COMMUNITIES OF COMPETENCE DRIVING STRATEGY
“ We are going through a huge transformation globally to embrace concepts like Mobility as a Service ( MaaS ), which relies on data platforms that allow you to integrate many providers ”
— Peter Orlowski , CIO , Transdev
COMMUNITIES OF COMPETENCE DRIVING STRATEGY
He has defined a strategy for his organisation with three main pillars . Sound governance around IT , security , project and product management ; capabilities around people and toolsets ; and foundations . Out of that strategy , his team identifies 60 major transformation initiatives .
Reviewing existing platforms , Orlowski found much off-the-shelf technology , noting that “ we only have a couple of core systems developed within the
Transnet group .” Though this meant that many of the companies were using common platforms , these have been adopted at different times using different consultancies , making it difficult to transfer staff ; even though they may have been using familiar platforms they may not understand later iterations . To counteract this , he has set up ‘ communities of competence ’ with a core team of experts linked to key users in the various businesses and modes . The communities can then look at standardising processes and integrating these centrally . “ It ’ s about getting professionals under one roof to set a vision and grow trust within the business to drive that vision forward . I have found the community approach works better than centres of excellence locked in an office with very little connection with the field .”
The primary tool these communities use is Hastus for network optimisation and improvement . Orlowski states that “ if we can optimise the network the customers will be happy because the buses will not run empty , passengers will be happy because they will be picked up by a more frequent service , and the drivers will be happy because
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