With enterprise architecture (EA) being one of the hottest topics in IT, it’s imperative to know not only how to navigate it, but how to achieve maturity. That’s why when OTIS decided to separate from their parent company United Technologies Corp. (UTC), they knew the importance of making sure their IT environment was organized and controlled during the transition. At our recent North American edition of EA Connect Days, Kevin Redding, Associate Director of Enterprise Architecture at OTIS, revealed to audiences his company's secrets to EA maturity.
Founded in 1853, OTIS is the world’s leading organization for escalator and elevator manufacturing, installation, and service. On April 23, 2020, OTIS officially separated from its parent company UTC (now Raytheon) and was given five weeks to build, understand, and establish ownership over its architectural dependencies.Identifying their goals
OTIS received a sort of “golden spreadsheet” from UTC containing 900 applications. But in addition to this, they were required to maintain the applications that they already owned and account for all the integrations between the applications. OTIS had three options on how to receive and disposition the applications. They could:
- Accept the applications in whole
- Clone the applications, and then purge the non-OTIS data
- Let UTC host the applications for a year in a TSA
Further, OTIS needed to switch the authoritative source from the “golden spreadsheet” to a purpose-built solution as the spreadsheet couldn’t fit the purpose of what OTIS really needed to do with their data. Having a purpose-built solution would allow them to:
- Increase their quality of data (e.g., eliminating duplicates)
- Have more control over their data
- Make sure their data is complete by using LeanIX Fact Sheets that tend to their specific needs
Teamwork makes the dream work
From day one, OTIS hit all three of the LeanIX use cases related to reducing complexity.
They decided to conquer their obstacles through crowdsourcing. They spread information about their IT landscape within both OTIS and UTC. This way, they were able to tap into all of their available knowledge for accuracy, efficiency, and completeness while still being able to control their information.
From the start, OTIS knew that they couldn’t take on this journey alone. So, they decided to reach out for assistance. Enter: LeanIX.
LeanIX and OTIS decided to set up a five-week “boot camp” to enable rapid onboarding and configuration of their data. The program was supposed to take place remotely for three weeks and then for two weeks onsite at OTIS’s headquarters. However, COVID-19 had other plans, forcing the “boot camp” program to become 100% remote. Although this was an unforeseen obstacle, progress could not be slowed down. LeanIX adapted by scheduling daily standup meetings, using Slack to ensure cross company-collaboration, and used both Yammer and Sharepoint for internal OTIS collaboration.
Success
So, how did OTIS accomplish their task? With the support of LeanIX, OTIS was able to:
- Categorize their applications into IT components, interfaces, and applications in their LeanIX space
- Perform bulk uploads of their applications, interfaces, and business capabilities
- Customize their workspace configuration
- Tweak their data models
- Run stakeholder training sessions
- Receive business capability frameworks to avoid starting entirely from from scratch
- Set up reports in their dashboards to easily track progress within LeanIX
In the end, with LeanIX, OTIS was able to complete a three-month project within one month, reducing the typical time to EA maturity by around 66%. They increased their number of stakeholders within the LeanIX platform from four or five to roughly 50. They were also able to handle a portfolio of about 2,000 LeanIX Fact Sheets (and growing). OTIS now has a thorough understanding of future IT spin-off activities, increased visibility for their technology teams, and secured a seat at the table for strategic decision-making.
Watch the video below to learn more about OTIS's keys to success! Also, don't forget to register for your free ticket to LeanIX's EA Connect Days in Bonn, Germany. The event will be taking place both virtually and onsite, and will feature many presentations and workshops from EAs and IT thought leaders throughout industries.
