Q&A - With Martin Sharp
Q&A - With Martin Sharp
We recently had the opportunity to connect with Martin Sharp, one of our longstanding Associates. Our aim was to gain insights into his project methodologies and aspects of his delivery. Find out what Martin had to say below…
Can you share a project that you found particularly exciting or challenging? What made it stand out to you?
Interesting question, and such a variety to choose from. One of my favourites was the first £1bn+ M&A that I was involved in as the Principal Enterprise Architect, which included developing the transition and transformation approach alongside an architecture that showed thought leadership and was over £2m more than the nearest competitor in the competitive tender back in 2007, which was when BUPA sold their hospitals to the Venture Capital firm Cinven to create Spire Healthcare. I spoke to them just prior to the 2020 pandemic and the fundamentals of the architecture are still in place, serving them well, fully cloud before cloud was even a thing.
Though for the most challenging, it is the $16bn digital asset transfer between GSK and Novartis started in 2015 that really stands out. Neither party really understood what was being sold/bought and had failed for over a year to gain consensus on what it included, how to approach the transfer and how to create a sustainable service from it. Working with many amazing, now Platform-Smart, experts like Aaron Garcia, Benson Ince and Kam Gandham, we helped both organisations understand what the assets were, then what the goal architecture (along with interim architectures) could be, creating a transition with inflight transformation approach to land in a new target operating model executed by Parexel. Throughout the journey, the biggest challenge was probably the home goals being scored by the account manager for Parexel, who we ended up nicknaming “Wild Bill” and managing this loose cannon to ensure a successful outcome was the challenge. Interestingly Platform Smart were asked back to Parexel in January 2020 to tender for another piece of work, which didn’t come off because of Covid, though Kam and I were told that the architecture and service wrapper we’d created was still one of their most profitable and efficient.
What are the fundamental principles you always consider when designing a system, and how have they evolved over your career?
When considering an Architecture for an Enterprise, the first principles are important because change is costly, change takes time, and change adds risk, therefore change for change's sake doesn’t always deliver value. So, what is it for? Can you pin it back to how it will either save money, make money, or keep the organisation out of “jail”? Why is it needed? Who is going to use it? What is the business need? And what does good look like when it is manifested?
Originally, I was very solution-orientated, though as I’ve matured, I’ve come to realise that the solution or getting to day 1 is easy, it is the day 2 operations and the benefits they bring where the value is found which is the true measure of whether the change was worthwhile.
What emerging technologies or trends do you believe will have the most significant impact on the role of solution architects in the future?
I believe that while technology is important, with more technology being provided “as a service” or within a service wrapper and more engagement initiated from the business community in what was originally traditional IT arenas, the solutions architects that are able to crossover and explain the nuances of complicated IT problems in simple and easy to consume business language and benefits that they themselves can implement, will provide the greatest value.
Reflecting on your experience, can you share a mistake you made early in your career that taught you an important lesson?
Let’s go back to August 2000, if you were with me, you’d be standing in the comms rooms in Killingholme power station, a gas turbine electrical generator on the south bank of the Humber, not too far from Grimsby. Like many other comms rooms, this one is full with 12 42U server racks full of various ages of equipment so you feel more like an archaeologist looking at the ageing equipment such as DEC PDP-11’s than an IT architect implementing Active Directory. The sound of the fans whirring is only slightly louder than the continuous background hum of the turbines producing electricity.
We are standing there looking bemused at a Cisco 2511, which is not on the equipment list provided by N Power to NRG Energy as part of the divestment of Killingholme power station, and none of the standard passwords provided work to allow access. Plus, BT has no record of the circuit number of the frame relay connection that the cable out of the back of it connects to.
So, what do you do? This is the only device stopping you from gaining sign-off on the first major M&A that you’ve led the transition of.
Now, I’m not daft, I know there is the possibility that the running config hasn’t been committed, so we disconnect the network cable, daring not to breathe as the activity lights on the LAN port go dark, we wait 30 minutes before we wrap up being on-site for the day and check with all departments No alarm, no one comes running, everything seems to be running fine, ready for a quiet weekend after a mammoth, though successful week.
As we return to the site on Monday to confirm sign-off from the general manager, he comes running out of his office, looking more panicked than usual “We’ve been on emergency gas all weekend, the gas monitoring system isn’t working!!!”
As we plug the network cable back in, the monitoring system comes back to life, and we can start the work to switch over the device.
The lesson being, that it doesn’t matter how well you plan any transition or transformation, there will always be something that you do not know, so just expect it, and make sure others are ready to expect it too.
Do you have a favourite phase in the project lifecycle, such as planning, design, implementation, or testing? and why?
I love the analysis and design phases. How many times do you get an opportunity to pull apart an organisation and create a plan to make it work even better!
How do you stay informed about the latest trends and developments in the tech industry, and how do you decide which trends to adopt in your projects?
Listen to others, read widely and not just about technology. Remember that technology for technology’s sake, is a solution without a problem. So, listen to the needs of the organisation and use this as the measure to find and select the appropriate solution. I still remember the advice on the first page of the Enterprise Architecture manual from decades ago: “tailor to fit into the corporate puzzle”.
When unexpected problems arise in a project, what steps do you often take to deal with them?
Stop so you don’t compound the problem. Analyse the problem. Create a succinct problem definition. Come up with the options for change. Create the consensus of the change. Agree on the new approach. Execute the new strategy.
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges in your job role and how do you overcome them?
Information is the biggest problem. Whether it is a lack of information, inaccuracy, too much, not timely, not detailed enough, too detailed, etc. And having suitably qualified and experienced people available to help collect, collate, categorise, and create appropriate meaning from the information.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in the same role as yours?
Consider what you can do beyond the role, remembering that technology, in many cases, is not the answer.
What are you looking forward to in 2024?
I am most looking forward to representing the UK in the 21st International Snow Sculpting Competition in Nayoro, Japan.
Justin Scott, a figurative sculptor, and I, known as team SharpThyme are saying Sayōnara UK and Kon'nichiwa in February 2024.
Justin Scott has created another amazing concept based on INYO the Japanese acceptance of energies! Light - Darkness. Positive - Negative. Ying-yang - would be the more commonly known Chinese variety.
Using an Embryo sculpture/fetus representing Life and light from darkness, symmetrical. Hollowed out… will allow light to pass through - representing the journey of Light (life) plus White snow is pure… ephemeral. As Timeless as we all are!
We are looking forward to sharing this amazing experience with you all in February 2024, so keep an eye open on our YouTube channel and Facebook profiles.
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With imminent news of new clients and therefore new opportunities on the horizon, we're eager to engage with our associates who are interested in sharing updates on their availability and current circumstances. Whether it's a casual catch-up and an opportunity to get an update on all things Platform Smart, or a focused discussion on new opportunities or subjects highlighted in our recent newsletters and other communications, we'd love to hear from you.
If you're interested in a catch up, don't hesitate to drop us a message to get something booked in, and we look forward to speaking with you soon!