
infrastructure to the
applications, all
within the broad
context of hybrid IT.
Digital enterprises,
after all, don’t focus
on how they build
software. They focus
on how they meet the
needs of customers –
and that focus drives
behavior across the
organization, rather
than in particular
silos.
In this context,
Low-Code becomes an
essential enabler of
DevOps, because it
both accelerates the
time to customer value
as well as
facilitating the
cross-functional
collaboration among
stakeholders and
application creators
so essential, not only
for DevOps, but for
Agile approaches in
general.
Overcoming
Pushback Against
Low-Code with
DevOps
Low-Code can thus be
an enabler of DevOps
by streamlining the
application creation
process while
facilitating better
collaboration. The
combination of
Low-Code and DevOps
can also help to
resolve the pushback
against Low-Code so
prevalent in IT shops
today.
As I explained
in a recent Cortex,
many organizations are
facing pushback
against
Low-Code/No-Code
initiatives from the
ranks of professional
developers, who feel
threatened by the
simplicity of building
apps with such
platforms.
If such an
organization is also
transforming to a
DevOps culture,
however, then the
reasons for the
pushback against
Low-Code stop making
sense.
The essence of the
DevOps culture is
cooperation, and the
key to cooperation is
empathy. In other
words, DevOps
organizations favor
and encourage the
breaking down of
organizational silos
by fostering better
human interactions
among people who had
previously fallen into
different
organizational units.
The root of the
pushback against
Low-Code, in contrast,
is a fundamental ‘us
vs. them’ mentality
that pits the appdev
team – or in some
cases, the entire IT
organization – against
the ‘business.’
I put ‘business’ in
quotes here because
the belief that the
part of the
organization outside
IT is the business
part is itself a
fiction that derives
from this misplaced
us-vs-them mentality.
In reality, of course,
the entire
organization is
the ‘business.’
The bottom line: for
organizations to
succeed in the digital
era – that is, to
become digital
enterprises – they
must dispense with
such adversarial
patterns across the
board. The best way to
accomplish this task?
Move to a DevOps
culture.
The
Intellyx Take
It’s possible to sum
up the discussion in
this Cortex into two
concise pieces of
advice:
If you’re moving
to a DevOps culture,
then implement
Low-Code in order to
further the
collaboration and
rapid development
goals of DevOps.
If you’re
implementing
Low-Code, then move
to a DevOps culture
in order to
facilitate the
collaboration and
customer-centricity
necessary to break
down resistance to
Low-Code.
To these two core
tenets, we could add a
third:
If your
organization has yet
to implement
Low-Code and has
also not begun its
DevOps journey, then
moving forward with
both efforts at once
will lower risk,
accelerate your time
to value, and bring
you closer to the
goals of digital
transformation
faster than
implementing either
in isolation.
What are you waiting
for?
Copyright ©
Intellyx LLC. Intellyx
publishes the Agile Digital
Transformation
Roadmap poster,
advises companies on
their digital
transformation
initiatives, and
helps vendors
communicate their
agility stories. As
of the time of
writing, none of the
organizations
mentioned in this
article are Intellyx
customers.
Image credit: Deb
Nystrom.
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Digital
transformation is on
the tip of every
executive’s tongue,
but according to a
recent study, most
organizations are
failing to realize
value from their
efforts – putting
CIOs in peril.
There are two
ways to look at the
current fate of the
CIO role: Either the
CIO is in the perfect
place and time as the
worlds of business and
IT converge, or they
are standing squarely
in the “kill zone”
waiting for those same
converging forces to
fell them.
I have been
covering digital
transformation for
over three years and
have watched with
fascination as it has
evolved from a new
idea to its present
state of frenzied
hype. My hope was that
as its mind share
reached critical mass
with business and IT
executives, there
would be a renaissance
in strategy and action
within executive
suites.
Unfortunately,
it appears that
organizations have
realized only the
first half of that
hope.
According to a
recent CIO study
conducted by Harvey
Nash and KPMG
titled, “Navigating
Uncertainty,” there
has been a 52%
increase in
organizations that now
have an
enterprise-wide
digital strategy. More
encouraging, a full
90% of organizations
have either adopted an
enterprise-wide
strategy or have at
least done so on a
business unit level.
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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The
Low-Code/No-Code
movement will disrupt
all application
development from the
largest enterprise
applications to small,
throwaway apps, but
this disruption is so
dramatic that it is
experiencing pushback
from several camps –
that is the conclusion
of my recent article, The
Low-Code/No-Code
Movement: More
Disruptive Than You
Realize.
To add more
color to this story, I
recently spoke with
Martin Dowdall, Vice
President and General
Manager of ExpertSOLUTIONS at Stericycle.
Stericycle is best
known as a medical
waste destruction
firm, while its
ExpertSOLUTIONS
division offers
product recall
services to automobile
manufacturers and
other firms that have
to deal with
unexpected,
potentially
catastrophic product
recalls.
