Insights

Agility or ‘agility’ has become the code word for organizations that don’t want to be left behind. Unfortunately, in many organizations, that agility remains stuck at the operational level. Agile delivery is a step in the right direction but, for organizations that want to survive, it is high time to take agile to the next level and ensure that real value is delivered in today’s dynamic and competitive landscape.

Water treatment company Aquafin was looking for a partner to help translate a cluster of opportunities into a customer-centric business model based on design thinking. By working with ACOMPANY, they ended up getting more than they asked for. ACOMPANY went to work with the insights of Aquafin as well as its clients, and based on co-creation eventually came up with the definition of a roadmap for a self-service portal.

According to Tim Groenwals’ view this is crucial to the success of digital transformation. Every organization is different. So every digital transformation will be different. There is no single scenario for its success. And even if you have a good blueprint, many unexpected issues can crop up. To increase your chances of success, good collaboration between the Transformation Office and a Center of Excellence is crucial. We spoke with transformation expert Tim Groenwals about the role both bodies play and why it’s good for the same party to manage both.

Anyone can innovate. There is so much information out there, there are so many tools to help you – with a minimum budget and a little technological ingenuity, anyone can become an innovator. Only: if innovation is not embedded in an organization’s strategy, it will never be viable. As Geoffrey Moore put it in his ‘Crossing the chasm,’ many innovations get stuck with the ‘early adopters’ and fail to really break through. Are you working on innovation? Then read the nine tips below. They will help you cross the chasm.

A digital transformation not only gives an organization more clout, it also makes all parts of the organization collaborate more closely. Just as a digital transformation does not happen without a struggle, something often goes wrong in the translation of high-level organizational objectives into their realization through the deployment of technology at the operational level. Developing a good architecture helps the business to view IT strategically and make the right choices in terms of both objectives and costs.

If we compare the role of the CIO to a book, it’s a story with lots of cliffhangers. And, right now, we are writing a particularly exciting chapter. One in which the CIO will no longer play a supporting role, but will instead determine the plot himself. After all, the CIO is the most appropriate person to shape this digital and business transformation. All that is needed is a more holistic approach towards the transformation.

Companies are increasingly looking for people who can do everything as part of their digital transformation. People who can think conceptually and specialize deeply at the same time. Unfortunately, not everyone is a ʽhomo universalis‘ who can do it all. Fortunately, there is also a solution to this challenge: the agency model. An agency brings the strengths of several people together in one cohesive team, allowing transformation projects to proceed faster and with more quality.