In my recent blog post “Fearless innovation is the true force behind IT project transformation” I spoke about IT departments’ confidence to transform their operations. In this post, I outline the five essential steps to successfully guide your IT operations transformation with ignio™, a SaaS-based platform from Digitate. 

These five steps are based on Digitate’s extensive experience in implementing AIOps for hundreds of customers with diverse IT operations challenges. 

Choosing the right AIOps solution  

Today, there are multiple AIOps solutions to choose from. It is important to choose a primary solution that serves as the default choice for your AIOps transformation. This first step is critical, as it ensures clear focus and prevents architectural discussions later in the transformation journey. Based on my experience, I recommend selecting a solution like ignio, capable of managing both horizontal and vertical data flow that is also able to predict and prevent issues.  

To learn more, please see: 

Appointing the right leadership 

Once you’ve decided to adopt the AI-first approach, it is important to have the right leadership to drive the AIOps transformation. To achieve this, you need to appoint:  

  • Executive sponsor: AIOps transformation will impact all IT domains, which are traditionally siloed under different leaders. To ensure success, a senior leader (a direct report to the CIO) should be appointed as the sponsor. This will help resolve roadblocks and manage the changes that such a transformation will inevitably create.  
  • AIOps owner: The chosen AIOps solution is going to manage up to 80% of IT standard operating procedures (SOP). It is critical to appoint a leader with both technical expertise and strong business acumen to fully understand the AIOps solution. This ensures that strategic knowledge of an AIOps-centric IT support function is entrusted to a reliable and competent member of the organization. 

To learn more about the importance of leadership in IT transformation, see It Takes Two To Make Intelligent Automation Happen 

Using Agile deployment 

Now that the approach and ownership have been defined, it is time to establish a methodology. Digitate suggests adopting an Agile methodology which is based on the following pillars: 

  • Saga: This is the overall business case. The AIOps transformation should aim to achieve goals such as IT operations cost optimization, MTTR improvements, and incident reduction. It is best practice to define a Saga to be achieved in two years. 
  • Epics: These are focused deployments of AIOps use cases essential for achieving the overall Saga. Epics usually span six months each, and hence a transformation will have four Epics. Digitate recommends clearly defining the first Epic with a committed output. Subsequent Epics should be indicative, with the next Epic fully defined and committed by the end of the fifth month. 
  • Sprints: These are short (monthly) deliverables with minimal output deviation, indicating which use cases must be released in the following month.  

To learn more about designing transformation projects for success drawing on Agile methodology, read Facing Skepticism About The Roi Of Intelligent Automation? : Expert Advice 

Defining a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) list 

The Critical Success Factor of any transformation is its target. In an AIOps transformation, the primary target is the list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This list represents how IT operations work. This information is critical for providing the necessary requirements for AIOps to operate effectively. Digitate strongly recommends including the SOPs list in any contract with your system integrators or IT support providers. This practice will facilitate AIOps’ transformation scope and business case definition. 

For further reading on the topic of SOPs in the context of IT operations, see below:   

Driving delivery with the factory model 

Digitate’s best practices recommend prioritizing transformation and structuring AIOps delivery using a factory model approach. This concept is based on the Agile manufacturing approach. Here is how the process should look like: 

 

  • Create a Kanban (list or inventory) of SOPs that need to be automated. 
  • Complete a feasibility analysis for each SOP in the previous Kanban. 
  • Create distinct Kanban boards – separate Kanban boards for SOPs designed for ignio and those designed for all other automation processes. This ensures that an  ignio-first approach is applied. 
  • Create Kanban for each step of the development process.  

By incorporating appropriate contingency into each Kanban, all resources will be effectively engaged, allowing for seamless reallocation between phases as needed. 

To learn more about how you can accelerate your IT operations transformation, visit Digitate’s AIOps page here. 

Get in touch to discuss how ignio can drive your IT AIOps transformation.