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

Ramak Robinson, Head of Integration at H&M
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Episode Summary

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.

  • Key Takeaways

    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.

  • About Ramak

    About Ramak

    Ramak Robinson is an IT Architect with more than 18 years of IT professional experience working primarily with integration architecture and integration strategies in different companies. She has extensive experience of working with design, development, test and implementation of applications and integration solutions. She is heading the Integration Unit at HM Business Tech, responsible for both platforms, services and integration strategy. She holds a master degree in Computer and System Science at Stockholm University with a major in Information Systems.

  • Top Quotes

    Top Quotes

    “ 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.”