Author: Ian Jongste

At Anderson MacGyver we love to help organizations get more value out of their data. And we believe that both in business and society data will make an increasingly larger impact. Whether it is the connecting flow between systems, the ability to make better decisions based on new insights, or the direct commercial value that data has, every organization has an opportunity to make a positive impact with data. However, capitalizing on these opportunities typically requires a journey with hurdles along the way. Data may not be available or of poor quality, teams may not see the opportunities, or technological challenges arise. The data journey is never dull. 

To progress on this journey, it requires a thorough understanding of the current challenges and opportunities. In other words, you need to understand where on the journey you are located. To help clients in this, we developed a Data Capability Assessment. A thorough, yet easy-to-understand assessment covering a wide range of data capabilities. Before diving into such an exercise, we believe that on a high level we can already help you in understanding your current situation. Therefore we invite you to download our Data to Value Quickscan. A quick and easy scan that you can execute yourself and should not take longer than 5 minutes.   

When we ask organizations what makes Anderson MacGyver unique, we often hear that the collaboration is seen as particularly pleasant. But who are the companies actually working with? Who are the colleagues making an impact at large organizations we work for internationally? In this series of articles, several colleagues write about their experience with the field, what role they play and what advice they have for future professionals.

This edition focuses on Tim Beswick. He has now been working for Anderson MacGyver for 3 years and before that gained experience in his career in various positions within the Digital Enterprise domain. Now he works from our office in IJsselstein. “I am currently working as an advisor to a digital & data leadership team. In that role I focus on data strategy, data strategy execution program mobilization, data value roadmapping and generative AI enablement & governance. I also do various things around the continued development of Anderson MacGyver. “I am a member of Anderson MacGyver Data to Value Guild and work there on the development of the relevant proposition and IP,” Tim says.

Tim is also part of the “Change Activators” initiative. This initiative is focused on channeling knowledge and experience and thereby further strengthening our client impact around change management. “And I am working on streamlining the organization of our account management for one of our largest clients so that we can make even more impact with this organization. “ Of course, he does this in addition to his role as a consultant. “I get happy when people say to me that my efforts have helped them move forward as a person; through an independent perspective, by sharing knowledge or experience, by organizing or simplifying something or by taking (some) of the work off their hands. It doesn’t really matter much to me. In addition, the consulting profession also brings with it something I consider a privilege; “namely, the opportunity to meet new people in new environments on a regular basis.”

What has he enjoyed the most so far? A tough choice, because for Tim, working with people and learning their different perspectives is very important in his work. “That makes actually every trajectory fascinating and fun. There is a nuance of content in that, though. Setting and deploying direction in complex environments with multidisciplinary teams for the sake of a more digital and data-driven future is something I love. Therefore, if I really had to choose, this content perspective would be the distinguishing factor and I would end up with these two trajectories; the getting started with data program for a corporate health service provider and data strategy development & program mobilization for a high-voltage grid operator.”

Power of a true team
Four years ago, Tim came to a crossroads in his career. He then turned to an environment where the focus was more on teamwork and customer impact. Whether that choice turned out right? “Yes. My Anderson MacGyver colleagues showed me the power of a true team. I can often be found along the line of many different soccer fields. So let me use an analogy to explain what I mean. You have soccer players who think that a team consists of a striker who must score, defenders who must defend and so on. You also have, mostly more successful, teams that know that if the top striker has double man coverage, there are always opportunities freed up for other players on the flanks or from the second line.”

“Anderson MacGyver is such a successful team. We know each other’s strengths but are all ready to do whatever it takes in any role to help the client and each other. My short bio includes the slogan: ‘Together we can do so much.’ The Anderson MacGyver team understands this like no other.” In the short term, Tim also has personal ambitions. “I would like to focus a little more on using my strengths in organizations that strive to make a social impact. And within that context, want to do even more teamwork with authentic people and learn from their perspectives.”

Gain ‘flying hours’ in specific areas
What advice Tim would like to pass along to people who are planning their careers? “What I immediately had to think about in response to this question is that my professional journey has been different than starting as a consultant as a college dropout. I still sometimes talk about this with colleagues who have been around a little less. Consulting is a profession in itself and requires specific skills. I believe that in addition to these specific skills, a consultant’s impact is influenced by the ability to really understand what certain changes mean for the people involved.”

