Digital Strategy & Execution

Healthcare and Life Sciences

Financial Services

The Psychology of Change in Digital Transformation

The Psychology of Change

At Highberg Digital, we help our clients with their digital transformation journeys. Digital transformation can be seen as a journey that has an impact on the core of organizations and individuals. Each journey has its challenges and for digital transformation, it is the response of people to change. Some embrace the changes while others feel more comfortable with the well-known.

Kyra Koper

Netherlands

Digital

Government and Public Sector

Drones in the Physical Environment

The Revolution of Data Acquisition

The Revolution of Data Acquisition: Drones in the Physical Environment

In a world where technological progress marks nearly every aspect of our daily lives, it's no surprise that the physical environment is exceptionally suited for innovative applications. We're witnessing the rise of smart sensors that monitor environmental quality, smart mobility solutions making city traffic more efficient, and the use of smart dust — minuscule sensors that collect detailed data about their surroundings. Moreover, the development of digital twins, where virtual replicas of physical environments are created for precise analysis and simulation, paves the way for the application of drones in the physical environment.

Irfan Ilahi

Strategy & Change

Case study 'Redesign HR Operating Model' NS

Highberg collaborated in a transformation with the HR Department of Dutch railroads on improving the HR service delivery model. Subsequently the HR Target Operating Model was newly developed. Read below about the context, approach, and the results which were achieved.

Mariëlle van Tilburg

Heiko van Eldijk

Case study: Redesign HR Operating Model for NS

Organizational

A Highberg Case study: Productization in Shell’s Cloud

Case study: Productization in Shell’s Cloud

A Highberg Case Study

Following Shell’s Enterprise Cloud Platform transformation journey from project to product.

Koen Harbers

Simon Atteveld

Effective strategy execution with enterprise architecture

Effective strategy execution

Translating the business strategy into reality is a complex task. The majority of organizations fail to successfully implement their business strategy. What is the cause of this and can enterprise architecture provide a helping hand? Discover five scenarios where you can use enterprise architecture to increase the likelihood of successful strategy execution.

Arie van Nistelrooij

Security policies and frameworks for data pipelines in the public sector

Security policies and frameworks

Data pipelines are essential components of modern governmental operations. They facilitate the flow of information between (governmental) organizations, departments, and systems, ensuring efficient functioning of the government. With increasing digitization and data usage, vulnerabilities in the data pipeline have become a critical focus. In this blog, we explore the challenges, risks, and strategies for keeping government data pipelines secure.

Jousuf Mohamed

Highberg's strategy against rising cybersecurity threats in industrial automation

ICS Security: setting new standards

Cybersecurity threats industrial automation (ICS/SCADA)

The world of Industrial Automation (IA) is increasingly facing cybersecurity threats. Not only foreign nuclear power plants have already been hacked, but also the first objects of our vital infrastructure. VKA has therefore developed a multidisciplinary approach to take IA to the desired higher level.

Huub Koninkx

Focus decision-making outside the boundaries of the program organization

Innovation in chains

Innovation in chains: focus decision-making outside the boundaries of the program organization

This past year I had the pleasure of being program manager for an ambitious "bottom up" initiative for exchange and reuse of soil data (chain computerization) of government and network operators. Many parties were involved such as municipalities and provinces but also dozens of (semi)private companies. At the time of writing this post, the program has temporarily stopped: the principals are looking for a way to regain funding and participation. In this blog, I briefly reflect on events and how additional measures can help this program - and other similar programs.

Ruud Boot

IT department, are you still there?

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The world is changing rapidly, and with the advent of technological advancements, many organizations are being driven by digitization.
Within information provision (IT), also known as the IT department, it's no different. Think of the arrival of technologies like GenAI and Data Management. The business departments of an organization want to anticipate these changes.
To facilitate this, IT departments are facing increasingly greater challenges. They are often very busy ensuring the basics of their services are in order, passing audits, and meeting the year's forecasts. Due to this focus, there is often insufficient time to truly respond to all developments.
It's time to pull the handbrake, look around, and collaborate closely with the business.
Because I see more and more in practice that the business is following its own IV path. A path without the IT department. In this blog I describe in broad terms what you can do to make an active contribution to this as an IT department.

