In our increasingly digital world, accessibility transcends mere compliance—it’s about embracing inclusivity and equality as foundational values. At BMC, our commitment to web accessibility reflects our broader mission to foster a more inclusive digital environment. Every year in July, we observe “July Is for Allies,” a month dedicated to celebrating and promoting allyship within our organization. This July, we are focusing on allyship in web accessibility, ensuring that our digital platforms are welcoming and accessible to all users.

The role of allyship in web accessibility

Allyship is about recognizing the barriers that others face and taking actionable steps to dismantle them. In the context of web accessibility, this means designing digital experiences that are usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities. It’s about moving beyond empathy to advocacy, ensuring that our digital platforms are welcoming and accessible to all.

At BMC, we view allyship as a continuous journey. It involves listening to the experiences of individuals with disabilities, understanding their needs, and advocating for their inclusion in every aspect of our digital presence. By embedding accessibility into our core values, we not only improve user experiences but also demonstrate our commitment to social responsibility and ethical business practices.

Three tips for the corporate web accessibility journey

Integrate accessibility from the start: Accessibility should be a fundamental consideration in the design and development process. By integrating accessibility from the outset, companies can create products that are inclusive by design. This proactive approach prevents the need for costly and time-consuming retrofits later on.

Tip: Conduct accessibility training for your development teams and incorporate accessibility checks at every stage of the product lifecycle.

Foster an inclusive culture: Building an inclusive digital environment starts with fostering a culture that values diversity and inclusion. Encourage employees at all levels to understand the importance of accessibility and their role in promoting it. Allyship should be a shared responsibility, with everyone contributing to a more inclusive digital landscape.

Tip: Promote awareness through regular workshops and discussions on accessibility and allyship, highlighting success stories and best practices.

Leverage expert guidance: Partnering with experts in digital accessibility can provide valuable insights and tools to enhance your accessibility efforts. Organizations like Level Access offer practical strategies and resources that can help organizations navigate the complexities of web accessibility and ensure compliance with global standards.

Tip: Engage with accessibility consultants to audit your digital platforms and provide tailored recommendations for improvement.

BMC’s commitment to accessibility

At BMC, we are committed to making our digital platforms accessible to every user. Our journey towards enhanced web accessibility includes implementing robust accessibility guidelines, providing ongoing training for our teams, and continuously seeking feedback from users with disabilities.

By championing web accessibility, we aim to set a standard within the tech industry, demonstrating that inclusivity is integral to our mission. We believe that accessible design benefits everyone, leading to higher user satisfaction, increased engagement, and a more loyal customer base.

Conclusion

Allyship in web accessibility is about more than meeting legal requirements—it’s about creating a digital world where everyone can participate fully and equally. BMC is dedicated to this vision. By embracing the principles of allyship and web accessibility, we not only fulfill our legal obligations, but also embody our core values of inclusivity and innovation.

Together, let’s continue to champion web accessibility, ensuring that our digital experiences reflect our commitment to equality and excellence. As we move forward, let’s be allies in creating a more inclusive digital future for all.

#CSR

As the daughter of a Bolivian mother and Irish-Italian father, I have been deeply committed to fostering an inclusive workplace while driving operational excellence at BMC for over 20 years. My passion for diversity and inclusion is fueled by my personal experiences as a Latiné woman navigating the tech industry, where I have witnessed the power of embracing diverse perspectives firsthand. For me, inclusion is not just a buzzword; it’s who I am and is a core value that drives innovation, creativity, and collaboration within our organization.

Every month, our company highlights a different diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) observance. These initiatives are a testament to our ongoing dedication to creating an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered. They are more than just a nod to diversity; they are integral to our company’s culture and values.

One of the most impactful strategies we have implemented is having each of our leaders present on the monthly DEI topic during our weekly stand-up meetings. This practice not only keeps the conversation around diversity and inclusion alive, but also ensures that our leaders are actively engaged in promoting these values and sharing personal experiences. For example, during “July is for Allies,” our leaders discuss what allyship means to them, how they are communicating this topic to their teams, and the best practices they plan to implement moving forward. This approach helps to create a ripple effect, spreading awareness and fostering a culture of inclusivity throughout the organization.

In honor of Latiné Heritage Month, also known as Hispanic Heritage Month, which spans September 15 to October 15, here are some of the practical strategies we have adopted to support Latiné professionals, which can be used across any working team while also promoting diversity and inclusion within our company:

Employee resource groups (ERGs)

Our Latiné ERG is a global vibrant community that provides a platform for Latiné employees to connect, share experiences, and support one another. The ERG also plays a crucial role in advising the leadership team on issues affecting the Latiné community and helping to shape our DEI initiatives.

Inclusive hiring practices

We have revamped our hiring practices to ensure that they are inclusive and equitable. This includes implementing diverse hiring panels, using unbiased job descriptions, and actively recruiting from and participating in events with Latiné professional organizations such as Latinas In Tech.

Cultural competency training

We provide ongoing cultural competency training for all employees to help them understand and appreciate the diverse backgrounds and experiences of their colleagues. This training is essential for creating a respectful and inclusive work environment.

Celebrating Latiné heritage

We celebrate Latiné Heritage Month with various events and activities that highlight the contributions of the Latiné community. These celebrations not only honor our Latiné employees, but also educate the broader workforce about Latiné culture and history.

