From single region to product pods

When I joined Pax8, the internal IT was a classic single region service. Everything went through one team, one process, one way of doing things. It worked when the company was small, but it was breaking as we scaled globally.

The solution wasn’t to hire more people or build more processes. It was to fundamentally change how we organised the work.

The problem with single region IT

Single region IT works when:

• Everyone is in the same timezone
• The business is relatively simple
• You can afford to wait for the IT team

It breaks when:

• You have teams across multiple timezones
• Different business units have different needs
• Speed matters more than consistency

The pod model

We moved to product oriented pods. Each pod owns:

• A specific business function (sales, marketing, operations, etc.)
• The technology that supports that function
• The service level agreements for that function
• The budget for that function

Each pod has:

• A product owner (from the business)
• A technical lead (from IT)
• 2-3 engineers
• Clear boundaries and responsibilities

What changed

Before: One IT team serving everyone, with tickets and queues and waiting.

After: Dedicated pods embedded in business units, with direct relationships and clear ownership.

Before: IT decided what to build and when.

After: Business units decide what they need, pods decide how to build it.

Before: Everything went through the same process.

After: Each pod has its own process, optimised for its specific needs.

The governance challenge

The biggest challenge was governance. How do you maintain consistency and security when you have multiple pods doing things their own way?

We solved this with:

• Platform standards: Common tools, security policies, and architectural patterns
• Guardrails: Clear boundaries about what pods can and cannot do
• Regular reviews: Monthly check-ins to ensure pods are aligned
• Shared services: Common infrastructure and tools that all pods use

The results

• Faster delivery: Pods can ship features in days, not months
• Better alignment: Business units get exactly what they need
• Higher quality: Pods own their outcomes and are accountable
• Lower costs: No more over-engineering for requirements that don’t exist

The key insight

The pod model works because it aligns incentives. When the business unit succeeds, the pod succeeds. When the pod succeeds, the engineers succeed.

This alignment is more powerful than any process or tool. It’s what makes the difference between IT that serves the business and IT that drives the business.

The bottom line

Moving from single region to product pods isn’t just an organisational change. It’s a fundamental shift in how you think about IT’s role in the business.

The pods aren’t just faster - they’re better. They’re more aligned, more accountable, and more effective.

If you’re struggling with IT that’s too slow or too disconnected from the business, consider the pod model. It might just be the change you need.