What do AI, onions, and ogres have in common? 🧅 If you’re not thinking about layers, you might be missing the bigger picture. Too often, we get stuck on the shiny stuff, whether it's a chatbot, or a “look what it can do” demo. But AI adoption isn't all about the interface. Success lies in the architecture. In the stack. In the layers you don’t always see. Most teams only see the tip of the iceberg. They interact with a polished UI or a single large language model. But greater value gets unlocked when organisations are serious about platforms, orchestration, and people. That’s where Team Topologies, Wardley Mapping, and User Needs Mapping can help. I might not be an AI architect, but they’ve helped me and the teams I work with understand each layer, and where to invest time and effort for the biggest rewards. So what might these layers include? Any good AI foundation requires trust. That’s why a unified, scalable platform like OpenShift is vital. It abstracts away complexity so you can focus on higher impact activities rather than reinventing the wheel. It can sit on top of a public or private cloud layer. Above that layer you might find OpenShift AI. This acts as a launchpad for AI where you can fine tune and deploy your own models with confidence. These models are governed, observable, and usable. But, more than anything, they are yours! What's brilliant is that the AI stack doesn't have to end there. I've recently been exploring Great Wave AI. This agentic orchestration layer sits on top of everything I've described and can take those curated models and turn them into agents that are accessible through a simple UI. With a stack like this, we're going beyond code and moving towards collaboration. Agentic hybrid teams that help staff do what matters and deliver valuable outcomes for users. If you're not thinking in layers you're missing out. With layers, even an ogre can get value from AI. 🧌 Image credit to Comic Agilé
Just as an example of LLM capability: "The joke in this comic is about the disconnect between detailed technical reality and simplified presentations in software development. On the left side ("How your tech stack looks:"), a developer sees their system as a complex, multi-layered architecture with clearly defined components - User Interface, Services, Data Access, Database, and Hardware. On the right side ("How your architect thinks it looks:"), the architect is simply making a PowerPoint presentation, suggesting they have an oversimplified or surface-level understanding of the actual technical complexity. The humor comes from this contrast: the developers dealing with intricate technical details while architects or management may reduce everything to simplified slides or presentations that don't capture the true complexity of the system."
Sometimes I view all of these things as projections of how people try to see the world, which may or may not help other people see, rather than how the world really is. It might even be Orwellian and a bit "let's force the world to be like THIS, you'll thank me for it later!" .... It's like the Jungian projection and the Shadow...
True story.
So true....
Sr Project Manager bij Red Hat
5moEach AI layer unveils more potential – truly vital for deeper insights and better collaboration. What an exciting journey ahead. 🚀 #AIFuture