“Therefore, make sure you get into the skin of the people the consultancy is about and the work involved,” Tim continued. “At Anderson MacGyver, we actually do this all the time; typically we’re not just in the boardroom presenting clever slides but most of the time we’re in the middle of the client organization and alongside the people who the consulting is about. I would advise to also occasionally go a step further and roll up your sleeves as a consultant and do some flying hours yourself in specific areas. In practice, this already happens regularly in Anderson MacGyver assignments.”

‘Make sure you stay yourself’
As Tim made clear earlier in his story, “people” are an important part of his vision and passion for the field. As such, this is part of his advice. “A second point is staying alert that you are and remain yourself. There are a thousand and one impulses in the consulting profession to step outside yourself and take on a role. That’s the profession of acting and not the profession of consulting; a consultant is ultimately most impactful when they feel good about themselves that requires you to be close to yourself. Being yourself also means making yourself vulnerable, being open to reflections and feedback and being willing to try new things.”

When we ask organizations what makes Anderson MacGyver unique, we often hear that the collaboration is seen as particularly pleasant. But who are the companies actually working with? Who are the colleagues making an impact at large organizations we work for internationally? In this series of articles, several colleagues write about their experience with the field, what role they play and what advice they have for future professionals.

This edition focuses on Niek van Vonderen. He has now been working for Anderson MacGyver for 2.5 years and started at the Stockholm office, before returning to the Netherlands and working from IJsselstein. What he found the most enjoyable job so far? “The job that stood out for me was a project with 5 other colleagues from Anderson MacGyver for a player in the automotive industry. There we were asked to put down a Target Operating Model. Entirely as we, Anderson MacGyver, like to do and are good at doing, we had a thoughtful approach, including workshops and design sessions, in order to build the model of the future together with the leadership.”

At some point it became clear that the client’s expectations were somewhat different after all, and so they had to switch gears. “They had no time at all for ‘future fantasy workshops.’ We were called to a halt, and were at a loss for words. Then we met with the team and reflected with the team with a proverbial laugh and a tear. We decided to change course, and implement a hands-on approach. This led to a very desirable outcome with our client and everyone was satisfied.”

“This project stands out for me because it hides a very important lesson,” continues Niek. “Namely; that it is very important to be able to be critical of your own perspective and paradigms at all times with how you look at the world. Sometimes you get stuck in tunnel vision and you are the last one to be aware of that.”

Attention to people
Meanwhile, Niek is on another project, developing a sourcing strategy for an organization in critical infrastructure. “At first sight a rather technical assignment, but I quickly found out that paying attention to people and the undercurrent of change is incredibly important here. After all, this is about outsourcing work that people have done with love and dedication for years. Inevitably there are many emotions and feelings involved. I now experience that when sincere attention is given to these, that is precisely when the tipping points arise so that you can move forward together and achieve technical results.”

The example Niek gives is directly also what he likes best about the consulting profession. “The relationships you build with clients. Because you help them, often side by side, interpret and solve complex problems that they couldn’t figure out on their own. During that process, you are also a confidant to whom, among other things, they can hold their concerns, fears and ideas filterlessly and that creates quite a special bond.”

Own development
By now, Niek has been working for Anderson MacGyver for quite some time and has therefore encountered things he was less aware of at the start of his professional career. “I was not very aware beforehand of the amount of space you were going to have to follow your heart and develop yourself in the direction that suits who you are as a person. I’m a person who challenges the status quo and often brings controversial ideas to the table, and within Anderson MacGyver with a little bit of direction, guidance and the necessary friction, I get all the space I need to put my hands and feet on that. For me, that very trust is the unifying and unique factor of Anderson MacGyver.”

Advice
For future professionals, it can be difficult to prepare yourself for what lies ahead. “My advice would be to be guided by what energizes you. After all, those are the signals that show whether you really like something. This is important because if you like something you often become very good at it. If you do not yet know what you really like, then I would say, be curious, listen to podcasts, read books, take initiatives so that you can really discover your own path and interests and get away from ‘the sameness’ that the University produces. I am obviously not against the University, you can learn a lot there, but it is my belief and experience that it adds a lot of value to business to develop your own thinking, because as Einstein very aptly put it: you cannot solve problems with the same thinking that created them.”

By Gerard Wijers  

What exactly constitutes the essence of a Digital Enterprise? And what can you do as a leader or board of directors to become such a tech- and data-driven organization? Anderson MacGyver co-founder and Nyenrode lecturer Gerard Wijers explains what is needed for distinctive customer experiences, new business models and an optimal operational backbone. All to claim a unique position within the market and business ecosystem.  

