Background: The Disclaimers

Some brief thoughts about this blog series, right here on LinkedIn Pulse. 

First off, everything said here is my own personal opinion; noone but me, especially not my employers past present or future (including Apigee, Google, and Ascend.io), can be held accountable for these opinions. Also, application of any ideas and conclusions to your business, or a business you are advising, is at your own risk. That said, I look forward to helping you formulate a strategic plan to move your business into the digital economy through the use of data and technology. 

As we get deeper into specific observations and recommendations for #digitaltransformation, API programs, and data strategies, I should note that the specific content written here is the result of studying many API programs and data teams around the world, some of which have been operating for over five years. There is one common denominator across them all: the evolution currently underway has not yet reached an equilibrium, in fact, it continues to accelerate. So the notes here are not an attempt to preach the final truth from on high; they are simply a distillation of patterns that are working. Expect new discoveries to be made as programs refine themselves. 

Also, just to clarify, many enterprises see their "digitalization" journey as encompassing decisions to use SaaS type cloud services, deploy on IaaS cloud infrastructure, incorporate PaaS type of services, etc. These are usually driven by cost, agility, and other management factors. Such decisions are not “digital” in our sense of the term; as discussed in Digital: One, Two, Three, digital is primarily about human experiences, and the business cases that spring from these new interactions. We’ll reaffirm this from time to time. 

Regarding technology: As my posts get deeper into the nuanced functioning of digital transformation and the indispensible API program and data teams within it, I refer to the capabilities of platforms, including digital engagement platforms, big data platform, data pipeline platform, API platform, and IoT platform with the assumption that the enterprise has adopted a best-of-breed approach. This means I simply describe the functionality that such platforms are expected to have. For the API platform, the model is Apigee; for the data pipeline platform, the model is Ascend.io; for cloud platforms, the model is Google Cloud. For others, I synthesize capabilities that I have encountered across various systems and vendors without having a singular one in mind. 

On a more personal note: the photos used in the headlines of the blog entries are from my travels, holding executive workshops around the world. 

Please let me know what areas of your business you are looking to transform, I am always looking for opportunities to help and learn!