Open dialogue and feedback

We encourage open discussions and regular feedback from employees about our DEI efforts. This feedback is invaluable in helping us to identify areas for improvement and to ensure that our initiatives are meeting the needs of our diverse workforce.

Highlighting the importance of representation

We honor Latiné leaders in tech by showcasing their remarkable accomplishments. This dedication to visibility and celebration ensures that the next generation of Latiné innovators sees themselves reflected positively in the industry. Check out the 2024 class of HITECH 50 influential Latiné tech leaders from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal here.

My personal journey has shown me the importance of creating a workplace where everyone feels included and valued. By continually striving to improve our DEI efforts, we are building a stronger, more dynamic, and inclusive company. I am proud to lead an organization that is committed to supporting Latiné professionals and advancing ethnic equity. Together, we can create a workplace where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

SOLID programming design is a philosophy and approach to creating more robust, flexible, and scalable software systems that maintain integrity over time. As a developer, it is important to understand the right way and wrong way to write code. In this article, we will detail each of the SOLID design principles in context so that you can apply them to your work.

What are SOLID principles?

SOLID is a popular set of design principles that developers use when creating object-oriented software. SOLID is an acronym that stands for five key design principles:

• Single responsibility principle
• Open-closed principle
• Liskov substitution principle
• Interface segregation principle
• Dependency inversion principle

All five SOLID principles are commonly used by software engineers and provide important benefits for developers.

Robert C. Martin developed the SOLID principles in his 2000 essay, “Design Principles and Design Patterns.” Martin acknowledged that successful software will always need to evolve. As it changes, it has a tendency to grow increasingly complex. Without good design principles, software becomes rigid, fragile, immobile, and viscous. He developed SOLID software design principles to combat these common problems.

Why use SOLID principles in programming

SOLID principles seek to reduce dependencies so that engineers can change one area of the software without impacting others. They make it easier to understand, maintain, and extend designs. Software engineers avoid issues and build adaptive, effective, and agile software using these SOLID principles.

While the principles bring many benefits, following them may lead to longer and more complex code. That can extend the design process and make development a little more difficult. Yet, taking this extra time and effort in the present is well worth it. SOLID programming makes software so much easier to maintain, test, and extend over the long run.

SOLID principles are not a design problem cure-all. When software designers follow them correctly, however, they create code that has better readability, is easier to maintain, uses design patterns, and streamlines testing. All developers should know SOLID programming to best use these principles for creating quality output.

Interested in Enterprise DevOps? Learn more about DevOps Solutions and Tools with BMC. ›

5 SOLID Design Principles

The best way to understand what SOLID principles are, is to look at them in context. Let’s review SOLID software designs with one of the most commonly used programming languages. C# is a good way to demonstrate how SOLID works in action.

1. Single Responsibility Principle

The single responsibility principle (SRP) mandates that:

“A class should have one, and only one, reason to change.”

When following a SOLID programming approach, recognize that each class only does one thing. Every class or module is responsible for one part of the software’s functionality. More simply, each class should solve only one problem.

The single responsibility principle is a relatively basic one that most developers already use to build code. You can apply it to classes, software components, and microservices.

SRP makes it easier to test and maintain code for streamlined software implementation. It also helps to avoid unanticipated side effects of future changes.

To ensure that you’re following this principle in development, consider using an automated check when building to limit class scope. This check is not foolproof for following the SRP, but goes a long way to ensuring that classes are not violating this principle.

2. Open-Closed Principle

The open-closed principle recognizes you may need to add or change something to existing, well-tested classes. Any change risks creating problems or bugs. Instead of changing the class, however, you can simply extend it. The open-closed principle states:

“You should be able to extend a class’s behavior without modifying it.”

Following the open-closed principle makes your code easier to maintain and revise. It requires writing code that is:

• Open for extension, meaning you can add to that class’s behavior.
• Closed for modification, meaning that the source code is set and cannot be changed.

At first glance, these two criteria seem to be inherently contradictory. When you become more comfortable with it, you’ll see that the open-closed principle is not as complicated as it seems. You can comply with the open-closed principle using abstractions to make sure that your class is easily extendable without having to modify it. Using inheritance or interfaces that allow polymorphic substitutions is a common way to comply with this principle.

Take IT Service Management to the next level with BMC Helix ITSM.›

3. Liskov Substitution Principle

The Liskov substitution principle is perhaps the most difficult to understand of the five SOLID design principles. The Liskov substitution principle requires that every derived class should be substitutable for its parent class. It is named for Barbara Liskov, who introduced this concept of behavioral subtyping in 1987. She explained:

“What is wanted here is something like the following substitution property: if for each object O1 of type S there is an object O2 of type T such that for all programs P defined in terms of T, the behavior of P is unchanged when O1 is substituted for O2 then S is a subtype of T.”

While this can be a difficult principle to internalize, it might help to think of it as an extension of the open-closed principle. The point of the Liskov substitution principle is to ensure that derived classes extend the base class without changing behavior.

Following this principle helps you avoid the unexpected consequences of changes and having to open a closed class in order to make changes.The Liskov substitution principle leads to software that you can easily extend. While it might slow down the development process, you can avoid countless time-consuming future issues during updates and extensions.