My vision of the Digital Enterprise is based on my academic work at Nyenrode, combined with the in-depth knowledge and experiences I have gained since 1991 after my PhD in IT Strategy, including  as a strategic consultant in the field of technology and data. Since our founding in 2013, as Anderson MacGyver, we have helped many of our clients become a Digital Enterprise. 

When I started as a consultant, tech and data were still by no means a boardroom topic. Over the years, that changed and our profession became more and more interesting. We now see that with a dedicated officer, the subject is increasingly gaining a permanent position at the boardroom table. Together with people from operations, commerce and finance, the decisions are made. 

Partly because of this broader engagement of leaders, organizations are becoming increasingly digital. In this article, I not only talk about the specifics of modern digital organizations, I also offer tools for becoming such an organization. 

Although the importance of digitalization varies enormously between companies and sectors, sooner or later virtually all organizations will have to deal with digitalization. Technology and data are used to differentiate, to operate more efficiently, to cooperate better within chains or ecosystems, and to respond flexibly to the needs and demands in social and economic dynamics. 

Three Pillars 
Digitalization requires a holistic view of multiple, interconnected aspects. Starting with the so-called “digitization” of the operational backbone – ranging from an ERP implementation to full automation of the production environment. Based on all my experiences with clients, I dare say that for many organizations, this domain accounts for about 40 percent of IT investments. 

Around 2014, when the term “digital” began its rise, this was still mostly about the outside of the organization. This included digital marketing, use of social media and the right digital channels such as apps, websites and so on. This ‘digitalization’ of the customer – and employee – experience in the front office is seen mostly in B2C companies. 

In addition, modern digital leaders create space and capabilities for innovation and the realization of new digitally based business models. Often, organizations start by turning their existing products, solutions into ‘digital’ services. Deployment of technology and data causes people to start thinking about issues such as long-term customer value and thus the introduction of, for example, subscription models and other forms of value creation. 

The three pillars – operational backbone, digital customer experience and value-based innovation – have so-called ‘enabling technology’ as their common basis . This is the digital version of the ‘firm infrastructure’ coined by Michael Porter, which consists of support items such as buildings, communications, administration, energy supply and physical security. 

This preconditional technology does not provide direct business functionality, but without solutions for areas such as integration, data platforms, identification, information security, you can do nothing at all as an organization. Enabling technology is growing rapidly and accounts for 30 to 40 percent of annual IT costs. 

Digital Evolution 
All of this does not make you a digital enterprise, however. A clear evolution of technology and data can be seen over the years. This started in the 1990s as IT management, which in a decade later gave way to the dynamics of demand and supply – where IT started to have its own processes and SLAs. As tech and data became very distant from the business, the step to outsourcing became smaller and smaller. 

As a result, well defined ownership became important. Agile-IT led to the rise of product owners, process owners and other owners some 15 years ago – even at the board level. By now, the more tech-savvy a board is, the more digital the organization. Sectors such as media, travel and retail are really leading the way right now. Some 50 to 70 percent of their revenue is based on digital activities. 

Since 2015 we have been in the era of digital business, with a greater importance of ecosystem dynamics in the last five years, where, for example, within a specific sector you use specialized and often powerful digital platforms. Think of Independer in the world of insurance, or Bol.com in retail and sites where you can book cheap airline tickets and vacations. 

It is important to know one’s position and added value within the network or ecosystem in which one operates. 

Top 5 pains & gains 
With our annual Digital Business Monitor, as Anderson MacGyver, we measure the state of affairs within European organizations. From this we distill a top 5 of pains & gains for board members. One of the most important gains is scalability. The idea behind it is that software is more scalable than people. Organizations are in a better position to grow through digitalization. 

Another gain is achieving operational excellence in the backbone – accounting for roughly 40 percent of all tech investments last year. Also important are an optimal customer and employee experience and realizing a responsive value-oriented organization in which Agile principles are applied at scale. 

Most of the pain is in an overly complex and outdated IT landscape. Also at play are too high costs due to inefficient operations. A word of warning: be well aware of where you are going to cut! Anyone who wants to improve margins or achieve higher sales will really have to invest more in IT. The high-performing organizations prove this. 

