Azure Unblogged - How to get Azure unblocked with Microsoft Services

Hey, I’m here with Annika and Michel from Microsoft Consulting Services which are here from Microsoft Ready and we want to a little bit talk about their job and what they’re doing. So Michel, can you tell me what are you doing working in consulting services? >> Sure, thanks. So basically, I am an architect in the Solution Architect office, that’s a group in the CTO office. It’s a pretty long title as you can imagine. Our job is to unblock delivery which means we are driving readiness, capabilities on the delivery part in an offering, which means the instructions for Project Managers, Architects, and Consultants how to implement.

00:44 - But also when things get more complicated and so-called escalations for strategic opportunities, then we are on point to help the guys on the ground to make things work. >> Okay. So you basically help these large enterprises getting the architecture right, their Cloud setup right, and if there are escalations, which I guess there are never escalations,so then you help as well? >> Yeah, it’s a three-pillar split. The main task will be to help our own folks to make them successful. So the team I’m part of, so it’s a worldwide team, about 15 people are doing a similar job for different technologies. >> Yeah. >> They are difficult sometimes but the idea is that we enable the others.

01:29 - So the secure infrastructure domain where we belong into has about 3,500 people. So it’s all about scale. So if you define an offer, it should be applicable for many others in all the regions that they can use that, and then make it specific whatever customer scenario. So that is the idea. So that’s why I call it unblock delivery and that has different aspects. Of course, escalations is the most interesting part but also the most challenging. But my main role these days is about the delivery IP and the readiness of the consultants.

01:59 - >> So many of our audience right now would ask, you’re dealing with all these Azure stuff, and Azure is huge, is there any particular ways of technology you’re working with or services or basically covering almost everything? >> So what we are trying to address here, and that was also the reason why we came to Redmond these days, we had a boot camp to get a few more consultants and architects trained up, how we implement landing zones, enterprise control points in Azure. The idea here is they need to have the Azure knowledge already. So we have all the push to go through the certifications. So you have to do that as well, I assume. So everyone at Microsoft, being technical or non-technical, had to go through the certification pass. So our consultants and architects have already that level, but what is missing is how to apply that to a certain offer.

02:47 - A huge challenge there is we need to go into this HR way of working. That’s also the reason why I have Annika with me as an HR Project Manager. >> Okay. That sounds super interesting, HR project management sounds for me, that’s super interesting if you do that. So what is your part of that? What are you doing? >> My part is we’re talking here about digital transformation projects, and it’s not only about technology here, it’s also that mindset shift in terms of how do we deliver, how do we provide value to our customers, not only as Microsoft but also from our perspectives too, how do we enable our customers to provide value to their customers. So that’s the heart of the digital transformation we have here with our customers.

03:30 - So that technology side, but also on the other hand, how can we enable the customer to continuously deliver or provide value. Here, Agile is a new approach that is evolving. We started with Waterfall, like sequential faces of different activities, but then in the end, you design something which would be then out of that user. With Agile, which also comes from software development, we have the opportunity to ourselves deliver projects with flexibility and also with the focus on continuous delivery of value, but then also, enable our customers who are not there yet though. So we’re getting to Agile but it’s a long process. >> Yeah, I think that’s very important.

04:20 - When I did work as a consultant out there and we went from these classic IT projects where we have basically, this is the concept, we’re going to implement this the way it is, and that’s it, and we had a start and an end point. Now, with having the Cloud where services change all the time, which concepts maybe need to adjust, I guess it’s very difficult for customers but also for us to understand how do we actually go forward. I think that’s what you’re addressing, right? >> Yeah, that’s also why my role is two-fold. So on the one hand, we need to enable our consultants, also our architects to follow that Agile approach, how can we adjust to changing customer requirements, to changing technology, but also on the other hand, how can we enable our customers to apply that particular mindset in order to have them providing value to their customers. >> Yeah, makes total sense. Now we’ve talked a little bit of what you’re doing and I think a lot of people are asking how does that look like in real work.

