Digital Strategy & Execution

Making digital transformation transparent through simulation modelling

Digital transformation simulation modelling

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Predicting the concrete impact of a digital transformation on an organisation is a complex challenge. The starting point is often a plan that guides initiatives to achieve organisational goals. But how does this transformation affect our operational efficiency? What bottlenecks arise during implementation? And perhaps the most important question: ‘What does it deliver for the organisation?’ While these questions can be answered in abstract terms (e.g.: ‘more efficient processes’), it is more difficult to substantiate such claims with specific results. We often see in practice that simulation models are an effective but rarely chosen solution for this. These models make it possible to test and analyse in advance, enabling organizations to be better prepared for the implementation of a digital transformation.

Daan Smits

Luna van Vilsteren

Netherlands

Digital

Government and Public Sector

Choose a Storage Structure Based on Requirements

Construction principles 12

Construction principles for the IT architect (12): Choose a Storage Structure Based on Requirements

In this blog series, I delve into timeless principles of information science that ensure better "information constructions." This 12th blog in the series continues with the third computer science principle (see my <a href="https://highberg.com/insights/construction-principles-for-the-information-professional">introductory blog</a> for the distinction). Why and when should you choose a relational structure (RDB and SQL), and when is linked data (RDF and SPARQL) a better storage option? Most people think of data in terms of tables to organize it, but this also imposes certain constraints when you want to later modify the structure. What trade-offs exist between the possible solutions?

Rutger Gooszen

Strategy & Change

Your Path to Sustainable Transformation: A Journey with MST 3.0

Sustainable Transformation with MST 3.0

Change is no longer a choice; it’s a necessity. But successfully navigating a complex transformation takes more than just a vision—it requires a comprehensive approach. That’s where the Managing Successful Transformations (MST) 3.0 model comes in, guiding organizations like yours from initial exploration to long-term impact. 
Picture this, your organization is on the brink of significant change. There’s a shared sense of urgency, an acknowledgment that things can’t stay the way they are. The MST 3.0 model offers a structured, yet flexible roadmap to navigate this journey, ensuring that the changes you make are meaningful and lasting.

How to choose the right Cloud vendor?

How to choose the right cloud vendor?

In recent years, the Cloud has grown from a trend to a strategic necessity for many organizations. The cloud brings many benefits such as flexibility, scalability and better collaboration capabilities. A crucial step in implementing cloud is choosing a cloud vendor. It may seem like an easy decision, but several factors make this a complex process. How do you choose a cloud vendor? And what do you need to consider? In this Insight, we dive deeper into the considerations an organization needs to make when selecting a cloud vendor.

Loran van den Dungen

Mathijs Dubbe

Technology and Telecommunications

Whitepaper: Cloudtransformation

Cloudtransformatie ENG

In recent years, cloud transformation has evolved from an emerging trend to a fundamental building block for modern IT strategies. Many organizations just struggle with maintaining control during and after transformation to the cloud. How do you maintain this control on the cloud during and after a transformation so that the intended benefits are actually achieved? And what do you need to take into account? In this whitepaper we describe the tools for a successful cloud transformation.

How do I know I’m safe enough?

A Safe IT Environment

How do I know I’m safe enough?  Anyone concerned with making their IT environment secure will at some point ask themselves, am I on the right track? Am I doing enough about information security? Is my most important information (crown jewels) secure? What is good enough? 
Implementing a security framework (such as the BIO or the ISO27001 and NEN7510, for example), combined with a risk assessment is often the most commonly followed path. Implementing a framework does not directly answer the questions above. The use of a structured approach will help. Also, in the future, with new threats, this approach can easily be gone through again, to efficiently determine where additional measures are needed. So that one always knows that they are safe enough.

Edward Matray

Organizational

Whitepaper: FinOps - The Key to Cloud Cost Management

Whitepaper: FinOps

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Organizations are struggling with rising cloud costs. FinOps* enables them to gain insight into costs and continuously optimize them, leading to more control and better decisions around cloud usage.
*The term FinOps has been around for a while, but in 2019 The FinOps Foundation set itself the goal of promoting best practices, training and standards around financial management of the cloud.