Other pain points include compartmentalized management rather than an integrated, holistic view of the organization. Attracting, developing and retaining digital talent also requires attention. Outsourcing driven by digital ambitions often has scarce talent as its trigger.  

Last but not least, poor data quality and the lack of a good data foundation. After all, data is increasingly at the core of the digital enterprise. 

Digital Enterprise 
But what is the core of a Digital Enterprise and what can you do as a leader or board of directors to make it happen? Before that, a word about the dynamics on the outside and inside… 

A unified and distinctive customer experience requires an integrated mix of digital propositions, products, channels and services. Organizations that do this well include Albert Heijn, Rituals and DPG Media – roughly half of their IT investments go toward optimal customer contact. Here it is important to be able to change quickly and energetically in order to respond optimally to current needs. 

There is also the extensive and relatively slow operational backbone, which needs to be automated, standardized and simplified. This stable and well-integrated IT supports the primary operational business processes and staff functions such as finance, HR and procurement. The pain of technical debt and legacy is especially felt here. Companies that focus heavily on having a good backbone include LeasePlan, CZ and Spie. 

Digital infrastructure was also already discussed under the heading of enabling technology. As mentioned, 30 to 40 percent of total IT spending goes to integration and data platforms, IoT and IT4IT. Organizations with a major stake in their digital infrastructure are Tennet and Schiphol Airport. 

Central elements 
Many organizations and their leaders are aware they are not getting the most out of their software and data. To change this, they can make the right tools and data widely available within the organization so that different functions and departments can run artificial intelligence and algorithms on them. In this way, they can become digitally smarter. Efforts in this area tend to lead to more and better insight into customers, products, processes and operational exploitation of these insights into direct action. 

Characteristic of the digital enterprise are this digital smartness and organization-wide shared data. As with the digital outside, inside and infrastructure, these are not things you approach in isolation. For maximum results, you address everything as much as possible in interconnection. with the digital front end, back end and infrastructure. Frontrunners in this area include PostNL and TVH. 

Recommendations 

My recommendation is to start thinking like a digital enterprise: holistically and end-to-end. Based on governance and personal leadership, create business strategies with explicit digital ambitions, leveraging technology and data to differentiate yourself from the competition. 

Moreover, build strategies that are scalable. Meanwhile, keep the overall IT landscape as simple and fit for purpose as possible. Place ownership and responsibility within multidisciplinary teams. Ensure tech and data capabilities within management teams and the board. Also recognize that there is no one type of IT, but embrace a multimodal approach. 

That multimodality means that different aspects of business operations require different kinds of IT. The Operating Model Canvas (OMC) helps determine which IT best fits which business activity. Across the axes of dynamics (from stable to responsive) and differentiation (generic versus specific), our multimodal model has four modes: distinctive versus common, and adaptive versus specialized. 

Conclusion: digital is everybody’s job. Everything you do with technology and data must be scalable and fit for purpose. That requires ownership and leadership – especially within boards of directors – in addition to a multidisciplinary approach. 

What’s next?

Want to find out more about the Digital Enterprise? Take a look at our other page: Stop playing catch-up, start becoming a Digital Enterprise
Want to get more insights? Jump to our pain: a complex legacy IT landscape and technical debt
Over the coming months, we will be sharing fundamental insights and experiences. Don’t wait to dive into this exciting theory! You can also contact Gerard via email or text to spar.

Last year, our Digital Business Monitor surveyed digital leaders to understand their strategic decisions on technology and data. We found varying levels of digital integration in organizations: some use technology and data to support the business, while others have digital ingrained in their operations and is thus an integral part of doing business. In the latter the business is digital minded and collaborate with tech and data experts in multidisciplinary teams to drive value. 

Challenges of digital leaders
Top digital challenges cited by all leaders were complex legacy systems and business-technology collaboration. But differences between our groups also emerged: “supporting the business” organizations faced digital talent shortages and lack of digital savvy leadership, possibly due to a preference for digitally-driven companies. Meanwhile, “doing digital business” leaders encountered issues with poor data quality, suggesting a heightened need for effective data management amidst intensified collaboration with business (and even partners) to deliver value. 

Do you want to know more about the Digital Enterprise? Check out our page: Stop playing catch-up, start becoming a Digital Enterprise

In the journey to a digital enterprise, CZ took three crucial steps in two years: transformation of IT, reassessment of business strategy and the decision to go through major standardization. CIO Peter Slager explains how technology and data are closely intertwined with CZ’s strategic direction. 

