The “Follow the Sun” (FTS) model is a global operational strategy that leverages time zone differences to achieve continuous workflow and round-the-clock productivity. This approach distributes work teams across multiple geographic locations, ensuring that as one team concludes its typical workday, another team in a different time zone is just beginning theirs. The strategy transforms the planet’s rotation into a mechanism for uninterrupted business function. This article explores how the FTS model works, the advantages it confers to global organizations, and the difficulties that must be navigated for successful implementation.
Defining the Follow the Sun Model
The Follow the Sun model is a structured approach to global workflow management that provides 24-hour coverage without relying on local night shifts or employee overtime. It is based on the principle that work progresses continuously. To achieve this, organizations establish operational centers in at least three major geographic regions, often spanning the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and the Americas time zones.
Teams in each region typically work standard eight-hour shifts. As their workday concludes, they systematically transfer responsibility for in-progress projects or support tickets to the next geographic office beginning its day. This continuous transfer of ownership maintains momentum on high-priority tasks until they are resolved or completed.
How the Follow the Sun Model Works
The operational mechanism of FTS centers on a structured process known as the “handoff,” which is the transfer of work-in-progress and status updates between rotating global teams. For instance, a team in Sydney might conclude its day by compiling all necessary information on a software development task. This detailed package is then passed to a team in London, whose workday is just starting, allowing them to immediately resume the task without delay.
The handoff requires precise communication regarding what has been completed, what issues remain, and the next steps in the workflow. A brief, planned overlap time between the concluding and commencing shifts facilitates a seamless transition and allows for synchronous question-and-answer sessions. This overlap ensures the receiving team gains the necessary context and knowledge transfer from the outgoing team, preventing bottlenecks. The work then continues in the second location before being handed off to a third region, such as New York or Toronto, keeping the task moving around the clock until completion. This systematic rotation ensures that a single project is actively worked on for three full shifts, compressing the total time required for delivery.
Key Benefits of 24/7 Global Operations
Implementing the FTS model accelerates the rate at which global organizations can operate and respond to events. A primary benefit is the reduction of system and application downtime, as round-the-clock coverage allows for immediate response and resolution of incidents. This constant attention minimizes the costly impact of outages, particularly for systems requiring high availability.
The continuous workflow also shortens product development and testing cycles, reducing “time-to-market.” Tasks that might traditionally take multiple business days can be completed in a fraction of the time. Furthermore, FTS enables enhanced customer support availability, ensuring a global customer base receives service and issue resolution at any time. This improves satisfaction and allows companies to resolve queries with greater speed and efficiency.
Challenges of Implementing Follow the Sun
Despite the productivity gains, the FTS model introduces significant difficulties that organizations must actively manage. Communication difficulties are a major hurdle, as time zone differences often prevent synchronous meetings and real-time collaboration, leading to coordination breakdowns. The reliance on detailed documentation for handoffs increases the risk of clarity issues and information loss between teams, which can introduce errors or require rework.
Managing diverse work styles, holidays, and expectations across widely separated regions also presents difficulties related to cultural differences. Teams must navigate varying social norms and communication styles, which can lead to misunderstandings or friction. Maintaining quality control and consistency is another concern, as multiple teams may use slightly different processes or metrics. Ensuring a uniform standard of output when work is transferred daily requires substantial oversight and standardization.
Essential Requirements for Successful FTS Implementation
To mitigate challenges and ensure the continuous flow of work, several technological and procedural requirements must be met. The establishment of standardized processes and workflows documented across all geographic locations is necessary. This uniformity ensures that regardless of which team owns the task, the methodology for execution and quality assurance remains consistent.
Robust knowledge management systems are also necessary to facilitate the handoff and prevent information loss between shifts. These systems, along with unified global communication platforms, streamline the transfer of ownership and status updates. Examples of these tools include:
- Shared repositories and detailed documentation protocols.
- Visual aids like flowcharts or Kanban boards.
- Shared ticketing systems.
- Version control software.
- Instant messaging channels.
Industries That Utilize Follow the Sun
The FTS model is most commonly adopted by sectors where the cost of delay or system downtime is high, making 24/7 coverage a necessity. The IT support and service desk industry frequently uses FTS to provide uninterrupted technical assistance and rapid incident resolution to a global user base. Similarly, software development, particularly for DevOps and bug fixing, leverages the model to achieve faster iteration and deployment cycles by keeping code active around the clock.
Financial services, such as global trading operations and banking, rely on FTS to manage transactions and system monitoring across international markets, where system outages are costly and time-sensitive. Other sectors, including multinational call centers and network operations centers, use this approach to ensure constant service availability and continuous monitoring of infrastructure.