Leveraging the Enterprise Architecture Lens in the Quest for Business Agility

Whitepaper: Enterprise Architecture Agility

Whitepaper: Leveraging the Enterprise Architecture Lens in the Quest for Business Agility

Today's organizations need a strong vision and a long-term strategy to transform their business operations, ensuring they remain competitive and sustain high performance. In the fast-paced, digitally connected world, it is crucial for organizations to adapt continuously. This quest for adaptability is central to the concept of business agility, which is the ability of a company to effectively sense and respond to fast changing requirements. Achieving this requires a transformation across organizational structure, processes, products and services, and IT systems. Taking the Enterprise Architecture lens for a more holistic approach in your transformation could foster more aligned changes and decisions in the organizational, product/service and Data and IT layer. Many organizations face obstacles due to isolated or partial transformations and therefore, misaligned strategies. In this whitepaper we will examine and describe these challenges and offer an important perspective to address them effectively.

Device-independent development

Construction principles 11

Construction principles for the IT architect (11) Device-independent development

In this series of blogs, I will reflect on the still valid information science construction principles that guarantee better "information structures". This 11th blog in the series continues with the second informatics principle (see my <a href="https://highberg.com/insights/construction-principles-for-the-information-professional">starting blog</a> for the distinction<a href="https://www.vka.nl/publicaties/constructieprincipes-voor-de-informatiekundige/"></a>). Why and when to develop device independently? It's always so nice in the architecture principles at company level or in a policy document "Our employees can work independently of time, place and device". But the impact of the desire to be able to work device-independent on the design of the IT landscape and the software to be developed is not small.

Highberg podcasts

Employer NPS 27

Highberg has various podcasts about Sustainability, Digitalization, Transformation, Europe and the Government. Curious about these topics? Listen to the podcasts via the links down below.

Sustainability

Separating application function from data storage

Construction principles (10)

Construction principles for the IT architect: (10) Separating application function from data storage

In this series of blogs, I dwell on the still valid information science construction principles that guarantee better ‘information building’. This 10th blog in the series continues with the first informatics principle (for the distinction, see my <a href="https://highberg.com/insights/construction-principles-for-the-information-professional" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">starting blog</a>). This one is about the construction of data processing. 
We don't dwell on it but every screen we process information on hides an underlying construct that extracts data from a storage and allows us to access or modify this data or add new data. If the processing function and the data storage are separated, this has great advantages. In fact, this is the information science principle of decoupling but applied in computing.

The risks of IT visions

As Highberg, we create many different visions for our clients. These can be visions on topics such as: cloud, the digital workplace, data sharing, data-driven working, 5G, wireless connectivity, etc. Name any information technology (IT) related topic and you can create a vision for it. But what is the use of a vision if we don't act on it in practice? Or what use is a nicely formulated vision if it subsequently gets shelved. In this insight I elaborate on the different pitfalls in the creation and implementation of visions that I encounter with my clients.

Daan van Horssen

Risk, Resilience & Compliance

Eight Things You Need to Know About NIS2

The European Union (EU) is deeply concerned about the cybersecurity of organizations within vital sectors. The EU has introduced the Network and Information Security 2 Directive (hereinafter: NIS2) to enhance the cyber resilience of these organizations. Organizations within vital sectors are obligated to comply with NIS2 from October 18, 2024. Organizations belong to the vital sector when their service provision (temporarily) disrupts and has a significant impact on the economy and society.
In this Insight, you will read about the eight things you absolutely need to know about NIS2.