05:22 - So what are the real engagements you had in the last couple of times which you want to talk about? You can share a little bit of information with what you are doing there. >> Well, alluding to that, we started to redefine how we implement the Azure landing zones, especially because we need to be more on-point. Services are changing but also requirements do change. If a customer is starting with Azure, then they start to realize, “Well, we can do much more,” or then maybe some priorities are shifting. So we need to have iterative design process.

05:54 - So you start with a minimal functional design or an MVP and then you need to have a vision where you want to land, but you can’t fix everything on day one. If you go back to our Hyper-V days, it was five-years life cycle. You knew what can be done, what can’t be done. So basically, that mindset is still very much out and that’s what we need to break through. But also, services role is I would say a little bit different. We need to make the market, we need to lead with newest technology, we need to enable that with our customers and partners. So that’s why we should not go the easiest path. It’s really about leaving an impact, a big footprint to make sure that the customer is able to use Azure in the way it was designed for. >> Okay. That makes a lot of sense. When we speak to customers, it’s not just about creating a virtual machine and that’s it, and then create thousands of virtual machines and that’s it. Really having that control over the environment, making sure everything is in the right place, and getting started in the right way, I think that’s hugely important part.

06:52 - So what is the thing you get started on, to basically get started when you talk to a customer in a technical way? Obviously, there’s a lot of conversation going on but what are the tools you would use for this? >> So I think one highlight we share here is we don’t use slides anymore. >> Okay. >> So the tool is Whiteboard, and as the Office company, we love PowerPoint and I think every consultant has thousands of texts. The idea is not to make use of them anymore, so really go in and say, “Well, let’s start on a blank sheet of paper and just do the requirement engineering.” We should definitely make sure that we harvest all the concerns or the requirements, especially when we talk about compliance and control, as you mentioned. We need to understand what is the bigger picture.

07:43 - So that’s why our process is really to harvest as much as possible, to understand the customer, to learn from them, and then come up with our opinion on what is our design proposal. That will be then to say, “Well, on that, we’re going to build.” So Whiteboard is the tool. >> Yeah. It’s so funny when you mentioned the slide deck. I remember in the early days where we had the slide decks and then what happened was basically we always needed to update because they were outdated basically a day later on when we created them because everything changed again. So there needs to be a clear approach, shifting mindset a little bit. >> So there’s a side note to it. On one hand, I think it’s much cooler to use the Whiteboard and then you can leave bigger impact and interact better with the customer.

08:29 - On the other hand, I share that I’m responsible for delivery IP which means that I am certainly accountable or responsible to get the slide deck fixed and updated all the time. So if I look at the workload which would end up on my shoulders, you know what? Whiteboard is much cooler. So we get rid of really I think 800-1,000 slides which were used in older days. That was a complete different approach, and first reaction from our delivery folks is, “Wow, I need to learn something completely new?” No, it’s actually what we are doing as consultants any day. >> Yeah. You just use a different tool or you don’t use a different tool.

09:07 - >> Everyone use Whiteboard already but it was very easy to have these PowerPoint decks as a support. Customers do not have the knowledge, then you can go really deep. But on the other hand also, the readiness from our customers, they matured a lot. So I think that everyone had interactions with a Cloud provider already these days. There’s a lot of compete, of course, that people are starting with other Clouds, which is fairly okay. Not everyone can be perfect.

09:35 - So then basically, our Cloud has done something where we need to identify where do we fit in. But we don’t need to go in, say, “Well, that’s a private Cloud, hybrid Cloud, public Cloud.” These conversations are definitely not required anymore. Not by us in services, there are other teams taking care of that and I think you guys do an amazing job to share all these technical information which is required to get people ready. >> I hope we do. There’s still also a long way to go. So you shared a little bit about what you’re doing and how that looks like.

10:03 - So how is it for you? How do you engage with customers or your job? >> Actually, it’s easier just to say, “Okay, we need to enable the customer to do Agile.” When I’m talking about Agile, because there’s usually some confusion about the term, it’s a methodology. We should then execute through different frameworks such as Scrum or Kanban. So when I now switch to maybe Scrum, the concept is the same. So it just enables flexibility and also that focus on continuous delivery of value.