Jessica Drake Wetsteijn

An integrated architectural approach for robust ICS/SCADA security

Working in architecture

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Last year showed how vulnerable our infrastructure sometimes is as a result of cyber attacks. For example, PETYA caused non-functioning cranes at Maersk's container terminal, and non-functioning sorting machines at TNT. Also recently, some banks have proved inaccessible due to a DDos attack. Until now, mostly technical and related organizational measures have been taken to deal with such cybersecurity threats. However, it is slowly dawning on us that reactive measures will not be sufficient in the future if we want to guarantee the continuity of such infrastructure. So how do we really get our Operational Technology (OT/ICS/SCADA) properly secured?

Stop muddling through and start working under architecture

Battling invisible cyber threats in our digital realm

That other pandemic...

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The Corona crisis has once again made us aware of the vulnerability of our (open) society. Yet we have known for much longer that vulnerability to viruses also lurks in an entirely different world; our digital society.

Rutger Gooszen

IT and I(I)OT are converging, now what, evolution or revolution?

IT and OT Fusion: managing change

IT and OT converging, how do we keep a grip on this (r) evolution?

IT and I(I)OT are converging, developments are accelerating, now what, evolution or revolution? 
Actually, there are 3 major developments happening simultaneously in the world of operational technology (OT). First, the number of business and management processes that require both office automation (IT) and OT to be available is growing; with or without interfaces between them. Applications are growing, but information security is not automatically growing with them. This makes a second development even more important, that of growing external threats, with most in the news ransomware, such as previously at Maersk, recently at the Gelderland security region. Last but not least, there is a new player in this domain, dubbed by someone the "IoT virus. It often starts with 'sensors,' but eventually it involves large data streams, which need to be controlled. Lots of potential but immature in terms of security, thus vulnerable. What should enterprise management do with this? Adapt quickly to these new developments, at the risk of making mistakes because of this speed? Opt for evolution or revolution? Our answer is 'both', but according to a controlled change approach, in which IT and OT are aligned, with a stepped Architecture process and appropriate Communication at each stakeholder level.

People, Leadership & Culture

How do you measure the impact of a culture change?

Improve Employee Satisfaction

How to Improve Employee Satisfaction After Organizational Change

Changes within an organization, or even a reorganization, can have a significant impact on employees. Sometimes their role changes, they are placed in a different position or organizational unit, or they may need to undergo training to meet new requirements. But even if personnel changes are limited, there are still consequences for employees.
This was also the case with an organization in the cultural sector, where a new director had been appointed. He made several changes and opted for a more commercial approach. Some of these changes caused unrest among employees. The management wanted to address this unrest and therefore sought the assistance of Highberg.
Henrieke van Bommel is an Analytics Translator at Highberg and is eager to share about this process.

Henrieke van Bommel

Interpreting and analyzing open-ended responses

Voice of the Employee Survey

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How do you truly listen to your employees?
As an organization, you want your employees to enjoy their work. Happy employees ultimately lead to happy customers, and vice versa. Moreover, employees who are satisfied with their work and employer are more likely to stay with the organization longer. This is especially important now as the tightness of the labor market is strongly felt.
One way to measure the level of employee satisfaction is through an Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESS). This involves surveying employees with a set of questions, and repeating this process annually. Although almost every organization is familiar with an ESS, this traditional method of research is becoming less popular. This is mainly because the interval of a year is too long, creating, facilitating, filling out, and analyzing the surveys takes a lot of time, and all of this ultimately yields (too) little.
An alternative to the ESS is a Voice of the Employee Survey. With this approach, you focus on structured and continuous measurement, analysis, interpretation, and follow-up of the 'voice of the employee'. It concerns the experience of employees, or rather, the Employee Experience. When you know what the experience is and what influences it, you can respond accordingly.
This is exactly what a major insurer had in mind with their Voice of the Employee Survey. Alex Hellemons, Analytics Translator at Highberg, has guided this project and is keen to share more about it.

