Thought Leadership in Observability!
Businesses in the Digital+ economy, where software solutions are the backbone of Operational intelligence, must have a deep understanding of their digital landscape to stay ahead. To achieve Operational intelligence, you first need to understand ‘Observability.’ This is the ability to understand both the Business and the IT system’s performance. Critical to its success and what sets it apart from more traditional “event” monitoring are “context” and “action.”
The context for Observability is the ability to tell if a user is impacted across the complex end-to-end chain for a specific business area, product, or value chain. Action is the ability to understand this observation in context so that appropriate preventive action can be taken to minimize the impact. Actions can greatly differ depending on the context: for example, a technology issue in the infrastructure may result in an auto fix where possible. But if a file is stuck in a queue with a deadline looming, a better action may require a human to process the file manually rather than attempt a lengthy technology fix. This may result in further technology remediation, but it ensures that the end client is not impacted, which in today’s fast-paced digital economy is critical for your business’s success.
An effective Intelligent Operations framework, encompassing both business and IT domains, is essential in today’s highly automated and fragmented landscape. Supported by robust data analytics, this approach transcends traditional system monitoring and alert management. Instead, it focuses on comprehending the entire observable business ecosystem and facilitating timely, informed decision making— a critical factor in navigating the fast-paced market.
In this rapidly evolving environment, strategic implementation of software solutions—whether through acquisition or in-house development—is paramount. However, true market leadership demands more than just reactive measures. A prime example of this leadership from the team at HCLSoftware is Ian Philips, GM – Full Stack Observability. His drive for continued technological superiority has been a key catalyst in the company’s ability to win multiple deployments within the business & technical observability domains.
Ian Philps has had many client-facing roles over the years at several financial services companies, which has provided him with insight into how businesses function and operate, especially the synergy between business processes and IT systems. This insight has led to best practices aligned against customer expectations to engineer and drive software development, translating technologies into successful fit-for-the-market solutions.
Focusing on innovation and customer delight, HCLSoftware has established a leadership standing in the industry, providing software solutions across all spectrums. In intelligent operations, one of the key flagship offerings at HCLSoftware is its business and IT observability product offering, HCL iControl. Ian’s team is focused on building the best-in-class software, leveraging the power of GenAI, machine learning and automation to ensure digital adoption of customer business journeys.
At the core of HCL’s iControl observability solution is an all-encompassing visibility & business rules engine. This provides context and action while providing a true end-to-end view of the entire enterprise digital landscape. This comprehensive observability enabled via HCL iControl utilizes the underlying event and monitoring layers. HCLSoftware’s iControl allows users to identify, analyze, and respond to business and IT-critical events and recover from them in real time.
Another key component of this offering is the ability to manage multi-cloud costs. This helps organizations optimize their cloud expenses while maintaining performance, enhancing their overall operational efficiency and agility. With Observability at the core, Ian and the team are designing the industry-first agnostic business and IT process performance software with open telemetry integration. They are changing how people define end-to-end success across their business and IT processes and encouraging clients every day to do their best to understand the end-to-end view across their business.
Let’s look at Ian’s innovative leadership journey in the software sector:
Bridging Technology and Customer Needs
Ian’s pathway into software is interesting and has been built on a foundation of continuous learning with the aim of filling in voids between technology and customer requirements. Starting as a hands-on Infrastructure Project Manager in the IT industry in London, he discovered an increasing demand for excellent software solutions within his field but soon also understood customer wants and needs alongside market shifts by delivering large-scale re-platforming projects. This led Ian to an IT Portfolio Management role within the financial services industry covering both infrastructure and software. In his new role, Ian used this vantage point to define creative product strategies that addressed the unique needs of their customers.
As Ian transitioned from a portfolio management role to business development, he found himself in New York, enthralled by the complexities of customer behavior, market dynamics within the world of a start-up company and a very competitive landscape. This drive of passion had him interested and fueled enough to move on towards finding software market gaps and opportunities. Ian then decided to return to London to pursue his professional goals, get married and start a family.
With this start up passion still burning inside, Ian realized an opportunity in the Business Observability segment. He co-founded Alpha Insight in 2011 to deliver real-time business process performance monitoring and measurement for the banking sector. At Alpha Insight, he and his partner Shakir Ladak collaborated with customers to build out views of their end-to-end core business processes, designing business performance metrics that utilize the underlying monitoring stack. The goal was to enable the customers to have a more intelligent operation with end-to-end visibility.
Based on this experience, they developed an observability methodology, which they integrated into their flagship product, iControl. Through dedicated efforts, they carefully nurtured the company’s growth, strategically expanding the product’s reach across multiple clients, resulting in the acquisition of iControl by HCL Technologies UK in September 2017.
What sets Ian apart is his customer-centric approach. He continually prioritizes the client’s needs and tailors the software solutions to the distinct challenges posed, supporting them in achieving their goals. This dedication to customer satisfaction and personalized service has not only earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues but has also created an ever-growing base of loyal clients who view him as a trusted strategic partner.
Ian serves as the GM of Observability Product Offerings at HCL Software. Under his guidance, HCL iControl won four prestigious Stevie® Awards, two Silver and two Bronze in the categories of Financial Services, Business or Competitive Intelligence Solution, Achievement in Product Innovation, Governance, Risk & Compliance Solution in 2024 at the 21st Annual International Business Awards®.
These accolades exemplify the HCLSoftware observability team’s skill in delivering innovative solutions that drive tangible results for customers. As he continues to lead his team at HCLSoftware, his ability to rethink creatively and develop innovative solutions continuously inspires a new generation of professionals to push the boundaries.