As a member of the executive board, the CZ CIO is eminently motivated to help improve healthcare through digital means. “My wife is a general practitioner, and we regularly talk at the kitchen table about using technology to keep healthcare affordable and accessible in the face of a tight labor market and rising prices. Business and IT will increasingly become one, with tech and data as enablers of innovation.” 

CZ has more than four million customers and the health insurer is in great financial health. According to Peter Slager, as one of the larger players, the organization can help guide digital developments in the sector. In this regard, the former top handball player brings vision, team focus and leadership experience – gained at LogicaCMG and Ahold Delhaize, among others. “I really believe in doing things together, multidisciplinary. It makes you much more effective as an organization,” he emphasizes. 

Value chains
When Peter Slager took office as CZ’s CIO two years ago, he had been on board with the company for some time. “That made my first hundred days a lot easier, because I was able to do an analysis on the entire division in the without having to manage the department. I wanted to transform the IT organization from an internal supplier to an enabler of business objectives.” 

The initial IT transformation program was based on four values: customer focus, simplicity, well-oiled processes and professionalism. Next to a more value-chain and customer journeys-orientedIT organization, CZ is working to modernize its technology and data landscape. 

“Soon we also decided to review our business strategy. Our services so far have had various digital elements, such as using technology and data to improve and enrich the CZ app. But rising healthcare costs and scarce talent required a much broader focus. After all, if we as a sector do nothing now, we are heading for a shortage of 80,000 healthcare professionals by 2030.” 

Pivotal
“In the summer of 2023, we saw that there was suddenly a lot going on,” Peter Slager continued. “The BizzTech program bringing IT closer to the business had led to improvement in the delivery process, but it was still not moving fast enough. Moreover, IT costs continued to rise. Partly because of our pivotal role in the CZ 2030 strategy, I decided to contact Anderson MacGyver.” 

The CIO had three questions: how can CZ IT accelerate, to what extent does the current architecture fit the ambitions and are IT costs keeping pace with other health insurers, and should we continue to want to do everything ourselves in terms of IT? “Using the Operating Model Canvas (OMC), it became clear which IT best fits our processes, principles and business activities.” 

OMC color palette
The colors assigned to the OMC showed that the many green-labeled generic activities within CZ demand stable and efficient IT support. In addition, on the customer side the color blue (adaptivity) deserves particular attention, while on the product side, among others, purple predominates: the need for distinctive (specialized) solutions. Orange is for the specific but relatively stable business processes. 

It did take a while before the OMC found its place in the organization. By now, both management and employees recognize and acknowledge the value of such an overview. “The visualization helps enormously to get people on board with the changes. The most important conclusion was that with the existing IT landscape we would not be able to realize the CZ 2030 strategy.” 

Compared to similar organizations, CZ’s change capacity turned out to be rather limited. “The conclusion was that we had too many in-house developed customizations. Together with Anderson MacGyver, we are now defining a new target architecture. Parallel to the initiated standardization is the transition to a scalable, modular and secure IT landscape. This includes sound data management. We are also reassessing the sourcing strategy.” 

Organizational principles
But CZ is looking ahead even further. The principles embraced within the IT division, such as well invested responsibilities and the pursuit of efficiency and simplicity, inspire a future vision for the overall organization, business processes and culture. 

“All in all, in two years we as an IT function have made the move from internal supplier to more strategic enabler based on technology and data,” concludes Peter Slager. “Business and IT can no longer be separated in this regard.” 

Curious about the general review of our Masterclass with Peter Slager, CIO of CZ? Read it here.
Want to find out more about the Digital Enterprise? Take a look at our other page: Stop playing catch-up, start becoming a Digital Enterprise

Technology and data have plenty of attention in the boardroom. Organizations are massively seeing the benefits of digitization and also experiencing the pain when they are lagging behind. A record turnout of over sixty senior level executives in the digital business domain underlined the need for knowledge and insight during the recent CIO Masterclass. CZ-CIO Peter Slager acted as guest speaker. 

Chair Fiep Warmerdam introduced the day’s theme Tech and Data in the Boardroom not from her role as a young consultant, but rather as a consumer who is increasingly making digital choices. She was referring in particular to her own and future generations. “When choosing health insurance, a digital card for my phone is an important requirement,” she warned. “Boards must align their decisions of today with the customer needs of today and tomorrow.” 

