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This is an ad, more than anything, and I don't think it even remotely addresses the issues it brings up. I do have to say, it is refreshing to have yet another

This is an ad, more than anything, and I don't think it even remotely addresses the issues it brings up. I do have to say, it is refreshing to have yet another empty slogan, transform through delivery, to use at work.

benjaminwootton 10y ago
I think that is unfair having just re-read it. (I'm the author.) 90% of the article is about our theory that large enterprise organisations have a huge gulf when compared to digital leaders, and analysing why they are in this place. To break out of it, they need to do things in a completely different way, more focussed on building their own capability than outsourcing work.
- jordache 10y ago
  Again, you don't just "break out" and act like "digital leaders" just for the sake of it. Why does a fortune 50 company need to do that? What is the ROI on such effort? What are their risks if their IT operation is not as cutting edge as Amazon's? Those are the core questions, which your article does not even mention.
  - jordache 10y ago
    Ok just read through again.. you did allud to some of the rationale... my bad!
- radley 10y ago
  It's not really a theory, though. These are all well known facts, which is why there's already buzzwords for them (i.e. the ones you were using). A good tech blog post would show how you're unique, how you're innovating, and how you're making real change for your customers (with stats to back it up). I suggest thinking about a blogging strategy with at least 1-2 posts / month in 2017. Take a few hours to plan out what you're trying to achieve and who your audience will be... Clients? Potential sales / tech hires? Being a thought-leader? Think about what you want to communicate to them that's more personal than a brochure. That's the fundamentals of a good tech biz blog at your stage of blogging.
- innocentoldguy 10y ago
  I mean no disrespect, Ben. I am merely pointing out the fact that you bring up the issue of technical debt, for instance, but you don't delve into the root cause of it. Instead, you talk about how enterprises have technical debt vs. digital leaders who don't. However, the root cause of technical debt is not enterprise vs. digital leaders. It exists in both camps, and the reasons for it are largely political. So, how do you address that? How do you convince the owner of a company that creating technical debt to save a week now will almost surly blossom into the loss of months down the road? Legacy technology is another issue I don't feel you fully addressed. For example, there are many companies that start new projects using legacy technology, or the wrong technology, again for political reasons. I've seen reasoning like "We're a Microsoft shop," and "It's easy to hire Ruby developers," as the main drivers of technology choice, rather than a thoughtful consideration of the requirements of a project, and what technologies are best suited to solve the problem at hand. I appreciate the time and effort you put in to communicating your ideas, and do not mean to diminish from that at all. I do think if you added a little more meat and citations to your arguments, and got rid of some of the sales-pitching at the end, you could strengthen your article quite a bit though.
osullivj 10y ago
That an empty slogan like "transform through delivery" should seem meaningful speaks volumes about the sad state of enterprise IT. Alas, in my experience, there is often little delivery of new systems and features. Too many egos, careers and vested interests are invested in the status quo. Change brings disruption and the prospect of unhappy users. So ass covering political IT managers pretend to "risk manage" the enterprise IT portfolio by attending endless meetings at which they resist any change then claim to have "delivered" a stable service offering to "the business".
radley 10y ago
It's more like blog filler - stuff you write to keep your blog alive.

benjaminwootton 10y ago

I think that is unfair having just re-read it. (I'm the author.) 90% of the article is about our theory that large enterprise organisations have a huge gulf when compared to digital leaders, and analysing why they are in this place. To break out of it, they need to do things in a completely different way, more focussed on building their own capability than outsourcing work.

jordache 10y ago
Again, you don't just "break out" and act like "digital leaders" just for the sake of it. Why does a fortune 50 company need to do that? What is the ROI on such effort? What are their risks if their IT operation is not as cutting edge as Amazon's? Those are the core questions, which your article does not even mention.
- jordache 10y ago
  Ok just read through again.. you did allud to some of the rationale... my bad!
radley 10y ago
It's not really a theory, though. These are all well known facts, which is why there's already buzzwords for them (i.e. the ones you were using). A good tech blog post would show how you're unique, how you're innovating, and how you're making real change for your customers (with stats to back it up). I suggest thinking about a blogging strategy with at least 1-2 posts / month in 2017. Take a few hours to plan out what you're trying to achieve and who your audience will be... Clients? Potential sales / tech hires? Being a thought-leader? Think about what you want to communicate to them that's more personal than a brochure. That's the fundamentals of a good tech biz blog at your stage of blogging.
innocentoldguy 10y ago
I mean no disrespect, Ben. I am merely pointing out the fact that you bring up the issue of technical debt, for instance, but you don't delve into the root cause of it. Instead, you talk about how enterprises have technical debt vs. digital leaders who don't. However, the root cause of technical debt is not enterprise vs. digital leaders. It exists in both camps, and the reasons for it are largely political. So, how do you address that? How do you convince the owner of a company that creating technical debt to save a week now will almost surly blossom into the loss of months down the road? Legacy technology is another issue I don't feel you fully addressed. For example, there are many companies that start new projects using legacy technology, or the wrong technology, again for political reasons. I've seen reasoning like "We're a Microsoft shop," and "It's easy to hire Ruby developers," as the main drivers of technology choice, rather than a thoughtful consideration of the requirements of a project, and what technologies are best suited to solve the problem at hand. I appreciate the time and effort you put in to communicating your ideas, and do not mean to diminish from that at all. I do think if you added a little more meat and citations to your arguments, and got rid of some of the sales-pitching at the end, you could strengthen your article quite a bit though.

osullivj 10y ago

That an empty slogan like "transform through delivery" should seem meaningful speaks volumes about the sad state of enterprise IT. Alas, in my experience, there is often little delivery of new systems and features. Too many egos, careers and vested interests are invested in the status quo. Change brings disruption and the prospect of unhappy users. So ass covering political IT managers pretend to "risk manage" the enterprise IT portfolio by attending endless meetings at which they resist any change then claim to have "delivered" a stable service offering to "the business".

radley 10y ago

It's more like blog filler - stuff you write to keep your blog alive.