Nino van Leeuwen

Shankar Sahtie

Construction principles for the information professional: (8)

Construction principles

Construction principles for the information professional: (8) Separating data and metadata in storage and processing

Data is hot. Everyone wants to work data-driven and AI only works on big data. In short, data is the new gold! But what exactly is data? In the previous blog, I mentioned that there are different categories of data and that one was specifically about dealing with master data and transactional data. In this blog, I dwell on metadata and the need to distinguish that from the data itself and process it separately. Otherwise, a spaghetti is created in the system landscape and searching for specific data becomes the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Construction principles for the information scientist: (7)

Construction principles for the information scientist: (7) Single registration of master data

In this series of blogs, I reflect on the still-valid information engineering construction principles that guarantee better “information constructs.” They are sometimes, in the pace of advancing technology, a bit forgotten. Resulting in sometimes shaky or poorly maintainable and extensible “information constructs.” This time on the need for single-entry capture of master data and the challenges this presents with respect to usage. Is copying a problem?

Construction principles for the information scientist: (6)

Construction principles for the information scientist: (6) Disconnect “who you are” from “what you are allowed”

In this series of blogs, I reflect on the still-valid information engineering construction principles that guarantee better “information constructs.” They are sometimes, in the pace of advancing technology, a bit forgotten. Resulting in sometimes shaky or poorly maintainable and extensible “information constructs.” This time about the need to decouple identification/authentication (who you are) and authorization (what you are allowed to do). How many login combinations do you have in use? Probably more than 30. Still every day we struggle with login names and passwords for all those service providers we visit online. In theory, the solution is simple but in practice it is still laborious.

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

Digital Strategy & Architecture

Construction principles for the information professional

construction principles

Construction principles for the information professional (9): Apply standard patterns without deviations

In this series of blogs, I reflect on the still valid information science construction principles that guarantee better “information constructs.” This last blog in the series on information science principles is actually also a bridge to the continuation of this series with some computer science principles (for the distinction, see <a href="https://highberg.com/insights/construction-principles-for-the-information-professional" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">my starting blog</a>). Indeed, standard patterns exist in both information science and computer science.
The elegant thing about a standard pattern is ... that it is a standard. But in practice, there appears to be a reason to deviate a bit each time. The result is a user who no longer understands the user interface or a no longer interoperable concept, lower maintainability of a system and loss of time.

Build your own CIA

Portfolio Performance Measurement #3

Portfolio Performance Measurement #3: Build your own CIA

Many business school classrooms echo with lectures on the value of precise, analytic approaches to management. Yet when we look at what’s happening all around us, there is a big gap between what we are taught and what we do in our own organizations. 
Measuring the value of we are delivering, and how we are delivering it, is not always obvious to leadership teams. A reason can be found in the varying opinions on measurement effectiveness in the first place. Some organizations are doing just fine without too much measurement. To others, these systems might seem more like a luxury than a necessity given their day-to-day worries. It is not seen as critical for survival, yet.

Koen Harbers

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

People, Leadership & Culture

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

Gamification is a scalable change approach to achieve sustained desired behavior

Gamification for behavioural change

whitepaper-gamification-for-behavioural-change

Gamification is a scalable change approach to achieve sustained desired behavior and improve performance in the workplace.

Whitepaper: Gamification for behavioural change

Challenges around organizational transformation within large, Dutch organizations

Organizational transformation challenges

whitepaper-five-challenges-around-organizational-transformation

Five challenges around organizational transformation according to leaders within large, Dutch organizations and our reflections on them.

Whitepaper: Five challenges around organizational transformation

Innovative compliance therefore creates more ethical behavior.

Research compliance and innovation

white-paper-research-compliance-and-innovation

An innovative compliance program makes for an effective compliance program. Innovative compliance therefore creates more ethical behavior.

White paper: Research compliance and innovation

Exemplary behavior of leaders is crucial with integrity issues.

Moral leadership – the theme of this time

whitepaper-moral-leadership-the-crucial-theme-of-this-time

The exemplary behavior of leaders is crucial to reduce the reputational risk of integrity issues within your organization.

Klaas van Krieken

Consultant

Capabilities

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