AWS re:Invent 2025 - Marriott’s Digital Transformation: Engineering the Future with Harness (DVT104)

Marriott's Digital Transformation: Engineering the Future with Harness

Marriott's Transformation Journey

• Marriott, a global hospitality company with over 10,000 properties in 143 countries, faced the challenge of rapidly transforming its software engineering and DevOps practices to keep up with the demands of the business.
• The catalyst for change was the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Marriott to rethink its operations and technology strategies to support an "I-shaped recovery" - a rapid surge in demand after a significant downturn.
• Marriott recognized the need to modernize its infrastructure, move to the cloud, and adopt a more agile, platform-based approach to software delivery.

Challenges and Inefficiencies

• Prior to the transformation, Marriott's software engineering processes were plagued by manual steps, siloed security practices, and inefficient deployment systems.
• Developers were spending 30-40% of their time on "cognitive overload" - tasks like change management, approvals, and budget management, rather than developing new features and products.
• The rise of AI-generated code further exacerbated the problem, as the volume of code increased by 25% but delivery stability and throughput decreased by 7.2% and 1.5% respectively.

Partnering with Harness

• Marriott evaluated various tools and solutions, and chose to partner with Harness, a platform for software delivery that brings AI and automation to the entire software delivery process.
• Key factors in Marriott's decision included Harness's ability to:
  • Provide a standardized, automated platform for CI/CD, security, testing, and deployment
  • Reduce cognitive load and toil for developers through AI-powered workflows
  • Offer flexibility and customization to meet Marriott's unique requirements
  • Serve as a true partner, collaborating to solve problems and influence the product roadmap

Transformation Results

• Marriott was able to achieve significant improvements in its software delivery process:
  • CI/CD build times reduced from 12 minutes to 5 minutes (and now down to 4 minutes)
  • Environment provisioning time reduced from 6 months to just 35 minutes
  • Increased visibility and control for security teams, with automated security scans and SBOM generation
• The key to success was Marriott's focus on standardization, simplification, and automation, rather than just automating existing inefficient processes.
• Marriott also emphasized the importance of an agile mindset, starting small with pilot teams, and building momentum through quick wins and developer buy-in.

The Role of AI in Marriott's Transformation

• Marriott leveraged Harness's AI-powered capabilities to further streamline its software delivery processes:
  • AI agents automate tasks like creating CI/CD pipelines, troubleshooting failures, and setting up feature flags and experiments
  • The Harness knowledge graph captures Marriott's unique context, allowing the AI to make informed decisions tailored to Marriott's needs
  • AI-powered test optimization, security scanning, and cost optimization help reduce developer toil and improve overall efficiency

Lessons Learned and Advice

• Start small, focus on quick wins, and build momentum through developer buy-in
• Prioritize standardization and simplification before automating
• Seek a true partnership with your technology providers, not just a vendor relationship
• Embrace an agile mindset and be prepared to adapt as the transformation progresses
• Leverage AI and automation to reduce cognitive load and toil for developers, allowing them to focus on high-value work

Conclusion

Marriott's digital transformation journey, powered by its partnership with Harness, has enabled the company to significantly improve its software delivery capabilities, increase developer productivity, and better support the rapidly changing demands of its business. By embracing standardization, automation, and AI-driven workflows, Marriott has laid the foundation for a more agile, resilient, and innovative software engineering organization.