Enterprise Automation Excellence

Ep. 32 - The Shift to Agentic Observability: From Insight to Autonomous Action

AI is reshaping the observability market, bringing greater ability to detect patterns and predict issues that may occur in the future. In this episode, Arturo Oliver (Head of Market Strategy, ScienceLogic) joins Dan Twing and Tom O'Rourke to discuss three major shifts: from reactive problem diagnosis to proactive prevention; from noise-filtering to AI-driven recommendations; and from scripted automation to agents that can take action independently. The episode tackles the harder, long-term challenge of connecting AI agents together across different tools and systems.   Key Points * Observability shifting from retrospective root-cause analysis to forward-looking prediction and prevention * AI agents organized in layered, specialized roles reflecting real enterprise IT structures * Trust and transparency as primary barriers to adoption * Traditional telemetry insufficient; intent and expected outcomes required for meaningful context * The “orchestrator of orchestrators” as an unresolved challenge in aligning intent and policy across systems Recommendations for Automation Leaders 1. Don't be a late adopter – look for quick wins with current agentic AI technology, don't wait for the technology to fully mature 2. Prioritize prevention over recovery – focus on preventing incidents, not fighting fires 3. Deliver intelligence to the right people at the right time – agentic systems should make your team more productive, not bury them in more data 4. Trust and transparency are non-negotiable – AI insights and recommendations must be verifiable, traceable and auditable 5. Focus on building institutional knowledge - capture and share your learnings as you apply agents and evolve new solutions   Links Arturo Oliver: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arturooliver/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/arturooliver/] ScienceLogic: https://sciencelogic.com [https://sciencelogic.com]  Footer EAE Podcast Home: https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence [https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence] Feedback & Questions: mailto: eaepodcast@emausa.com [eaepodcast@emausa.com]

Ep. 31 - Governed Agentic AI: Business-Driven Orchestration Transforming ERP Without Replacement

Transforming the business does not require expensive technology changes, it can be accomplished through business partnership and better use of existing systems and information. In this episode, Rich Corbridge (CIO, SEGRO plc) joins Dan Twing and Tom O'Rourke to discuss how they are using automation and AI to significantly improve their ERP capabilities, without replacing their ERP systems. Focusing on business value, SEGRO is piloting AI-enable orchestration to create workbenches that tie together disparate systems for timely access to information, improving decision making. Crucially, this approach introduces agentic AI within a centralized orchestration model, ensuring governance, consistency, and controlled deployment rather than uncoordinated agent sprawl. Key Points * Business value drove technology selection and the decision to supplement existing ERP systems rather than replacing them * A centralized approach balances consistency with localized customizations * Partnering with two vendors with different engagement styles provided valuable insights * ROI was defined upfront, each pilot process had specific targets before testing began * Technology change is happening quickly, SEGRO's deliberate approach is making them culturally ready for rapid change. * Agentic AI is being deployed within a centralized orchestration framework to maintain control and avoid fragmented, independent agent development Takeaways for Automation Leaders * Build alliances with business leaders before starting the technology selection process * A structured evaluation of AI-enabled orchestration outperforms giving everyone tools to built their own agents * Cultural change in the IT team is as important as cultural change in the business * Momentum comes from demonstrating what is possible * Success is defined as business impact, SEGRO is using orchestration to grow the business without increasing staff or operational costs Links Rich Corbridge on LinkedIn https://www.segro.com/ [https://www.segro.com/] Footer EAE Podcast Home: https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence [https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence] Feedback & Questions: mailto@emausa.com