4. Interface Segregation Principle

The interface segregation principle for SOLID programming states that it is better to have many smaller interfaces than a few bigger ones:

“Make fine grained interfaces that are client-specific. Clients should not be forced to implement interfaces they do not use.”

You don’t want to just start with an existing interface and add new methods. Instead, build a new interface. Let your class implement multiple interfaces as needed. When you use smaller interfaces,you can prefer composition over inheritance and decoupling over coupling. According to the interface segregation principle, you should have many client-specific interfaces and avoid the temptation of having one big, general-purpose interface.

5. Dependency Inversion Principle

Use the dependency inversion principle of SOLID software design to decouple software modules. You should “depend on abstractions, not on concretions” when developing software:

“High level modules should not depend upon low level modules. Both should depend on abstractions…abstractions should not depend on details. Details should depend upon abstractions.”

One way of many for complying with this SOLID principle is to use a dependency inversion pattern. Whatever method you use, following the dependency inversion principle will make your code more flexible, agile, and reusable.

Examples of other software design principles

Over decades of writing code, software developers have learned—sometimes the hard way—how to create code that is robust, easy to maintain and scale, and that functions with efficiency.

They encapsulated their hard earned lessons into software design principles for creating high-quality software. SOLID design principles are just some examples of software development best practices that support excellence in coding.

Are SOLID principles still relevant?

In the decades since Robert Martin first developed the SOLID software design principles, technology and the software industry has gone through enormous change. Yet his core ideas are every bit as valid globally today as they ever have been.

When you implement SOLID design principles you create systems that are more maintainable, scalable, testable, and reusable. You produce quality code that meets industry standards with the best chance of having a durable competitive advantage.

SOLID programming design principles can feel overwhelming at first, yet when you are in the habit of working with them regularly, you will have an innate understanding of code that complies with the principles. You will find that making SOLID code design choices makes your work easier and more efficient, with superior output.

Leading and lagging indicators are terms for statistics you use to measure and manage performance. Both can help you gain an understanding of business conditions and trends.

Below is a simple explanation of leading indicators and lagging indicators, the difference between them, and how to use each.

What are indicators?

Indicators are statistics used to measure what may be affecting your business. They’re invaluable when managing business finances, information technology, and the economy.

Various indicators, including lagging vs. leading indicators, give you the insight and context needed for making critical decisions and plans.

Coincident indicators are a category that include key performance indicators (KPIs), which measure your progress in achieving team or company objectives. These might include an increase in service desk tickets marked as resolved, or a decrease in incident reassignment tickets.

Financial services organizations need lagging, leading, and coincident indicators in order to understand their vulnerabilities, and to make decisions about how to drive business continuity, make costs predictable, and facilitate profitable growth.

Leading vs. lagging indicators

Leading indicators are metrics that predict future conditions. They help you identify and anticipate trends and what might happen to the economy, your industry, your competitors, and your own business or department.

Lagging indicators tell you what has already happened. They measure the magnitude of an aspect of the economy or your business and the degree of change over time in the past.

Leading vs. lagging indicators aren’t about choosing which is better—you need both to stay on course. You need to look where you’re going and also to see where you’ve been in order to stay on track in meeting your enterprise goals and objectives.

What are leading indicators?

Leading indicators are sometimes described as inputs, because they define what actions you need to take to achieve business goals with measurable outcomes. They “lead” to you meeting business objectives.

A leading indicator encourages business stakeholders to ask:

• What processes can I employ to achieve this goal to higher levels of success?
• What skills can the team improve to better achieve the desired outcome?
• What steps can be taken to speed up product development?

Leading indicators help you set benchmarks that, if met, show your progress against your KPIs.

Examples of leading indicators

Let’s look at an enterprise business software company with an annual subscription fee. These examples of leading indicators point to the future health of the company:

• Percentage of customers that sign up for two-year agreements. Customers who sign up for longer subscriptions tend to be happier and thus more loyal.
• Number of customers that renew software at or before midterm alerts. Re-signing early is another indicator of client satisfaction.
• Number of customers that purchase software add-ons. Buying more from you suggests a strong and deepening customer relationship.
• Number of customers that add seats. When customers bring on more users, your solution is becoming more entrenched in their business.
• Support and service call volume. A high number of calls for help suggests that customers are having problems and are not happy, both ominous signs for the future.
• Percentage of new business from referrals. When customers recommend your company to others, they’ve become ambassadors who are actively building your business.

How to use leading indicators

A leading indicator is a measure of where your business is going. For instance, if you stick to lagging measurements, like revenue, you may completely miss an important, but relatively small, segment of your market that is purchasing add-ons from a competitor instead of turning to you.

By creating a leading indicator measurement, like tracking current customer purchases of add-ons, you can invest in discovering what drives those decisions and why competitors are eating into your business. With insights behind this leading indicator, you can prevent losing business to competitors and potentially spur more customers to consider your software add-ons.

You can’t detect a potential problem or gather the needed insights simply by looking at overall revenue alone. When you have a question that asks you to look into future growth and success, it’s the right time to use a leading indicator.

Lagging indicators definition

Lagging indicators measure up-to-the-moment and past results and performance. While being able to track current trends up to the present time, they do not indicate what you can expect in the future. What they measure is finished, done, and immutable, which is why a lagging indicator is sometimes described as an “output” metric.

A lagging indicator encourages business stakeholders to ask:

• How many people attended an event?
• How much product was produced?
• What response did it receive?
• What was our downtime?

