Flex or Fail

Singapore-based DBS bank was being shaken by nimble competitors and needed to change fast. CEO Piyush Gupta knew spending big on technology wasn't ...

The payment processing industry in Europe had operated in largely the same way for decades. A standard system of financial processing and clearing ensured a steady profit pool for most of the players. However, the payments system in Europe was facing threats on a series of fronts, including changing regulation that shifted power away from some incumbents, lower prices, new competitors, and more demanding customers. One of the region’s large players, Swiss-based SIX Payment Services, needed to decide how to respond to these threats.

Singapore-based DBS bank was being shaken by nimble competitors from China, and it needed to change fast. But CEO Piyush Gupta knew that blowing a...

Few Business to Business (B2B) marketplaces have succeeded. Metalshub has successfully combined a software platform as a service, with a marketplace matching supply and demand for raw materials used in the Metals and Mining industries. Through innovative pricing and business models, the company has managed to scale its operations in a short timeframe.

Companies that modularize and externalize their best capabilities are in a strong position to seize unexpected opportunities. Prediction is hard. T...

Generative AI has taken the world by storm since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022, a version that suddenly captured the minds of the public tha...

In this note, I offer a framework to help business leaders cope with the duality of geopolitical conflict and stakeholder scrutiny. CEOs increasing...

With organizations of all sorts facing increased urgency and unpredictability, being able to ask smart questions has become key. But unlike lawyers...

No company can grasp the potential of AI until it has set up a data-driven culture enabling employees to create value from the insights that emerge from data analysis. This means that before setting up an AI strategy, organizations must transform and prepare their infrastructure and culture for the AI age. This case study discusses the initiatives developed and rolled out by Marianne Galvin, initially Head of Data Office and then VP of Digital Transformation, as she worked to turn Civilia Engineering into a data-driven company. The case explores what Marianne put in place over her first 22 months with the company. This included: Governance structures and an educational program that proved to be highly popular. As the initiatives took root, Marianne and her team began to gain acceptance of use cases and dashboards for data-driven decision making but there were still several challenges to overcome, in particular how to work with an IT team more focused on architecture and improving legacy systems. The case closes as Marianne looks ahead to 2024, outlining what still needs to be done to gain digital and data maturity. The case provides a comprehensive understanding of the critical aspects of building a data-driven organization, particularly focusing on the interplay between value, data, and people. Through this case, learners will develop a nuanced understanding of the three pillars that sustain data-driven organizations, how to create a data-centric culture, how to avoid pitfalls in data-science projects and the nuances of digital transformation in non-digital organizations. They will be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively lead and contribute to the building of data-driven organizations, fostering an environment that embraces data-centric decision-making and successfully navigates the complexities of digital transformation in an increasingly data-driven world.

As Easter approaches, a time of renewal and transformation, the auto industry finds itself at a crossroads. Elon Musk, once hailed as a visionary l...