Alex Hellemons

Voice of the Employee Survey: interpreting and analyzing open-ended responses

A Highberg customer story: Better use of Dutch waterways

Better use of Dutch waterways

Met de aanleg van de tweede Maasvlakte maakt het containertransport een grote groei door. Nederland is hét Europese knooppunt van transport over water, onze vaarwegen behoren tot de drukste ter wereld. Vervoer over water is een uitstekend alternatief voor weg en spoor maar er blijft nog veel capaciteit onbenut. Om de potentie van onze vaarwegen goed te gebruiken moet daar verbetering in komen.

Koos van der Spek

A Highberg customer story: Standardization of digital learning materials for schools

Standardization of digital learning materials

Standardization of digital learning materials for schools

A big change is quietly taking place in many primary and secondary school classrooms. Chalkboards and books have given way to smart boards, ipads and digital teaching methods. The digital content this requires is more in line with the experiences of today's children. In addition, digital teaching methods also have the advantage that schools can provide much better customized education and the progress per child can be tracked in a student tracking system.

Arjan van Venrooij

Arjan van VenrooijStandardization of digital learning materials for schools

Retail and Consumer Goods

A Highberg customer story: Bol, Optimal infrastructure for Holland's largest online store

Optimal infra Holland's largest online store

Online sales are growing phenomenally. In the past ten years, sales have more than quadrupled. And still the turnover increases every year with about 8 to 9 percent (source: Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor). For market leader Bol.com, this growth would not be possible without an optimally functioning ICT infrastructure. And optimal in this case means that the ICT just has to work all the time. An online customer is not very loyal and clicks through to another webshop. Especially in the crucial peak season around the holidays. This requires a state-of-the-art infrastructure that anticipates continuous growth.

Pim Schouten

Optimal infrastructure for Holland's largest online store

A Highberg customer story: Police, One identity in the criminal justice chain

One identity in the criminal justice chain

As soon as someone is arrested by the police, their identity must be established. This is important, for example to make sure that the right person is on trial and that it is the same person who is serving any sentence. To prevent mistaken identity and identity fraud, an unambiguous determination of that identity is essential. Not only at the police station, but at all organizations in the criminal justice chain (court, house of detention, prison, etc.).

William Swaters

A Highberg customer story: Chain computerization in the immigration chain

Computerization in the immigration chain

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Those who enter our country as aliens or are found to be illegal immigrants go through step-by-step processes that may lead to them being granted a residence permit or visa or being deported from the country. This involves a chain of different organizations: the so-called aliens chain. The Direction Regie Vreemdelingenketen, part of the Ministry of Security and Justice, promotes cooperation between all chain partners.

Wilbert Enserink

Chain computerization in the immigration chain

A Highberg customer story:  Implementation of new application and digital pass system

 Implementation of digital pass system

Going to a dance class, the library, a birdwatching group, a debate, theater performance or, say, museum. For Amsterdam residents with a lower income, these activities are not always obvious. Based on the idea that everyone should be able to participate, the municipality of Amsterdam created the Stadspas over 25 years ago. A pass that offers all residents of the city the opportunity to enjoy the beauty that the city has to offer. "With the Stadspas, Amsterdam residents with a small wallet receive all kinds of financial benefits when undertaking activities or purchasing products in the areas of culture, recreation, exercise and health," says Harro Hoogerwerf, who has been working as head of the Poverty Reduction Department at the City of Amsterdam for the past year. "It's a product we are proud of, because through the City Pass we are creating more equal opportunities."

 Implementation of new application and digital pass system

A Highberg customer story: One learning environment for teacher and student

One learn environment for teacher and student

A typical university consists of a building where, as a student, you sit down behind one of the many computers, attend lectures and talk to lecturers in the corridors. The Open University is an odd duck in this respect, as there is no physical campus. Distance learning is a USP of the Open University (OU), but at the same time a pain point. Because how do you make sure the learning environment meets all the requirements and wishes of teachers and students?

Arjan van Venrooy

One learning environment for teacher and student

A Highberg Customer story: RWS, roads and waterways more secure

Roads and waterways more secure

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More and more human hands are giving way to digital processes, increasing the risk of hacks, cybersecurity failures and break-ins. Because governing is looking ahead, it is important to anticipate this now. But how do you tackle that? A good example of this is the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), which in 2014 started a large program in which all (moveable) objects - or "works of art," as they are called within RWS - are tested for their security and, where necessary, made more resilient against cybersecurity threats.