Examples of lagging indicators

Some lagging indicators examples include:

• Profit. The margin your business can command is an indicator of competitive activity and customer satisfaction. If you have to discount more and cut into profit, you could have a problem.
• Expenses. Higher costs may indicate you haven’t been as productive as you need to be, or that your costs to win and keep business are not competitive.
• Amount of customer participation. Customers can suggest areas that need improvement or areas where you can expand your business.
• Renewal rates. The percentage of customers renewing is a report card on how well. you have been serving them.
• Revenue. If your business has produced more income, it could be performing well.
• Uptime and reliability. These indicate how well your IT infrastructure has been functioning.
• Mean time to resolution. When customers have a problem, you’ll want to resolve it effectively and quickly.

Ready to redefine IT Service Management? Choose BMC Helix ITSM. ›

How to use lagging indicators

What lagging indicators measure is generally self-explanatory and easy to understand, versus the more abstract leading indicators.

You can use lagging indicators to measure the outcome of activities, events, product releases, programs, and more. Tracking them over time can show you past trends and potentially cause-and-effect relationships.

Use a mix of lagging indicators and leading indicators to measure outcomes. This task can be made easier with technology that compares leading and lagging indicators, offering insights through automation.

Coincident indicators

Don’t neglect coincident indicators, which provide context by measuring the current state of the economy in a general sense and within your company. These statistics are the coincident indicators that give you an idea of the circumstances and the environment in which you’re operating.

Is your business slowing? Are your costs increasing? Are you having trouble hiring? Are these issues cropping up because of something your company is doing, or is it something else? Here are some examples of coincident indicators that can help you find the answers:

• Gross domestic product (GDP). This measures the value that the economy is producing. Is it going up, or down? If GDP is falling, the economy may be in a recession, explaining in part why your business is slowing.
• Inflation rate. Are your costs ballooning due to poor controls in your company, or is the cost of inputs going up? If the inflation rate is high and rising, that could explain the squeeze on your margins.
• Unemployment rate. If you struggle to fill positions with qualified workers, it may be your company’s hiring process or it could be that, with low unemployment rates, it’s harder to find workers in a competitive job market.
• Cashflow. If you’re struggling to pay your bills, you might look at receivables. You may have high revenue on the books, but if you can’t collect payment on time, your business may suffer.
• Production levels. Are you able to ship on time and to keep up with demand, or are you suffering from out-of-stock situations? In an IT environment, are you falling behind on delivering against promises? It’s possible you’re experiencing productivity issues.

Which type of indicator should you use to measure business performance?

If business decision makers only look at lagging indicators, they will know what happened, but won’t have enough to go on when it comes to making decisions about the future.

It’s vital to understand the difference between leading indicators vs. lagging indicators and to use both together. For necessary context, you will need to consider coincident indicators about your company’s economic state and the economy at large, as well.

Because leading indicators are harder to measure, yet bring you such valuable insights for the future, you may wish to hire experts. When making forward-looking decisions about IT, BMC can help enterprises continuously optimize their IT resources and predict future needs.

The bottom line is that if you’re using lagging indicators without leading indicators, you’re only getting half of the KPI picture. Lagging indicators are an important resource for creating leading indicators that can launch your business into growth mode, but they aren’t the entire package. These sets of metrics work best in tandem to produce the most accurate and achievable KPIs.

Related reading

• BMC Business of IT Blog
• IT Organization Metrics and KPIs: A Well-Rounded Approach
• DevOps Metrics and KPIs
• Digital Transformation Metrics and KPIs for Measuring Success
• Choosing IT Metrics That Matter

At BMC, two of our guiding principles are “Do the Right Thing” and “Prioritize People.” These principles shape how we interact with our workforce, customers, and partners. As we observe National Civility Month this August, it’s an opportune time to reflect on the importance of civility in our rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Civility is integral to our customer-centric approach, which ensures that every decision we make is aimed at delivering products, services, and experiences that foster satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. At its core, civility is about recognizing our shared humanity. By leading with empathy and the Platinum Rule—treating others the way they want to be treated—we enhance our understanding of customers and colleagues and their diverse needs and expectations.

The business impact of civility and customer centricity

At BMC, we strive to accelerate innovation and while delivering excellent customer experiences—both to our internal employee customers and our external customers. Happy employees make happy customers, and the two are inextricably linked. When our employees feel respected and valued, they are more motivated to deliver exceptional service, creating a positive feedback loop that benefits everyone.

The PwC Customer Loyalty Executive Survey 2023 revealed that 37 percent of customers ceased their engagement with businesses following poor service experiences. In our digital-first world, human interaction remains a key driver of customer loyalty. Civility and respect in these interactions are more important than ever.

Civility across a global and hybrid workforce

Our globally distributed and increasingly hybrid workforce presents unique challenges and opportunities for practicing civility. Understanding the cultural and regional differences in behavior and communication preferences is essential for building strong, respectful relationships. For instance, in virtual meetings, choosing whether to jump straight to business or start with some light conversation can set the tone for the entire interaction. Taking the time to understand and respect these preferences can significantly enhance our working relationships.

