Reducing order time from months to days

Equinix’s ordering process for data center infrastructure had grown into something no one fully understood. The system involved 10 teams, 8 tools, 30+ siloed processes, and over 1,000 configuration options — producing an average lead time of four months from inquiry to fulfillment. We were asked to simplify it. The lever turned out to be a single artifact — a service map — that let 10 teams finally see the whole system and act on it.

Nobody knew the whole picture

Before designing anything, we had to map what was there. Over three months, my design lead and I spoke with more than 20 stakeholders across Equinix’s various departments.

The most significant discovery wasn’t a usability finding. It was that no single person inside the company understood the complete ordering experience. Everyone knew their piece. Nobody knew the whole.

After mapping the internal process, we turned to customers — B2B, B2C, and B2B2C — to understand the experience from the outside. The full picture was more complex than anyone had anticipated.

Seeing the system together

Mattie and I were the only two people who had seen the entire system end to end. Transforming it required everyone to share that understanding. We ran a roadshow with all relevant stakeholders, followed by co-creation sessions designed to build a shared model.

The sessions did two things: they gave teams an accurate picture of the system they were part of, and they created ownership. Teams became invested in transforming their own areas rather than waiting for directives from above.

Leadership saw the full ordering experience together for the first time. The service map became the shared artifact that made transformation conversations possible.

Outcome

• For the business: ordering cut from 4 months to 2 days, 8 tools consolidated into 1, and a client relationship that grew into more work.
• For customers: infrastructure ordered through one self-serve platform, with 3 essential choices instead of 1,000+.
• For the team: a shared service map that let 10 teams see the whole system and keep transforming their own areas.

“Words cannot express the impact this work has had on our business. When we work with Myplanet we want Mattie and Shanil.”

— Director at Equinix

Design beyond interfaces

Service design showed me that design is far more than interfaces. Understanding systems, facilitating alignment, and translating complexity into shared clarity are design skills too. Sometimes the most valuable thing a designer can produce is a map that lets a room full of people finally see what they’ve been part of — and keep using long after the engagement ends. Teams kept transforming their own areas from that map well after we’d gone.