There are many
steps to a recall
process, but among the
most important is the
initial outreach to
affected consumers. “A
lot of what we do is
communications,”
Dowdall said. “For
example, with our
automotive customers,
the key issue is
getting people to
bring their car into
the dealership to get
it fixed.”
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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Digital
transformation has
reached the tipping
point. Everyone now
understands that they
must transform. But
amid all the fervor
and hype, it is easy
to lose sight of what
is at the center of
digital
transformation: the
customer.
The customer is
the star in the story
of digital
transformation. As
such, the customer
experience is
critical. An
organization’s ability
to engage and thrill
its customers — along
with the employees and
partners who must
serve them — is a
cornerstone of digital
transformation.
As
organizations have
come to this
realization, a new
type of platform has
risen to help
organizations create
and manage the
customer experience:
the digital
experience platform.
When
organizations leverage
this new platform
effectively, it is the
on-ramp to digital
transformation.
...
Click here to download the whitepaper (registration
required)
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Dramatically
accelerated
application creation,
check. Iterative
collaboration with
business stakeholders,
check. Lower costs,
definite check.
Streamlined
integration, data
modeling, even
compliance – check,
check, check again.
What’s not to
love about
Low-Code/No-Code
platforms?
Apparently, in
some corners, the
answer is ‘quite a
lot.’ Have you heard
any of these?
Low-Code/No-Code
disrupts the existing
application
development
organization.
It makes
managers look bad for
having recommended
slower, more
time-consuming
alternatives.
People lump
today’s
Low-Code/No-Code
platforms in with
previous generation
rapid application
development (RAD),
computer assisted
software engineering
(CASE) and
fourth-generation
language (4GL) tools,
assuming the flaws of
these now-obsolete
approaches must apply
to modern
Low-Code/No-Code.
And most
significantly,
Low-Code/No-Code can
actually set lines of
business and IT
against each other, as
they battle for
control over the
organization’s
applications.
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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Intellyx in the Press & Blogosphere |
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Kintone
Connect is a
one-day conference
that will bring
together business
leaders from across
the country to discuss
the challenges of
digital transformation
and how organizations
can navigate this
newera of team
empowerment. Kintone,
provider of a low-code
application
development platform
and toolkit that
quickly connects,
organizes, and
visualizes information
and workflows, will
host the conference on
November 3 at the Mission Bay
Conference Center in
San Francisco.
Besides sharing
best practices,
speakers will present
use cases that will
provide attendees with
a better understanding
of how to leverage
cloud-based digital
tools to support team
collaboration and
increase efficiency,
transform business
processes that affect
bottom lines, and
empower employees to
drive innovation by
enhancing the skills
of citizen developers.
The conference
will feature solo
presentations and
workshops by business
leaders, including:
- President
of Intellyx, Jason
Bloomberg is a
leading industry
analyst and globally
recognized expert on
agile digital
transformation
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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...
The future of
quantum computers is
profoundly exciting,
but it also comes with
a catch.
Cryptologists use the
limitations of our
current technology to
keep our information
and transactions
secure. Once we are
able to manage massive
complexity with
quantum computing, our
present encryption
standards will be
rendered ineffective.
That seems
profoundly scary. As
Jason Bloomberg wrote
in the Forbes article
mentioned above,
“should the Russian
government break all
of our encryption
before the US develops
countermeasures,
stolen elections will
seem like small
potatoes. Welcome to
the cyber-battlefield
of the 21st century.”
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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...
随着微服务逐渐流行起来,很多厂商开始尝试把他们的Java
EE
Web服务转成微服务,这样他们就可以继续卖他们的过时产品,API
Gateway就是这些厂商中的一个。
Jason
Bloomberg是Intellyx的主席,他在一篇文章里指出了传统Web服务和微服务的区别,并对把传统Web
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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As the low-code
and no-code approaches
to application
development explode in
the
marketplace, confusion
surrounds these terms.
The analysts don’t
really agree on how
no-code and low-code
differ, with Gartner
even downplaying the
use of either term. As
a result, enterprise
buyers are left
scratching their
heads, as the low-code
and no-code
terminology remains
remarkably persistent.
In this brief,
Jason Bloomberg of
Intellyx (and a
regular contributor to
Forbes) tackles the
confusion, asserting
that the difference
between the two
segments is not
“code,” but rather who
the user is and how
the approach is being
used. He describes
no-code and low-code
in depth, points out
the pitfalls and
clearly delineates the
difference between the
two. And, for those
who are trying to find
out which approach
works for the
enterprise, he has the
answer.
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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...
In our latest white
paper, Jason
Bloomberg strips away
any vague definitions
of the EA role
and redefines the
group as the Center
of Digital
Empowerment –
CODE.
The change in
terminology also
signals a vital move
toward
self-organization.
CODE should be a
self-organizing group
made up of business
and IT leaders across
the enterprise. EAs
aren’t the only people
in CODE. Going
forward, this group
should assist the EA
in creating a strong
framework that
supports business-wide
priorities of the
digital effort.
...
Click here to read the entire article.
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Intellyx at
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