Digital enterprises
Before Peter Slager explained how, as CIO of health insurer CZ, he puts technology and data on the agenda, Gerard Wijers first outlined the playing field. “In 1991 I did my PhD in IT Strategy and back then it was definitely not a boardroom topic,” said the co-founder of Anderson MacGyver and Nyenrode professor. “By now it is. It’s great to work with our clients to create digital businesses.” 

All organizations, he says, are becoming increasingly digital, regardless of the sector. Although, companies within media, travel and, to a lesser extent, retail are generally further ahead than, say, manufacturing companies and infrastructure builders. Nevertheless, there are similar challenges everywhere, according to Anderson MacGyver’s own Digital Business Monitor. Take the need for scalability, responsiveness and customer focus. Or the pain of excessive costs, too much complexity, scarce talent and poor data quality. 

A holistic view of digitalization addresses multiple aspects, according to the Anderson MacGyver co-founder: “Digitization of the operational backbone, digitalization of the customer and employee experience and being able to innovate and create digital business models. All of this is made possible by underlying enabling technology.” 

Central elements
Other central elements of the digital enterprise are digital smartness and shared data. According to Wijers, these are not things you approach as standalone, but as much as possible in connection with the digital frontend, backend and infrastructure. “Digital is everybody’s job. Everything you do has to be scalable, fit for purpose – that requires ownership and multidisciplinary teams and responsibilities.” 

He also introduced the concept of multimodality. This means that different aspects of business operations require different kinds of IT. Sometimes focused on distinctive service or market position, and sometimes focused on operational efficiency. The so-called Operating Model Canvas (OMC) helps determine which IT optimally fits which business activity. 

The OMC of CZ shows with the use of colors that at the health insurer the many generic processes labeled green, partly in view of the highly regulated business domain, require stable and efficient IT support. In addition, on the customer side blue (adaptive) deserves attention, while on the product side purple predominates: the need for distinctive (specialized) solutions. 

Personal drivers
The easy-talking CZ-CIO Peter Slager would return briefly to OMC after his presentation. First, he talked about his own motivations to help improve health care. “My wife is a general practitioner, so we have regular conversations at the kitchen table about the possibilities. I also believe that business and IT are one in the same, with tech and data as enablers of all kinds of new possibilities.” 

That power of innovation is badly needed, because the healthcare industry is facing major challenges: keeping healthcare affordable and dealing with labor shortages. As one of the larger companies, the board member says CZ can help guide the sector toward tech- and data-based solutions. The former top handball player brings vision, extensive digital leadership experience and team spirit. 

To best address the spearheads for the so-called CZ2030 strategy, he is working on, among other things, customer focus, simplification, streamlined methods and processes and, finally, a more results-driven culture. A more focused organization and a scalable, modular and secure IT landscape are important tools. 

Strategic enabler
Peter Slager has now been on the way for about two years. “In the summer of 2023, we saw that as part of the IT change program, costs were rising dramatically. In addition, we needed to accelerate. Together with Anderson Macgyver, we then determined a new target architecture. With the OMC, we saw which IT best fit our processes, principles and business activities. The conclusion was that we had too much customization. In addition to standardization, we also recalibrated the sourcing strategy.” 

At the end of his presentation, the CZ-CIO again emphasized the strategic importance of technology and data, striking a good balance between business value-oriented innovativeness and limiting complexity. “After two years, we as IT have made the shift from internal supplier to a more strategic enabler,” he said. 

It was striking that the questions from the 60-member audience were mostly about the strategic position of technology and data, with Peter Slager emphasizing that digital tools can help pre-eminently in being able to provide people with the right care. AI can also play a role in this – supporting the human factor and especially as an enabler for operational excellence and serving customers better. 

Moreover, it is important to involve concerned employees, suppliers and other parties in the ecosystem. Slager: “We really have to do it together.” 

Curious about the recap of our previous Masterclass with Jon Månson of Scania? Read it here.
Want to find out more about the Digital Enterprise? Take a look at our other page: Stop playing catch-up, start becoming a Digital Enterprise
Or check out the core components of a Digital Enterprise.

Don’t forget to continually address the appetite for business results
This is the third and last part of our blog series on key approaches for designing successful Data to Value journeys. In part 2 we talked about the importance of data and business people spending time together to explicitly define and prioritize data value opportunities. By doing this abstract data value terms are made tangible and bridges are built from required business capabilities to data capabilities. A joint understanding is achieved of what data capabilities are required; including the typical and for business people sometimes uncomfortable truth that also nasty foundational capabilities require company-wide, thus also business, attention. 