A Highberg customer story: Information security in healthcare at Triade

Information security in healthcare

Information security in healthcare at Triade

"Information security is a tricky concept. Many people when they hear this term think of ICT security, but it is much more than that. Healthcare providers do understand that you have to handle client files carefully, for example, but information security is also about protecting information about your own employees, the financial information, the access policy to locations. If you want to improve the information security of a healthcare institution, you have to deal with all processes within an organization: from policy to operational level. That's quite a job, because you have to get all the departments involved to want to cooperate."

Steven Debets

A highberg customer story: ICT modernization at CBR: shorter lead times and lower costs

IT modernization: reduce lead time and costs

ICT modernization at CBR: shorter lead times and lower costs

"The services of CBR's Medical and Punitive Measures Division and its ICT department need to be substantially improved." 
So judged the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment in 2011. But what specifically needed to be improved? In the case of the Medical and Punitive Measures Division (the division of CBR that investigates driving fitness; medical and claims), this concerned the excessively long turnaround times and high costs of service provision. "It was said: intervention is needed," explains Erik van Zegveld, partner and management consultant at Highberg. "The Driving Ability Division needs to be redesigned and the ICT landscape modernized, as it was very outdated."

Erik van Zegveld

Efficiently reduce employee turnover with data-driven retention strategies

Reduce employee turnover

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The labor market is tight and the 'war on talent' is in full swing. Hiring and training new employees not only takes time and money, but the loss of valuable talent can also disrupt business continuity and negatively impact the morale of remaining employees. It is therefore understandable that organizations wonder what the most efficient ways are to retain employees and thus minimize the negative consequences of turnover.
An organization often makes assumptions about employee turnover, for example, mainly younger and recently hired employees would leave and the only way to retain these groups would be to offer them better compensation. However, companies often have no concrete substantiation for these assumptions. A market-leading organization in the dairy industry faced a similar scenario, with the company experiencing significantly high voluntary turnover on a global scale. In this situation, AnalitiQs was called in to work with the client to answer two crucial questions: (1) What is the situation regarding voluntary turnover in our organization and (2) how can we reduce this turnover?

How to reduce the number of employees leaving the company

HR Analytics and Employee Turnover

Employee turnover

Employee turnover, particularly when undesired, presents a substantial challenge to organizations, leading to high costs, disrupted business continuity, and potential customer dissatisfaction. Given the current tight labor market, managing employee turnover is a hot topic within HR, and it's particularly relevant to the insurance company. Anticipating a potential employee gap in the upcoming years, the organization aims to reduce the number of voluntary employee departures. To achieve this goal, they have enlisted the help of AnalitiQs.

HR Analytics and Employee Turnover: how to reduce the number of employees leaving the company

Data & AI

Highberg case study: Municipality of Rotterdam responsible use algorithms and AI systems

Responsible use of algorithms and AI systems

Highberg ondersteunt de gemeente Rotterdam bij verantwoord gebruik van algoritmen en AI systemen

Highberg digital transformation has assisted the municipality of Rotterdam in the responsible use of algorithms and transparency about these algorithms. In this project our experts managed the algorithm registry and executed the processes in the algorithm governance. During the project our experts provided concrete improvement suggestions and implemented these improvements in practice.

Sabine Steenwinkel-den Daas

Highberg supports the municipality of Rotterdam in the responsible use of algorithms and AI systems

Are you also reserving 15% for the management of Cloud Services?

Management of Cloud Services

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When outsourcing internal IT to an external service provider, it is already well-known that you need to account for 15% (management) costs for the oversight. But does this rule also apply to the management of cloud services, or are there different principles at play?

The right level of architecture for projects

Architecture: an ounce more or less?

