How to solve the "problem of engineers becoming too dependent on each other"? Discussing operational issues

This is Umi Fujisawa from Public Relations

On September 20, 2019, the Japan MSP Association held its "Operational Issues Identification Working Group" meeting in Osaka!

Why do we do this?

1. Survey of the current state of operations at Japanese MSP operators
2. Identify the issues faced by the operational field

With this goal in mind, MSP operators meet regularly to carry out activities

This time, we were joined by Extrance , Heartbeats , Clara Online , and Skyarch , all members of the Japan MSP Association. From Beyond, in addition to CEO Haraoka and Director Morita, several engineers involved in operations also participated.

↑The opening greeting was given by Fujisaki from Heart Beats. He always wears a tracksuit

Operational role model study session

First, Mr. Hatano from the Investment Design Lab gave a presentation on the theme of "The Value of Investment and Role Models."

• What are the operational challenges?
• First of all, what is operation?
• What should the structure of the people who will be running the system be?

We shared the concerns that MSP operators have and considered organizational structures to address these issues

Operational challenges

■High workload...work becomes more complex

■ Personalized... Only specific people can perform the work.

■Invisible cost-benefit analysis... Inappropriate evaluation of operations

To solve these problems, it is necessary to structure the operations

1. It's easier for people to understand
2. The system is easy to handle
3. Verifying logical correctness

Creating such a system allows for proper evaluation, handover, and automation

In our view, the essence of operations for an MSP provider is"to ensure the continuation and growth of our clients' businesses.

We believe the value of our operations is determined by whether we work together with our clients to solve their challenges and contribute to their business continuity and growth. To achieve this, not only is business continuity (overall optimization of the company) necessary, but so is the continuity of operational tasks (partial optimization of the field)

Role model for operations

Based on Mr. Hatano's hypothesis that "operations don't necessarily have to be entirely de-personalized , and there are aspects where personalization is necessary," he explained the ideal operational role model for MSP providers.

Personalization is good (innovativeness and flexibility are valued).

• Overall Management

Someone who can manage everything related to operations (operations manager)

• Overall Optimization Engineer

Someone who can design operations at the operational site (architect)

People who can manage organizations and human resources (VPoE)

• Service Enhancement Engineer

People who can make appropriate proposals to customers (sales)

People who can properly understand customer requests (support)

• Technically Enhanced Engineer

Someone who can quickly resolve problems (rescue)

Someone who can lead the technical direction (tech lead)

Someone who can "concretely" utilize existing in-house technology (implementation)

Acting as a bridge between subordinates and non-subordinates

• Certified Engineer

People who can depersonalize personal tasks

Non-personal is good (continuity and reproducibility are valuable)

• Associate Member

Someone who can properly perform non-personalized tasks

 

To ensure the continuity of operations, the challenge lies in how to de-personalize tasks that currently rely on specific individuals. What is most needed are "regular engineers who can use their expertise to bridge the gap between those who rely on specific individuals and those who do not."

1. Logical ability: Emphasize and practice logical correctness
2. Ability to abstract: Ability to model objects in an easy-to-handle way
3. Ability to concretize: Able to optimize by facing the actual situation and reality

The first step in acquiring these skills is to write proper procedure manuals

Internal roles of each company

After the study session, participating companies Extrans and Beyond presented their internal operational roles

↑ Mr. Niwa, CEO of Xtrance. When he started the company, there were only five people running it, and Mr. Niwa grew the company while working in sales. As expected from someone with a sales background, his talk was interesting and easy to understand

↑ Kashiwagi, the leader of the Operations Management Division from Beyond, took the stage. He talked about the current state of the operations system and the issues that need to be resolved in the future, bragging about his successful weight loss

Now that Mr. Hadano and Mr. Niwa have shared their operational methods with us, it looks like this will be an opportunity for us to reconsider our internal structure

By maintaining 24/7 manned monitoring by engineers, Beyond will continue toprioritizeoperations in its business operations to ensure the continuity of our customers' services!