In this blog we discuss the importance on continually addressing the appetite for business results by delivering the data products that the business needs whilst also working on an improved Data Foundation. 

The effects of not finding the right balance 
It is probably easiest to define right balance from a perspective of imbalance. 

• If you focus your budget and efforts too much on Data Value Delivery, you will be end up with data products that do not meet requirements; do not comply to regulations, cannot be integrated in your architecture, do not scale for production usage, do not provide sufficiently accurate insights etcetera. Great experiments in a dark and cold cellar that will never see the light of day. 
• If you put too much emphasis on Data Foundation, you will end up doing lengthy and costly work without making an impact on the business. You spend a lot time and budget without visible impact, you will loose momentum, business will loose their focus and limit their contribution, executives will become impatient and eventually the plug will be pulled. 

Based on our experiences of working with many organizations we can confidently state that already creating this awareness is already a major step forward. The next step is to structure your data activities and expenditure along these lines. This facilitates constructive dialogue and conscious decisions were points of view are understood and considered. 

Data value opportunities are your guiding star 
Answering the question where exactly the right balance lies for an organization is a much harder one to answer. You can build on your detailed and prioritized definition of data value opportunities; these should drive your decisions. Below we have listed several examples of recent considerations with our clients 

• Do we need a machine learning capability if we are focused on using market standard systems for all our business activities expect for product engineering? Should we limit to a small pocket of advanced analytics capabilities in this business domain? 
• Do we need a organization wide self service capability if only the engineering and finances departments are expected to use this? Should we then focus on cataloging only the data domains that engineering and finance intensively use? 

• Giving the fact that we work with partners in sales; should we focus on data interoperability in that data domain first of all? 
• Based on our business risks, what are our Critical Data Elements and should we focus on these for data quality measures first? Should we first of all tackle the data domain to which the majority of CDE’s belong to? 
• Should we really focus on continuous data quality monitoring if we merely use data for descriptive reports that contain pointers for our sales people? 

Create an overview of required capabilities per opportunities and consolidate this. Include the data domain dimension in analyses to allow for focused and / or staged implementation. Ask yourself the question whether staged data product releases make sense; can we deliver an 80% solution short term to later deliver enhanced solution? And were does this not make sense, e.g. due to risk of presenting misleading or incorrect insights. 

Below you will find an illustrative example using a DAMA DMBok based data management capability framework. 

Once you have a clear picture of your target capabilities you can start measuring the delta between your current actual and target and based on this identify what effort is required where. Where do I need to fix the plumbing and which business thirst should I focus on quenching first of all? Share considerations and options with users and jointly create the implementation roadmap. 

Do not become the modern day Don Quichot 
To summarize, Anderson MacGyver suggest adopting the following approaches for designing successful Data to Value journeys 

1. Take a business value centric approach 

2. Use data value opportunities as the bridge between business goals and data capabilities 

3. Spend time making data value opportunities explicit and always prioritize 

4. Speak up about the need for foundational improvements; but always relate this to the data value opportunities  

5. Data value opportunity priorities drive your data capabilities prioritization 

6. Carefully assess which data capabilities you truly require, and which you do not require, to be able to address the prioritized data value opportunities 

7. Consider interim releases and selective per data domain implementations to be able to deliver shorter term results 

Missed the first two blogs? Jump here to the right pages:
Part 1: Did we just meet the modern day Don Quixote?
Part 2: Throwing a clump of earth into the reed

Focus on data value opportunities
In this short blog series we share approaches on how to get business and data people to better understand each other and jointly create value. In this second of three parts, we focus on the theme of building bridges between business value and data capabilities. 

Data visions, goals and strategies can sometimes be perceived as abstract. When things are too abstract, people can find it hard to relate to. Abstract pictures typically do not result in desire. Would a horse run after a carrot if it did not know that carrots were tasty? In the same line of reasoning would a business professional spend time on data quality if this person would not have a clear picture of what he would be missing out on if he would not tackle? 