Applying Enterprise Architecture as a steering tool can speed up project initiation, reduce project risks, make project complexity manageable, and increase the project's chances of success. With this knowledge, one could argue that organizations should always use Enterprise Architecture as a steering tool for projects. But then again, what do you do when an organization does not have an unlimited supply of architects? And maybe a project can't get by with an "ounce less" architecture either? Highberg has developed a model that helps determine the amount of architecture required for a project.

Clarity and precision through visualizations

Visualization in ICT: A new standard

Triptych - 3: Why don't ICT projects create construction drawings in AutoCad?

Last late summer a Dutch governmental committee released a report with the title "towards grip on ICT" and is commonly referred to as “the Elias report”, because of the chairman. The report was released to address the problem that ICT projects are not in order. The report gives an important recommendation of the establishment of the BIT: Bureau ICT Testing. The advice to create a new control instrument, the BIT, raises many questions. Within the suggested recommendations, Highberg advocates the position and role of an independent Information Provision Architect. In addition to this role, the use of a visualizations and models is also an opportunity to force the project to think about issues such as functionality, feasibility, scalability, etc. in every detail. In ICT projects, why don't we actually use autocad to create a blueprint? 
Highberg's proposal is to introduce a coherent system of three recommendations. The recommendations are based on a triad of expertise, independence and transparency 
The three recommendations are: 
<ol><li>Introduction of independent Information Supply Architect </li><li>Establishment of a Specialist Team </li><li>Visualization ICT project </li></ol>


In this blog I explain how HIGHBERG views the visualization of an ICT project and the next step How to proceed. Points 1 and 2 will be covered in two separate blogs.

Strengthened by expertise and collaboration

Detailed design with expert Team

Triptych - 2: Design a solution in ALL its details!

Last late summer a Dutch governmental committee released a report with the title "towards grip on ICT" and is commonly referred to as “the Elias report”, because of the chairman. The report was released to address the problem that ICT projects are not in order. The report gives an important recommendation of the establishment of the BIT: Bureau ICT Testing. The advice to create a new control instrument, the BIT, raises many questions. Within the suggested recommendations, Highberg advocates the position and role of an independent Information Provision Architect. In addition to this role, the use of a Specialist Team in complex projects is also an opportunity for greater success, an opportunity we should not miss! 
Highberg's proposal is to implement a coherent system of three recommendations. The recommendations are based on a triad of expertise, independence and transparency. 
The three recommendations are: 
<ol><li>Introduction of independent Information Supply Architect </li><li>Establishment of a Specialist Team </li><li>Visualization ICT project </li></ol>


In this blog, I explain how Highberg interprets the establishment of a Specialist Team. Items 1 and 3 will be covered in two separate blogs.

Success through Information Architect

Internal Quality in ICT Projects

Triptych - 1: ICT projects succeed through quality from within!

Last late summer a Dutch governmental committee released a report with the title "towards grip on ICT" and is commonly referred to as “the Elias report”, because of the chairman. The report was released to address the problem that ICT projects are not in order. The report gives an important recommendation of the establishment of the BIT: Bureau ICT Testing. The advice to create a new control instrument, the BIT, raises many questions. Even more controls, audits and reviews. Does that really contribute to a better running project? Within the principles of the BIT as also formulated from the Dutch Government’s response to the Elias report, Highberg (formerly known as VKA) is of the opinion that one of the possible mechanisms to a better running project is not yet sufficiently highlighted. We argued for an improvement of the content, i.e. a change in a project from within in the area that matters: the quality of the solution. A better quality project...who wouldn't want that? Let me explain how we envision this in broad terms. 
Highberg's proposal is to introduce a coherent system of three recommendations. The recommendations are based on a triad of expertise, independence and transparency: 
<ol><li>Introduction of independent Information Supply Architect </li><li>Establishment of a Specialist Team </li><li>Visualization ICT project </li></ol>


In this blog, I explain how Highberg views the role and position of an independent Information Provision Architect. Items 2 and 3 will be covered in subsequent blogs. And then the next step 'How to proceed'.

