Explore the meaning of TechOps with Dan in this podcast episode.
This is a summary of this episode:
In today's digital age, businesses must adopt technology to remain competitive and survive. However, integrating technology into operations is not always straightforward, and businesses can quickly find themselves struggling with a spaghetti stack of software and hardware that doesn't work well together.
Enter TechOps, a framework for viewing operations through the lens of technology. In the second episode of The TechOps Podcast, host Dan Saavedra, the founder of MergeYourData.com, defines TechOps and its 5 pillars:
- KPIs and goals
- Strategy
- Processes
- People
- Technology.
The five pillars must work in harmony for operations to be adaptable, scalable, and efficient.
The main issue with modern businesses is that they tend to adopt technology to solve one-off problems rather than considering all five pillars. This approach creates a fragile foundation for operations and limits businesses from passing data, looking at processes, and improving them. TechOps provides a holistic approach to planning and building technology as an enabler for the other pillars from the beginning.
Using TechOps, businesses can successfully implement Industry 4.0 technologies and digital transformation. The framework allows for a solid foundation that can support the integration of new technologies as the business grows and scales. By making technology an enabler across the rest of operations, businesses can adapt processes and people's skill sets to make the business better.
In the podcast, Dan illustrates the fragility of operations without TechOps through a visual metaphor, where businesses stack the five pillars horizontally and insert little tech blocks vertically to solve problems. The result is a fragile House of Cards that collapses when one tech block is removed. In contrast, using TechOps, businesses view technology as a ladder pieced together with technology, enabling the other pillars to work together in a holistic manner.
TechOps is a framework for considering all five pillars of operations and planning and building technology as an enabler for the other pillars from the beginning. Using TechOps, businesses can successfully integrate new technologies and adapt processes and people's skill sets to make the business better. As digital transformation continues, TechOps will be a crucial framework for businesses to remain competitive and survive
