AWS Podcast Episode #718 Summary: "From Cost Center to Value Creator: How IT Automation Creates Business Value"
Release Date: April 28, 2025
Host: Simon Elisha
Guests:
- Adrian San Miguel, Principal Enterprise Architect at Adabisca
- Greg Harris, Senior Solutions Architect, Texas-based
Introduction
In Episode #718 of the Official AWS Podcast, host Simon Elisha engages in a deep conversation with Adrian San Miguel and Greg Harris about transforming IT departments from perceived cost centers into significant value creators for businesses. The discussion revolves around leveraging IT automation and AWS services to drive business outcomes, enhance performance, and build trust between IT and business stakeholders.
Shifting IT from Cost Center to Value Creator
Economic Pressures and IT Perception
Adrian San Miguel begins by addressing the macroeconomic headwinds that have reignited the age-old perception of IT as a cost center. He observes, “For the first time in quite some time it is transforming itself from a cost center to a revenue generator” (01:54).
From Cost to Revenue Generation
Adrian highlights a partner’s success story where automation transformed their invoicing process from 84 hours to 2 hours. He states:
“They were able to cut a business process for month-end invoices for about 84 hours by using AI and using AWS services in about an hour and a half, two hours tops.” (04:19)
This shift not only reduced operational costs but also enhanced accuracy and customer satisfaction, positioning IT as a strategic business enabler.
Importance of Automation
Automation as a Catalyst
Simon emphasizes the critical role of automation in freeing IT teams from the “firefighting” mode, allowing them to engage more strategically with business units:
“Automate as much as you can because that actually frees your time from firefighting to actually having these conversations.” (26:18)
Case Example: Invoicing Automation
Adrian shares how automation led to fewer manual interventions:
“Just let the bots, let the automation, the self-healing value, self silicon over carbon. Let the machines do their thing so we can help you, the business start realizing that revenue...” (05:25)
Architectural Insights: Using AWS Services
Comprehensive Use of AWS Managed Services
Adrian delves into the technical backbone that supports the transformation:
“The partner is making use of just about every single one of our AWS managed services, but also is a strong proponent of automation by default.” (08:23)
Infrastructure as Code and Automation Tools
Key technologies highlighted include:
- Terraform: For infrastructure as code, ensuring consistency and repeatability.
- AWS Bedrock & Claude Haiku Model: Core components for AI-driven processes.
- EKS, SageMaker, DynamoDB: For scalable, managed Kubernetes, machine learning, and NoSQL databases respectively.
- EC2 Image Builder & SSM Patch Manager: For automated updates and maintenance.
Adrian states:
“Everything is automation by default. They're a Terraform shop. Everything is defined as code checked into a centralized repository...” (08:23)
Enhancing Performance with Advanced Architectures
Adrian explains the evolution from simple object storage to tiered storage solutions for optimal performance:
“They introduced an EFS layer in front of it to effectively serve as that intermediary to help determine and judge what type of usage...” (12:31)
This architectural sophistication enabled the partner to handle complex queries efficiently, drastically reducing processing times.
Case Study: Texas A&M
Organizational Transformation
Greg Harris shares insights from his work with Texas A&M University, illustrating the transformative impact of IT automation:
“They've gone from a couple of weeks to just a few minutes and it is fully automated now...” (24:11)
Overcoming Challenges with Serverless Solutions
Key projects discussed include:
-
Covid Dashboard Development:
- Initial Challenge: Quick deployment of a dashboard using QuickSight, which initially couldn’t support public shared dashboards.
- Solution: Developed a serverless dashboard using Athena, S3, and Redcap within a tight timeframe.
- Outcome: Successfully deployed in days, fostering immense trust and reliability.
-
Vaccination Scheduling System:
- Issue: The initial RDS-backed deployment was unstable, leading to crashes during high demand.
- Solution: Overhauled architecture with optimized database queries and enhanced RDS solutions.
- Result: Achieved seamless scalability, handling 48,000 unique users without downtime.
-
Website Deployment Optimization:
- Challenge: Manual, time-consuming VM-based deployments led to backlogs and inefficiencies.
- Solution: Transitioned to a serverless architecture using Lambda, S3, CloudFront, and Terraform.
- Impact: Reduced deployment time from weeks to minutes, significantly boosting operational efficiency.
Greg notes:
“We went from a couple of weeks to just a few minutes and it is fully automated now...” (24:31)
Building Trust with Business Stakeholders
Bridging the IT-Business Gap
Both Adrian and Greg emphasize the importance of IT professionals engaging directly with business units to understand and address their specific challenges. Greg mentions:
“We are trying to generate the value for the organization and multiply the value for the organization...” (25:23)
Communication and Trust Building
Adrian adds:
“They appreciate profoundly approaching it in a business sense. What can we do for you? What are the type of things that bother you...” (27:18)
By adopting a business-centric approach, IT teams can build credibility and foster collaborative relationships with non-technical stakeholders.
The Role of Security
Security as a Foundation
Greg highlights that integrating security into automation processes is crucial for public sector and enterprise environments:
“The way that we bring security to the table as well, and that just underpins everything that we do...” (27:42)
Enhancing Trust Through Security Practices
By leveraging AWS security services and showcasing compliance with stringent standards, IT teams can alleviate business concerns about cloud security, thereby facilitating smoother adoption of automated solutions.
Conclusion
The episode underscores the transformative potential of IT automation in shifting the perception of IT from a cost center to a strategic value creator. By leveraging AWS managed services, adopting Infrastructure as Code, and fostering direct communication with business stakeholders, organizations can achieve significant operational efficiencies, enhance performance, and build robust trust between IT and business units.
Notable Quotes:
- Adrian San Miguel (01:54): “For the first time in quite some time it is transforming itself from a cost center to a revenue generator.”
- Adrian San Miguel (04:19): “They were able to cut a business process for month-end invoices for about 84 hours by using AI and using AWS services in about an hour and a half, two hours tops.”
- Simon Elisha (26:18): “Automate as much as you can because that actually frees your time from firefighting to actually having these conversations.”
- Greg Harris (24:31): “We went from a couple of weeks to just a few minutes and it is fully automated now...”
Key Takeaways:
- Automation is Essential: Streamlining repetitive tasks through automation frees IT resources to focus on strategic initiatives.
- Leverage AWS Services: Utilizing a comprehensive suite of AWS managed services can enhance performance and scalability.
- Build Trust Through Communication: Engaging with business stakeholders to understand their needs fosters collaboration and positions IT as a business partner.
- Incorporate Security: Embedding security into automated processes builds confidence and ensures compliance with industry standards.
For more insights and updates, visit the Official AWS Podcast.
Timestamp Guide
- 00:00 – Episode Introduction
- 01:54 – Shift from Cost Center to Revenue Generator
- 04:19 – Impact of Automation on Invoicing
- 08:23 – Use of AWS Managed Services and Automation
- 12:31 – Architectural Enhancements
- 24:11 – Case Study: Texas A&M's Transformation
- 25:23 – Value Generation in Public Sector
- 26:18 – Importance of Automation in IT
- 27:18 – Building Trust with Business Teams
- 27:42 – Integrating Security into Automation
Note: Timestamps correspond to the excerpted segments of the podcast transcript provided.