Ep. 30 - From Order Taker to Change Agent

Enterprise automation leaders must maintain reliable services supporting business and operational processes while also driving change in their organizations. In this episode, Dan Twing and Tom O'Rourke discuss the challenges and opportunities of becoming a change agent, and why it is important to step forward rather than waiting for direction from above. They advocate behaving like an entrepreneur in identifying problems to be solved, building business cases, and actively selling their proposals to leadership.Key Points * Many automation groups only get attention when something is broken, functioning as a service rather than being recognized as a strategic asset * Senior managers often do not understand how automation enables the business * Automation leaders often wait for someone above them to provide direction on when to act * No matter where you are in the organization, you have a role to play in moving change forward * Automation leaders need to behave like entrepreneurs, driving change to improve their business impact * Marketing and selling are not dirty words; automation leaders must frame proposals in business terms, understand executive and stakeholder priorities, and actively communicate the value automation delivers. Takeaways for Automation Leaders 1. Create a "State of Automation" briefing that your management and non-technical stakeholders can read to understand why automation matters to the business 2. Meet with your management to understand: - their expectations of what the automation team needs to work on, - what business initiatives automation should be performing, and - whether the leadership team feels the automation team is moving quickly enough 3. Design and propose a small pilot where automation can deliver a measurable business improvement References 1. Intrapreneurship (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrapreneurship 2. Intrapreneuring: Why You Don't Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur, Gifford Pinchot III, (Harper & Row, 1985) - out-of-print FooterEAE Podcast Home: https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellenceFeedback & Questions: mailto:eaepodcast@emausa.com

Ep. 29 - AI Automation Anxiety: Take a Breath, Back to Fundamentals

The current hype about AI has left many enterprise automation leaders feeling anxious about how they will integrate these rapidly evolving AI solutions whilemaintaining reliability and resilience. Hosts Dan Twing and Tom O'Rourke recommend taking a pause to recognize that there are more similarities than differences with past waves of integrations of new technologies into automation platforms. These integrations succeeded by following proven change management practices: start with small pilots, iterate based on learnings, collaboration with stakeholders, and maintaining production discipline.    Key Points * AI agents are just another process type to be managed * Core automation principles remain unchanged, ensuring that the right actions happen at the right time applies equally to AI workloads * Technology adoption fails more frequently from coordination failures than from technical issues * Choose pilots based on readiness and suitability for an iterative, learning approach * Assess your observability capabilities, AI can introduce non-deterministic execution and outcomes, requiring a higher level of monitoring than traditional applications    Takeaways for Automation Leaders * Invest in expanding your observability capabilities now, even there's no immediate need for AI integration. * Improve your teams cross-functional collaboration skills, focusing on business, technical and operations teams. * Be prepared, tart looking for your AI "learning candidate" automation use cases and platform touch points.  Footer EAE Podcast Home: https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence [https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence] Feedback & Questions: mailto:eaepodcast@emausa.com [eaepodcast@emausa.com]

Ep. 28 - From AI Hype to Operational Reality: Insights from Gartner IO&CS25

Enterprise IT continues to evolve rapidly as organizations look for effective ways to use AI and other automation tools to streamline their processes. In this episode, Dan Twing and Tom O'Rourke discuss Tom's learnings from December's Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference. Topics include the emerging pragmatism around AI, continuous operations, managing the automation portfolio as a platform, and the importance of communicating automation value in business terms. The episode reinforces the need for automation leaders to focus on business outcomes and maintain reliability as the technology landscape changes. Key Points * Top-down pressure to adopt AI is solution-driven rather than problem-focused * Real autonomy in agentic AI remains elusive, with many solutions underperforming or costing much more than projected * Platform-centric I&O represents the next maturity stage for infrastructure management, automation leaders should adopt this approach as they evaluate which tools belong in their portfolio * While AI tools continue to improve rapidly, I&O leaders should anticipate that costs will rise to reflect the large amounts of money being invested.  Takeaways for Automation Leaders * AI is automation, as the hype dissipates the operation of these tools will wind up in the automation center of excellence. * Addressing tech debt must be framed in business enablement, enabling faster delivery of new capabilities, while improving reliability and resilience. * AI will transform expectations around automation, increasing demand and requiring more agility to satisfy business needs.  Links Episode 8 - Five Key Trends from Gartner I&O 2024:  https://em360tech.com/podcasts/episode-8-five-key-trends-gartner-io-2024-ai-automation-and-evolution-technical-leadership [https://em360tech.com/podcasts/episode-8-five-key-trends-gartner-io-2024-ai-automation-and-evolution-technical-leadership]   EAE Podcast Home: https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence [https://em360tech.com/podcast-series/enterprise-automation-excellence]   Feedback & Questions: mailto:eaepodcast@emausa.com [eaepodcast@emausa.com]