Practical tips for fostering civility

In every interaction, whether in-person or virtual, it’s important to be present and attentive. Here are a few practical tips for fostering civility:

1. Start with respect: Begin meetings with a simple greeting and a moment of genuine interest in how others are doing.
2. Be mindful of time: Respect others’ schedules by being punctual and keeping meetings concise—or making that meeting an email instead.
3. Engage fully: Give your full attention to the speaker, turn off distractions, and come prepared.
4. Communicate clearly: In emails and other communications, be clear, respectful, and considerate of others’ time and workload—and remember that language matters.
5. Set boundaries: Respect and acknowledge the boundaries set by others and be clear about your own.

Civility and DEI: A symbiotic relationship

Civility is a critical component of our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. An inclusive workforce that truly embraces everyone fosters an environment where civility thrives.

To promote inclusive leadership and civility, we’ve established a #BelongingAtBMC LinkedIn Learning pathway, which empowers all BMC employees to become advocates for change in an increasingly diverse global society. Topics include empathy, belonging, diversity, equity, accountability, and inclusion—all key ingredients of civility that also serve as a catalyst for personal and professional growth.

I encourage leaders and employees to consider implementing similar initiatives within their organizations. A great starting point is the LinkedIn Learning course “Teaching Civility in the Workplace.” This course offers valuable insights and practical strategies to create a respectful and inclusive work environment. By prioritizing civility and continuous learning, we can collectively build workplaces where everyone feels valued and respected—both within our own businesses and beyond.

Building a future of respect and humanity

As BMC continues to strive towards becoming a leader in the digital-first world, we recognize that our success begins and ends with people. Our employees, customers, and partners are the heart of our business. By setting a standard for civility, we elevate everyone involved.

As VP of HR at BMC, I see firsthand the impact that a respectful and inclusive workplace has on business outcomes. HR plays a pivotal role in shaping the culture and values of our organization, ensuring that civility and respect are embedded in every aspect of our operations. By prioritizing people and fostering a culture of civility, we not only enhance employee satisfaction and productivity, but also drive better business results.

In the digital-first global economy, data is everywhere—and always growing. And how companies handle their data pipeline and yield value from their data can be a gamechanger for their business outcomes. We wanted to see how companies are managing their data, and what their data management maturity level is, so we’ve once again partnered with 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, on a survey of 1,100 IT, data, and business professionals from large, global enterprises across multiple industries in 11 countries. We’re excited to announce that our second annual report, “Putting the “Ops” in DataOps: Success factors for operationalizing data,” is out now and available here.

DataOps and data maturity

The survey and report reveal insights into how organizations and data teams can assess and advance their data management maturity to overcome challenges and improve their use of data for competitive advantage. By determining their place within four discrete maturity levels, organizations can make better technology and business decisions to guide their DataOps initiatives and improve their data quality in service of tangible business outcomes. The four levels, as defined in the report, are:

• Developing maturity—The data management strategy is developing, but practices and architecture may not yet be closely linked to critical business outcomes; commonly associated with smaller organizations and businesses that are just beginning to establish and operationalize their practices.
• Functional maturity—The data management strategy is largely developed, with some high-priority practices and architecture linked to critical business outcomes. This level is focused on growth, and businesses are often focused on expanding their practices.
• Proficient maturity—The strategy is fully established, with nearly all practices and architecture linked to critical business outcomes, but due to increasing awareness and complexity, doubts in the capabilities of the business arise.
• Exceptional maturity—The data management strategy is perpetually optimized, with practices and architecture driving novel sources of value. At this “innovation phase” of maturity, established practices are iteratively improved and used for further competitive differentiation.

In addition to discussing data management maturity, the report includes key findings on how organizations are doing now—and what they’re focused on.

Slow adoption of emerging technologies

While companies strive to capitalize on their data to scale operations and improve business outcomes, only a minority of them are leveraging emerging data types. Instead, most are ingesting, landing, and processing the most common (i.e., often legacy or structured) data types. That means they might be missing out on additional useful data in nontraditional formats that could feed critical initiatives like generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), FinOps, and sustainability.

Figure 1. Slow adoption of emerging technologies.

While the overall adoption rate of emerging data types is low, larger organizations—particularly those with 5K+ employees—are keen to tap into them for new initiatives.

Figure 2. Large organizations are collecting and managing data for use cases in emergent trends.

Top challenges in DataOps and data-driven activities

Data isn’t useful if data orchestration isn’t done well, i.e., that data isn’t getting where it’s most needed, and multi-layered challenges across people, process, and technology can pose a challenge to its distribution.

Figure 3. Top challenges in data-driven activities.

Data maturity and DataOps strategy

One of the strongest correlations in the survey was between an organization’s approach to DataOps methodology and its relative data management maturity level.

Figure 4. Organizations’ DataOps strategy by data management maturity level.

For more data management and DataOps insights, read the entire report here. To assess your organization’s data maturity level, you can take a free assessment here. This tool was designed to help you determine which areas you need to address to begin advancing your DataOps practice to “exceptional” levels.

June marks dual observations of Pride Month and Juneteenth, where LGBTQ+ and Black communities, alongside their allies, celebrate their accomplishments while acknowledging and bringing awareness to the work that lies ahead. The current climate of world events, negative-impact legislative changes, and an increase in hate crimes highlight the importance of having safe spaces for inclusivity with psychological and physical safety for both communities. For many, that safe space is the workplace.