Does a clump of earth entertain your data team?
Unfortunately we quite often encounter situations where the data team ends up pretty much empty handed when engaging with business executives on priorities. The Dutch often use the following expression for this: “Met een kluitje in het riet sturen.” It does not translate very well but something like “send into the reed with a clump of earth” would probably come nearest. The expression comes from the past were shepherds would keep their sheepdogs entertained by throwing a spade of earth into the reed and the dogs would spend a lot of time looking to something they would never find.  

In order to avoid wasting your time searching for earth in reed and make your Data to Value initiatives successful you need to really spend time with your business users and executives to jointly substantiate the opportunities to create value with data. Jointly spelling out what data products are required, how these will be used and coming up with a concise narrative on what value is created with that is crucial. Do not settle for examples and drive for clear definitions. Anderson MacGyver uses the framework below.

Drive for explicit definitions and prioritization
At first glance it might seem somewhat elaborate but you will find being thorough in your rational from business goals all they way through to required data capabilities will prove to be a crucial bridge for a focused effort towards business value through data. 

Be sure to prioritize data value opportunities and do not accept statements that “everything” is important as you will fail to deliver “everything.” Be clear about the need to shake hands on what needs to done with highest priority for business success. Only through crossing the chasm from “could do” to “should do” to “need to do” you achieve commitment. Commitment not only for actually using data products, but also commitment to jointly address any enabling factors; which often boils down to improving the organization’s Data Foundation.

Speak up and dare to call out foundational challenges
Building on this commitment, explicitly spell out the requirements for being able to deliver the prioritized data products. It may not win you the popularity prize short term but data professionals are not magicians and business contribution is inevitable for impactful and sustainable data to value. Do not be afraid of explaining in simple business terms the impact that, for instance an incomplete data set, will have on the usability of the data product that your stakeholders have committed to really needing for their success. Do always present in the context of the why; the earlier agreed business priorities. 

This is not an easy conversation; people rather hear the good news. With the explicit narrative with the link between business value and data capability, you should have more fertile soil to address the unpopular dirty details on the foundational changes that are necessary and even more awkward, address the need for a company-wide contribution to addressing these foundational changes. 

Having said this, do keep in mind that the appetite for business results needs to be continually addressed. Do not use the understanding around the need for foundational improvements to disappear and work only under the hood. We discuss this topic in the third, and last, part of this blog series: Focus on the tap and on the plumbing.
Missed the first blog? Jump here to the right page: Did we just meet the modern day Don Quixote?

By Edwin Wieringa  

Flipping through the financial pages of newspapers and my favorite news sites, I see a wide mismatch between supply and demand in a variety of industries. That’s unfortunate. In my opinion, it doesn’t take much for companies to deliver exactly what the market demands even in times of economic turbulence. The key lies in a flexibly organized core.   

That mismatch is visible everywhere. In the case of logistics firms, which allocated their resources to the wrong business activities. Or the media company, which after years of double-digit growth rates is suddenly facing a 10 percent downturn. A leading social media platform is doing even worse. A machine maker for the tire industry, due in part to a lack of staff, is unable to meet demand.   

That begs the question for me: how agile are organizations really? And how can you activate that agility? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to be flexible with available resources and people? By temporarily shifting them to business units or activities where they are most needed, if necessary?  

Adjustable organization   
To be more ‘adjustable’ as an organization, you need to be able to push a number of buttons to address uncertainty in terms of suppliers, available talent, economic conditions and impactful events. This would allow many companies, which are currently unable to meet demand, for example, to scale up more expeditiously.   

They should focus on a flexibly organized ‘core’. This is in contrast to a rigid hierarchy or structure in which specific people and roles are judged on specific things. By thinking and acting more from the bigger picture, it becomes easier to allocate resources where they are most valuable.   

In the digital domain, you can work with pools of specialists, who may or may not be available from their area of expertise for part of the time for matters of general interest. Think of a club of engineers, architects or product owners from the business, who you deploy where the pain is or for new opportunities. That would also fit in very well with the informal Dutch work culture. 

Evolutionary steps   
For example, the company LeasePlan is organized in this way. If necessary, they can make interventions in terms of people and resources. The beauty is that reshaping the organization to such flexibility is not a revolutionary change. It can all be done in small, evolutionary steps toward balanced governance, where within a functional structure it is clear who is talking to what counterpart from another pool about what.   

That way you can identify, address and solve a specific challenge without having to change the overall organizational structure. After all, most companies have that foundation well in place. Just a few buttons that allow you to adapt to outside change. Hopefully with upbeat financial news as the ultimate result.   

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