Connecting and essential for agile success

Architect: Heart of the scrum team

The architect is the indispensable jack-of-all-trades on a scrum team

One of the principles of the Agile manifesto reads, <a href="http://www.agilemanifesto.org/principles.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams."</a> An architect ensures connection in, and between, the self-organizing teams. But also ensures commitment to the organization's established architecture principles and guidelines. In practice, the role of solution architect is often forgotten in scrum teams, while the roles of "developer" and "tester" are explicitly named. The role of solution architect is an essential and indispensable role within a Scrum team.

Joost van Lier

Less Data, More Control and Security

Towards a Data-Lean Organization

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Organizations are collecting more and more data in search of better business and new services. However, too much data makes one fat and unhealthy. This data obesity leads to high management burdens and an increasing risk of data breaches. Organizations must learn to discard data to regain control of their own data. After lean processes, a plea for lean data.

Martijn Hunsche

A data lean organization is a fitter organization!

Architects as the Bridge between IT and Business

Architects innovate!

Organizations are facing more and more new and sometimes disruptive technologies. The architect plays a crucial role in reaping the benefits of these. This requires of him a mindset in which connecting is central 
The past decades have seen enormous changes in IT departments of organizations. In the early 1990s with the introduction of computers. Followed by the introduction of the World Wide Web in the late 1990s. The last decade saw the emergence of concepts such as time, place and device independent working under the guise of the new way of working. In the coming years, IT departments face even more and bigger challenges. Concepts such as Big Data and Predictive Analysis, the Industrial Internet of Things and artificial intelligence must be implemented within existing or new infrastructure.

The Importance of Knowing the Present

Building with an Eye to the Past

Working under architecture also means knowing the past

You don't remodel a house without a good plan. Whoever chooses an extension makes sure that its appearance matches the design of the house. And before the actual rebuilding begins, the contractor checks where water and electricity run, and whether any load-bearing walls will be demolished.

Why Business Involvement in IT is Essential

Technical Infrastructure and Governance

Technical Infrastructure requires specific Governance

In practice, organizations do too little 'governance' when setting up and developing the Technical Infrastructure. And this has to change!

Jelle Wissenburgh

A Highberg customer story: Research 'Internet voting for voters outside the Netherlands'

Internet voting for outside the Netherlands

Research 'Internet voting for voters outside the Netherlands'

Internet voting for voters who are not in the Netherlands on voting day. It sounds so obvious in a time when we do almost everything via the Internet. Commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), Highberg conducted a study in 2014 on the risks of this form of voting.

A Highberg customer story: ICT saves lives!

ICT saves lives!

ICT redt levens!

In 2013, Sanquin faced a major change in its entire ICT landscape. The ICT department was tasked with improving the company's ICT by realizing higher quality, higher customer satisfaction, lower costs and also more innovation. This required replacing all of the company's ICT - equipment, networks, printers, workstations. Because all in all this would be a complex change, Sanquin was the first to look for an independent strategic consultant who could support it in this change. In 2013, Sanquin chose Highberg as its strategic partner to help realize this complex change.

A Highberg customer story: European procurement through green glasses

European procurement through green glasses

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Every four or five years it comes around again: procurement. The Dutch government constantly has to deal with contracts expiring that then have to be put out to tender again. So too do the Dutch provinces. Their telephony contracts expired in 2018, so in 2017 they joined forces (for the 3rd time) to jointly market their telephony with Provincial Telephony 2017 (PT2017). This is more efficient than each on their own and because of the size, they are an attractive party for the market. This allows them to make serious cost savings, both on the procedure (working together more efficiently) and on the contracts (buying larger). This involved fixed and mobile telephony connections, mobile devices and the construction and maintenance of indoor (in-house) coverage facilities for telephony, divided into five lots.
Cooperation with Highberg (fka VKA) was sought and found early in the process for the additional procurement and telephony expertise for the core team of provinces.

Rick de Rooij

Sustainability

A Highberg customer story: Information security for dry feet

Information security for dry feet

Safe information systems and safe industrial systems at the Dutch water boards, such as flood defenses, measuring equipment and water treatment plants are crucial to our society. Prolonged droughts and heavy rainfall demonstrate time and again how dependent the Netherlands is on well-managed water management. The water boards play a crucial role in this and information security must be in order.

New view on network and telecom infrastructure of Schiphol

Integration and migration of outdated network administration applications