Box-driven automation keeps Netflix staff on their toes

Netflix's Justin Slaten explains how Box has had a big impact on how staff work at the firm

"There are people who are happy doing things the way they always have, being resistant to innovation or change," says Justin Slaten, manager of enterprise technology and client systems at Netflix.

"And frankly those people are in trouble when it comes to the technology landscape, because when things change you're not going to have something for a ‘next thing to do'."

Netflix has had a close relationship with cloud file sharing and content management firm Box for some time, a relationship that Slaten implies is getting closer.

"We were very early adopters of Box - we go to them, they come to us, and we work with them early on the alpha level even; we try things out and provide feedback," he tells Computing.

Netflix departments that have adopted Box include marketing groups, the firm's legal department and media studios. But it's accounts receivable that Slaten seems most proud of in terms of adding automated processes to Box's cloud collaboration platform.

"If you look at an old process of accounts receivable - bills in the mail, email, etc. there's a lot of overhead when it comes to managing that process. So we can use automation to route things to a specific processor, or to assign them, or make sure that things aren't missed in terms of the sheer volume that comes in."

Slaten is also impressed with the way that "Box themselves help to transform other infrastructures", meaning that the more Netflix's clients use Box, the easier their accounting processes slot straight into the workflow.

"And I'm sure that's what Box is trying to work towards - that's the big vision," he states.

Slaten cannot state how many people actually work at Netflix (the answer, according to MacroAxis.com, is just over 2,000), but he says "everybody who should be using [Box] is using it".

Slaten describes the joy of Box as "automating something that was legacy, and utilising the parts you can automate".

"Incrementally, [employees] get the time back to then improve what it is that they do, and then they have more bandwidth [in terms of human capacity rather than data], and they can try to go for the next level in their role. One piece of advice I learned from my boss was ‘Make yourself useless'. It was a gem, but I didn't understand it at first.

"I thought: 'If I make myself useless, you're just going to fire me'. But it's about not making yourself the only person who can do something. We're not making them useless as people, we're just giving them time to widen what they can do. If you're the only person who can work on IT operation, for example, you're never going to move on to the next thing."

Slaten says it's important that employees aren't retained just because "they have to be there".

"I don't want them to look at me and say ‘He can't go for a new position in Europe, because he has to be here to run this'."

So, have there been any redundancies since automation through Box began, asks Computing?

"Well... for people who aren't willing to grow," replies Slaten.

"There's definitely the type of person who's happy the way they do things."

Slaten belives there is no place for those who are "resistant to innovation and change".

"You're forced to reinvent yourself, otherwise you're left in the dust. We're not doing it to minimise the workforce, but to have people perform better."

Eventually, Netflix plans to become a 100 per cent SaaS company.

"We're definitely a cloud first company, so mostly when I'm looking to evaluate something I look at SaaS first," says Slaten.

"We've always had a really big virtualisation programme in our own data centres. But that's what's going away."

It remains to be seen how this continued move to SaaS, automation and collaboration will affect Netflix's remaining "dead wood", but there's no denying the slickness of Slaten's plans.

However, if you're thinking of working for Netflix, it might be best to have a career trajectory in mind before Box replaces you.