10:36 - So how do I approach the customer? On the one hand, we have our consultants enabling the customer to do cool technology stuff. Here in that context, we are talking about digital transformation projects, Cloud enablement projects. The focus is on automation. So we do a lot of infrastructure as code. >> Yeah. >> So that’s a consultant job. I set the framework, so to say, to have the consultants transfer knowledge to all customers. So we have like from my side, I organize brown bag sessions with the customer. We have buddy program. So that’s the technical focus. But on the other hand, it’s actually even more difficult because you encounter not only the development teams of the customer but basically the whole organization.

11:23 - Because again, that’s a mindset shift going from Waterfall to Agile. This doesn’t happen overnight and it’s not only about just executing Scrum ceremonies or so. It’s really how do I engage the customer with it. Sometimes, it’s easy because the customer already wants to do Agile so they at least are motivated to change. But then you come back to that, let’s say, project delivery discussions, and it appears, “Okay, you want to do Agile but you also asked me for milestones and the project plan or also tracking of deliverables.

” 12:04 - So what is needed here is really some change management. This cannot only be done by myself and my project management role but I’m there to have discussion with the customer, create awareness throughout the whole customer organization so that from sea level to the development teams, everyone knows, “Okay, we are changing and it’s for a reason and it’s good.” It’s actually easier to do that with the development teams because they’re keen to apply that new way of working because they’re able to do really cool stuff in a very short duration. Because with Agile, you have focus on you deliver value, and by value, I mean product increments within weeks. So in a Scrum concept, there would be 2-4 weeks and then you have a potentially releasable product.

12:57 - It’s not so difficult because they think it’s cool, although at the beginning, usually everyone is hesitant. >> You fall probably back, right? It happens like, “Okay. We’ll start doing it,” and at one point, you fall back in this old mythology. Is that something you see as well? >> Not necessary again with the development teams because they get also support from our consultants who already apply that new mindset, and they learn quickly. >> Okay. >> But again, the customer project management or the customer sponsors were usually driving the project or sponsoring the project. There, it’s difficult.

13:37 - When you go into the steering committee, for example, these are guys who provide the budget and they want to see results, which is totally understandable. What they don’t see is there are continuous results but they just see a small picture out of it. So that’s why they continue asking about deliverables, what has been achieved. There needs to be some switch. So how do we tackle that? We usually start especially with that Cloud transformation or foundational project. We start with just doing Waterfall, and while we are doing Waterfall, we already do knowledge transfer sessions.

14:18 - Also sometimes, if we have the budget, bring in an Agile coach. >> Okay. >> So we prepare the customer slowly for that Agile delivery. >> You’re not just coming in and [inaudible] with it. >> They wont work. Although they are willing to do Agile, they don’t know what it is, they don’t know what is required. Even with their thing, they are doing Agile already. It’s not what they’re really executing. So we take necessary time to prepare the costumer and then transition smoothly. That’s like a hybrid approach. We call it Waterscrumfall. >> Okay. >> It kind of funny. >> But it’s also a journey. Even though the customer has done already something in Azure, has gained experience, it’s really how do we take them from the starting point when we understand what has to be done, we create the design. The idea is not to have a hundred-page design document anymore, it has to be reviewed and approved. So it’s also here that the process to get that design documented, to drive decisions, to attract decisions should be more interactive, iterative, agile, to make sure that we really have that flow and do not get stopped. So the idea is the way we structure our engagement, that we show value every two weeks in the sprint or milestone, whatever you call it.

15:31 - But it’s really to show back results very quickly and then to adjust when needed. But that’s the landing zone concept when you start to build your Azure infrastructure, the first shared infrastructure case or whatever. But later on, we transfer that into a competence center. So I think it’s important that if you’re there for 6-8 week, you don’t leave that footprint. Of course, you’ll give all the modules used to have the infrastructure as code setup done.