In the spirit of Pride and Juneteenth, let’s explore the intersectionality that exists between the Black and LGBTQ+ communities within the workplace. We’ll examine the current state of inclusion for these groups and discuss what organizations can do to create truly safe and welcoming spaces for all.

Employee safety

LGBTQ+ and Black employees face a complex web of discrimination based on inherent aspects of their identity that can significantly impact their careers, well-being, and mental health. This discrimination can manifest in various ways, including microaggressions, unequal pay, lack of promotion opportunities, and even physical violence. Microaggressions can be subtle but damaging, including insensitive comments or assumptions based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. This discrimination not only harms employees, leading to increased stress, anxiety, and depression, but also has material cost to the business from lost productivity and high turnover.

Organizations must create inclusive environments and safe spaces to attract, support, and promote a diverse workforce. Action must be taken to foster awareness and allyship in the workplace and to create a culture that encourages LGBTQ+ and Black communities to show up authentically, without masking or hiding. Such environments can be created by implementing continuous learning about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), harassment and discrimination, and unconscious bias, as well as providing community-specific employee resource groups (ERGs) as safe spaces, and having clear anti-discrimination policies.

In June 2023, the Harris Poll conducted a survey focused on LGBTQ+ employees. The survey explored their concerns regarding workplace protections and the availability of support systems for themselves and their families. When asked what their priorities were in an employer, 89 percent reported having safe reporting channels for discrimination was the most important, followed by 86 percent who want to see that backed up by written disciplinary actions.

The rest of the top five included paid leave for care of chosen family members, inclusive parental leave, and HR systems that include genders and pronouns. While this poll focused on the LGBTQ+ community, it’s important to note the intersectionality of priorities for both communities, which are freedom from discrimination, fair treatment and pay, a respectful work environment, and supportive policies that promote inclusion and equal opportunities.

Parity and advancement

Beyond everyday acceptance, inclusion also means having a seat at the table and earning the same pay for the same work. While diverse representation on boards is climbing, the pace needs to accelerate for both communities.

Before the C-suite even becomes a consideration, achieving pay parity is a crucial first step. Recent data from the Human Rights Coalition found that versus cisgender white male workers, LGBTQ+ Black workers earn 80 cents on the dollar; LGBTQ+ women earn 87 cents on the dollar, and LGBTQ+ white men earn 96 cents on the dollar. The situation is even more stark for non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, and two-spirit workers, who earn 70 cents on the dollar.

Data from a Spencer Stuart survey shows progress in board diversity, with 67 percent of the 2023 Nasdaq directors being diverse (defined by Nasdaq as self-identifying female and/or underrepresented minorities, and/or LGBTQ+). While this data suggests that we are moving in the right direction, there is still much work to be done.

Fair wages and transparent paths to advancement are two areas where businesses can make active strides. By setting board diversity requirements and aligning with initiatives like the Fair Pay Workplace, which mandates wage transparency for its signatories, companies demonstrate accountability for their practices.

Getting started

Throughout our DEI blog series, we’ve covered suggestions on strengthening inclusion in the workplace. To recap, these are some essential guideposts to help organizations begin or advance their inclusive initiatives to ensure that every employee is assured a safe environment to thrive.

• Make your meetings and everyday conversations more inclusive and ensure everyone is seen and heard with this handy checklist.
• Establish employee resource groups, or ERGs, to foster open dialogues for employees.
• Explore the Creative Equity Toolkit and Guide to Allyship to learn how to be an ally.
• Check your bias at Harvard University’s Project Implicit.
• Use CulturePop, a self-paced, micro-learning app that encourages cross-cultural curiosity to help you explore what you don’t know, or have misconceptions about.
• Get safe, practical de-escalation techniques and learn when and how to safely intervene with free bystander intervention training classes.

Check out our Corporate Citizenship and ESG Impact Report to learn how BMC is putting these ideas into practice and building a workplace that includes everyone.

May holds significance at BMC as a month of celebration and introspection, marked by Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. As active participants in the BMC API employee resource group (ERG), we are acutely aware of the unique hurdles our global communities face, particularly within high-pressure environments like the tech industry. Moreover, staying connected to cultural roots serves as a vital pillar for better mental health among API professionals.

By engaging in traditions, community events, and conversations with family members, we fortify our resilience and sense of belonging. In this blog, we aim to provide practical strategies for managing daily stress, promoting mental well-being, and nurturing a supportive workplace culture.

Effective stress management is not only vital for our mental health but also crucial for enhancing productivity and job satisfaction. Here are our top five tips for effectively managing daily stress:

1. Prioritize regular physical activity: Incorporating at least 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine can work wonders for your mood and energy levels. Whether it’s a brisk morning jog, a leisurely lunchtime walk, or a post-work cycling session, physical activity has been scientifically proven to uplift spirits. Even short bursts of exercise can yield significant benefits. For the benefits of consistent physical activity, check out Eating Well’s guide.
2. Maintain a balanced diet and hydration: Fueling your body with well-balanced meals and staying adequately hydrated throughout the day can significantly improve focus and energy levels. It’s essential to be mindful of your consumption of caffeine and alcohol, as they can impact stress levels and overall mood. For more details on maintaining a healthy diet, the National Institute of Mental Health provides useful resources and tips here.
3. Prioritize quality sleep: Quality sleep plays a pivotal role in maintaining good mental health. Strive to establish a consistent sleep schedule and cultivate a bedtime routine that minimizes exposure to blue light from electronic devices. This helps regulate your body’s internal clock and enhances sleep quality, leaving you more alert and resilient during the day. Learn more about managing blue light for better sleep at the Sleep Foundation.
4. Embrace mindfulness and relaxation techniques: Set aside dedicated time for relaxation and mindfulness practices such as yoga, meditation, or deep-breathing exercises. These techniques not only alleviate stress but also bolster emotional resilience. Integrating these activities into your daily routine can offer a much-needed reprieve and help you manage work-related stress more effectively. Start exploring these techniques at Headspace.
5. Set realistic goals and boundaries: In the fast-paced environment of the tech industry, it’s imperative to set achievable goals and establish clear boundaries. Learn to gracefully decline additional responsibilities when feeling overwhelmed, and prioritize taking regular breaks to prevent burnout. Celebrate even the smallest achievements, and remember that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it. For tips on maintaining healthy boundaries at work, visit LinkedIn Learning.

By practicing these stress management strategies, you can take proactive steps towards improving your mental well-being. It’s equally crucial to foster connections with colleagues and seek support, when necessary, to reinforce a workplace culture characterized by openness and care.

As we commemorate the rich heritage of the API community this May, let’s recommit ourselves to prioritizing mental health. By implementing these top tips, our aspiration is to cultivate a healthier, more productive, and more inclusive work environment. Let’s endeavor to make a positive impact, one day at a time.

The impact of data and artificial intelligence (AI) on technology is expanding and deepening rapidly, lending incredible benefits and potential consequences to business. The past year’s AI frenzy had every industry chomping at the bit with the potential of learning language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) to drive business and customer outcomes faster, more efficiently, and more comprehensively. Let’s face it—AI is now mainstream. In fact, a recent survey showed that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of business owners believe AI will improve customer relationships and increase productivity. With a majority of large enterprises now investing in and embracing generative AI for uses ranging from customer service to cybersecurity, these capabilities will soon cease to be differentiators but mere table stakes.

So how does business stay ahead of the curve? AI on its own doesn’t deliver value—in fact, it adds complexity and involves substantial risk. Sure, it connects users to data, but only via useful applications supported in secure, cloud-based infrastructure. It’s the strategic use of data afforded by carefully managed AI that leads to innovation—and that’s where the magic happens.

The word innovation itself has become so commonplace that we hardly hear its meaning anymore. Delivering fresh methodologies and ideas to market faster than anyone else is now core to business success—and operationalization is the secret sauce: making innovation easier.

Innovation won’t wait

AI is expanding so rapidly; it feels like when the internet was born. Easier isn’t the only goal. How do you also operationalize innovation fast? By connecting and optimizing all your operations across your landscape to create a seamless path for people, process, and technology to navigate, leading to the next Big Idea. That’s the promise of the Autonomous Digital Enterprise, BMC’s vision for the future of business—agile, resilient, digitally transformed, and ready to continuously innovate and win. And the way we get there is via Connected Digital Ops.

With Connected Digital Ops, you can connect across your entire technology landscape, from on-premises to cloud to edge, to automate and transform your IT infrastructure. You can turn systems of record into systems of action, enabling automated workflows that give you the real-time insights you need to take action. And you can make operations (the Ops) the catalyst for competitive advantage as the innovation differentiator that’s always connected to customer demands and essential to driving business outcomes.

The power of Connected Digital Ops is in its ability to deliver transformation and growth with the breakthrough capabilities of AI and five distinct Ops.

It’s AIOps, combining data, analytics, and machine learning (ML) to enable enterprise observability, automated issue remediation, and proactive problem-solving.

It’s DataOps, uncovering new opportunities and unlocking greater business value, rapidly, continuously, and at scale.

And ServiceOps, removing the barrier between service (ITSM) and operations (ITOM) to enable collaboration between teams for amazing user experiences.

Along with DevOps, where organizations can develop and deliver in-demand apps continuously and efficiently.

And finally, AutonomousOps, where integrating, automating, and orchestrating complex application and data workflows ensures business outcomes at enterprise speed and scale.

Deliver on the promise of AI with BMC

Today’s IT landscape comprises multiple platforms spanning mainframe, public, private, and hybrid cloud, and on-premises datacenters, all the way to the edge. BMC has nimbly mastered every paradigm shift for more than 40 years, and we are uniquely positioned to help connect your business-critical infrastructure across this vast and complex hybrid IT ecosystem with the power of AI.

Elevate Ops to be the most mission critical part of your business, a foundation for continuous innovation. In the AI-dominated future, business must move faster than humanly possible—and BMC can help you get there.

Learn more about Connected Digital Ops.

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the intersection of environmental sustainability and technology is more critical than ever. A recent survey by Gartner^® highlights this shift: “64 percent of CEOs said they view environmental sustainability as a growth opportunity.”¹ I believe this perspective is further bolstered by the inclusion of sustainable technology in the Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2024 ² report, which, in my opinion, signals a clear readiness among executives to weave sustainability into the fabric of their organizations.

The role of IT in achieving sustainability goals

As organizations across all industries aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, IT leaders are finding themselves at the forefront of this transformative journey. Digital transformation initiatives that focused on accelerating business outcomes are now being realigned to incorporate sustainability goals, enhancing organizational resilience and setting a foundation for sustainable growth.

