What did 2015 mean to Operational System?

As we enter the final weeks of 2015, did it live up to what we expected, what trends did it star to cement into Operational System design.

These are just some of observations I have seen:

1/ Shift to significant operational transformation programs, vs just projects, as accelerated in the second half of 2015. Certainly we have seen a lot of projects initially started or investigated as projects in 2014, in 2015 reemerge as multi-site, multiyear transformation programs. With the understanding that these programs are on journey both in technology, but also operational goals/ outcomes, and culture.

Certainly a couple of us have seen a significant amount of time allocated to evolving these opportunities working with the customer to help define their outcomes, the approaches, this has been and is still continuing as educational process for all involved. This is fundamentally changing the engagement models between end user vendors and engineering houses as a partnership, requiring changes on both sides.

2/ Cyber Security/ Application Security: This continues to grow as a huge area of interest, but this year it shifted not only how to secure, but how to maintain successfully, evolve their business and agile operations in a tighter security model. Realization that cost is not just in setting up a secure operational environment, but the cost of evolving and sustaining it while maintaining an agile business requires a strategy on it’s own.

3/ Operational Awareness/ Effectiveness: Understanding, not the “aging workforce” but the transformation in both “workforce culture/ approach” and transformation in “Workspace”  are real. That today's and last ten years of operational systems will not satisfy the agile decisions that required, but also the changing workspace culture and methods. The amount of workshops and strategies sessions I have asked to be involved in 2015 was three times that of 2014, and they were clear strategic discussions around people and how people will operate in the future.

4/ Understanding and reality of Internet of Things: The hype has been here and continues around IOT. But there has been some real sole searching in many industrial companies to understanding what it means to them. Many it dawned as the operational alignment end efficiencies they have in the “walls of the plant” now can extend to the “mobile plant”. In Oil and Gas, and Mining moving to include “extraction” wells, equipment in the operational process in real-time. In many other industries, it moved the mobile receivables plants, distribution trucks and then the distribution centers, etc. to be included in the “end to end” operational control.

5/ Realization that the Operational architecture of the future near and long term will have Internet and “cloud” as a natural part of it, and we must design the security, and systems assuming on premise and off premise architecture.

All of the above does surprise us, based on the trends, but it is good to see the shift from talk to reality. I would expect that 2016 this strategic journey programs to increase. Certainly the scope of operational responsibility is changing include a end to end supply chain, that means move outside the plant walls with the traditional systems, and we will see the alignment of Process operations and utility operations (power) into one operational strategy and control.   

Have a very happy holiday season and may 2016 continue the momentum to deliver operational solutions that will handle the "operational transformation" happening around us.