15:58 - So we are relying on Azure DevOps for example, [inaudible] pipelines, standardized modules to really set everything up. But the mindset, that needs time, and then also it’s just the first MVP. So what is required in addition? So what other initiatives are we supporting with the customer? This Cloud Center of Excellence is really a very strong initiative. There are Gartner studies around data. I think everyone wants to do it. The way we are delivering is we have this body system that you have Microsoft people and people from the customer and you have these different teams to really develop the products which are supporting the business. So it’s not focused on IT, it’s really to enable the business to be successful, to drive everything into the Cloud and to use the full potential of the Cloud in a controlled way, secure with strong governance in a managed environment. >> I like that.

When I was thinking about 16:50 - consulting services, I was always thinking, “Okay. Now I have just some consultant show me the technology part.” Especially we have now all the Cloud things happening, I see that there’s much more going on which you need to do next t like just implementing technology, but also changing the mindset and the processes, and maybe even, I don’t know, the organizational structure of companies, how they’re building their teams and stuff like that. >> I think that goes hand in hand with this Competence Center approach. You have these COEs or however you name it.

17:19 - It’s a function which needs to work differently. So in the past, standard IT and network team, storage team, hypervisor teams, without calling the names. But that is different in the Cloud. You need different personas, you need different skills, and different ways of interacting. I think that has to change in this function. Organizational change is really helping to build a new group of people, but it is also to reuse them.

17:47 - Give them the time to change into a Cloud model and to operate the Cloud as it deserves it and not to apply an on-premises concept to the new way of work. So I think that’s something where we try to be very supportive that we have over a period of multiple months, 6-12 to be very effective, but then also to leave that footprint. The idea is that we can step out at some point. So it’s not that we are outsourcing, not at all. Enterprise service is here, I call it as an icebreaker, to help them, to get the path through, or if you are into movies like Fast and the Furious, when you need to catch up with your competitor, you just inject some additional gas and then you get really a boost.

18:31 - I think that mindset we have gained internally at Microsoft, that’s what we want to share. >> Yeah. >> Go back six, seven years, we had to change from a Windows license company to Cloud consumption. That was a huge transformation we went through, and that learning, we share with our customers. >> Also like a coach. It’s more like not just implementing stuff, it’s really about coaching the customer to do the right thing and work with the Cloud. >> So we’re actually back at what’s called consulting.

18:58 - We’re working as Microsoft Consulting Services years back. We came there, provided the technology, and left. Right now, that’s why I’m talking about Cloud enablement projects. We are there not only to provide the customer with necessary technology but also to enable the customer to actually use that technology. That’s at the heart of that Cloud Center of Excellence projects. >> So this is all superfine.

19:24 - I think a lot of companies basically go with that approach, especially because you can [inaudible] which value and knowledge doing these projects. So how do customers engage or start an engagement with consulting services and where would you point out if someone wants to know more about these offerings and setups and processes and all that we have here? If they want to know and learn more about it, where would you send them? >> So I think regular readiness, the Cloud Adoption Framework is a very good starting point. Our services are contributing to engineering content, the customer success units, so the other entities who are enabling customers to move to the Cloud. So we are collaborating with our learning, share our IP so that will be published in their sites. We don’t have our own space on Docs, we don’t need that, so it should be one voice.

20:12 - What we are having is enterprise service blogs where we share our stories as well and the reference cases. So I think that’s another good entry point to know more about what we are able to do, how we can help. But then the local representatives and the subsidiaries, they are always here to help. If you have an account manager, an account delivery executive, and account manager, we have so many roles. If you know someone, say, “Well, I want to speak to services,” I think they can help.

20:40 - Otherwise, they can reach out to you or me and we will redirect it to the right place. >> Absolutely. With that, I want to say thank you very much for being here. I learned a lot about how you do and start with Cloud projects, especially in large enterprises. For you, I put all the links and everything in the description if you want to know more about how you engage with consulting services or about the Cloud Adoption Framework as well as your blogs and social media links into description. Thank you very much. >> Thanks. [MUSIC] .