The New Automation Mindset: AI + Automation + Integration

H&M’s Head of Integration is Making IT More Agile with APIs


Listen Later

In this episode, Markus Zirn and Ramak Robinson explore the power of digital transformation through the evolution of APIs. Ramak shares how H&M built a robust integration framework with over 600 APIs and 500 events, driving the organization toward a more modern, agile IT landscape. They dive into the strategic shift toward composable and event-driven architectures, the lessons learned in fostering business-IT collaboration, and the role of modularity in streamlining operations. Ramak also offers insights into the future of IT, from AI-driven orchestration to business process automation, and how organizations can stay ahead in an ever-changing digital world.

Timestamps

00:00 Episode Start

02:50 Ramak's journey at H&M

05:55 Impact of APIs on integration and enterprise architecture

12:15 Role of orchestration in composable architecture

17:50 Levels of orchestration

20:00 Business and IT collaboration: A cultural shift

24:05 Navigating digital transformation and lessons learned

30:20 Do your APIs provide business value?

32:30 Choosing where and when to go composable

38:15 The future of AI and orchestration

Episode Key Takeaways
  • Keep control in decentralized environments: Shifting from a centralized to a decentralized model doesn’t mean losing governance. Establish clear guidelines and oversight to keep teams aligned on best practices like API first design. This ensures consistency, quality, and seamless integration across your ecosystem.
  • Define your data models early: A strong data governance framework is key to building valuable APIs. Know how core data entities such as products, customers, and orders are structured. This clarity improves API design, boosts reusability, and simplifies integration across systems.
  • Be strategic about composability: Don’t try to apply composability everywhere at once. Start where it makes the biggest impact in high change, high reuse areas. A focused approach helps prove value quickly, making it easier to scale success across the organization.
  • Automate governance for seamless compliance: Instead of relying on documentation alone, build compliance into your development pipelines. Automated checks for naming conventions, data models, and best practices help teams stay on track without slowing them down.
Top Quote

“ I really think orchestration automation is the future if we want to have faster time to market and we want to deliver the outcome that we are set for. So also looking at the type of platforms to support us also is very super crucial. And what I'm excited about is that composability and modularity is now kind of part of our tech strategy, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how we can bring that to life.”  

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The New Automation Mindset: AI + Automation + IntegrationBy Workato

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

44 ratings


More shows like The New Automation Mindset: AI + Automation + Integration

View all
WSJ What’s News by The Wall Street Journal

WSJ What’s News

4,350 Listeners

HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

1,830 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,909 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,428 Listeners

OMR Podcast by Philipp Westermeyer - OMR

OMR Podcast

41 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,140 Listeners

Founders by David Senra

Founders

1,906 Listeners

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View by Azeem Azhar

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View

613 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

56,180 Listeners

The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Gimlet

The Journal.

5,931 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,312 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,438 Listeners

ReThinking by TED

ReThinking

611 Listeners

Joys of Compounding by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Joys of Compounding

97 Listeners

Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

Prof G Markets

1,102 Listeners