Around the globe, governments are steering the shift towards sustainability through a mix of initiatives, including the implementation of carbon taxes, voluntary schemes, and rigorous regulations. This shift is further accelerated by the expanding mandate for detailed corporate sustainability disclosures.

The evolving regulatory framework, highlighted by new directives from entities like the European Union and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is significantly influencing corporate strategies. In particular, the SEC’s pending revision of its climate-related disclosure rules introduces heightened levels of transparency, compelling organizations to meticulously report their direct (scope 1) and indirect (scope 2) GHG emissions in relevant operational areas.

The challenges ahead

Despite the clear mandate, IT leaders face several challenges integrating sustainability into their strategies. These include a scarcity of expertise in sustainable IT implementation, complexities associated with hybrid cloud environments, inefficiencies across IT lifecycles, controlling the energy demands of advanced language models in generative AI, and coordinating myriad supplier relationships.

As the surge in the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and advancements in generative AI exert unprecedented stress on data centers across the globe, research from McKinsey & Company shows that the connected devices that employees use every day—laptops, tablets, smartphones, and printers—generate 1.5 to 2 times more carbon globally than data centers.

And those devices are expected to reach 55.7 billion by 2025. While the sheer volume alone demands a critical examination of the environmental impact of technology, a Capgemini report highlights the current disconnect in the perceived responsibility. It found that a staggering 89 percent of companies recycle less than 10 percent of their IT hardware, and globally, only 43 percent of executives are aware of their organization’s IT footprint.

Tackling these issues requires a comprehensive strategy that includes concrete actions to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, energy consumption, and sustainable practices, alongside organization-wide adherence to regulations. With the growing demand for computing resources to support evolving technologies like generative artificial intelligence (AI), the environmental footprint of technological advancements can no longer be overlooked.

While generative AI is credited with improving process efficiency, it also has some GHG concerns of its own. A recent joint study by Hugging Face AI and Carnegie Mellon found a stark difference in the energy usage of generative AI for imagery and text. MIT Technology Review explains it this way, “Generating 1,000 images with a powerful AI model … is responsible for roughly as much carbon dioxide as driving … 4.1 miles in an average gasoline-powered car. [The] least carbon-intensive text generation model … was responsible for as much CO₂ as driving 0.0006 miles in a similar vehicle.” And yet, PwC’s 2023 Emerging Tech Survey found that just 22 percent of business leaders were concerned about sustainability impact when citing issues with deploying generative AI.

A call to action for IT leaders

IT leaders play a key role in advancing sustainability within their organizations. While there’s a gap between aspirations and realization, this presents a unique opportunity rather than a barrier.

SustainableIT.org highlights that many IT organizations have yet to fully embrace ESG mandates, frequently due to implementation hurdles and the absence of standardized carbon footprint evaluation frameworks. However, this scenario offers IT leaders a chance to step up, utilizing their distinct skills and connections to spearhead meaningful sustainable transformation.

Through such proactive leadership, IT departments can transform from being seen as part of the problem to becoming an integral part of the solution, driving forward not only the sustainability agenda but also reinforcing an organization’s commitment to social responsibility and ethical governance. In doing so, IT leaders contribute to the global effort to combat climate change while also enhancing their organization’s reputation, attracting and retaining talent, and potentially realizing significant cost savings through more efficient resource use.

Five steps towards sustainable IT

• Define clear sustainability targets: Start by setting specific, measurable, and ambitious sustainability goals that align with broader standards. Identify critical areas for improvement and commit to ongoing progress in reducing your IT footprint.
• Engage with suppliers for sustainability: Work closely with your suppliers to ensure they adopt environmentally responsible practices and materials. This collaborative approach amplifies your sustainability impact and encourages a shift towards greener industry practices.
• Leverage technology for efficiency: Use automation and other technological innovations to streamline operations, reducing energy use and waste. Optimizing processes and embracing cloud solutions can also help significantly reduce your energy consumption.
• Advocate for sustainable policies: Actively support policies and regulations that encourage sustainability in the tech industry. Engage in dialogues, participate in forums, and advocate for green practices to help shape a more sustainable regulatory environment.
• Cultivate a culture of sustainability: Educate and inspire your team to adopt sustainable practices. Offer training, encourage innovative ideas for sustainability, and recognize efforts to meet your environmental goals, fostering a workplace that values green initiatives.

BMC: Our sustainable IT journey

At BMC, we’re on a path towards sustainability, aiming to become a net-zero enterprise by 2030. Through a holistic approach that addresses emission inefficiencies across the business, BMC is advancing its own sustainability agenda and empowering our customers to do the same. By offering expertise in sustainable transformation, operational efficiency solutions, and visibility into workload optimization, BMC is at the forefront of driving sustainable change in the IT sector and beyond.

Conclusion

For IT leaders, the call to action is clear: sustainability must be integrated into the heart of IT strategy and operations. By setting clear goals, adopting green practices, collaborating with suppliers, optimizing operations, and advocating for supportive policies, IT leaders can drive their organizations towards a more sustainable and prosperous future. The path forward requires a collective effort and a transformative approach, but the rewards are immense—for the planet, for people, and for prosperity.

¹Gartner Podcast, Why All Executives Should Focus on Sustainable Technology to Drive Growth, October 17, 2023. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

² Gartner Article, Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2024, Ava McCartney, October 16, 2023.