Market situation in Architecture and Technology Management

In business transactions, companies are exposed to professional, technological, political, regulatory or even legal change drivers. Resulting changes in the business setup often correspond to changes in the IT systems. In order to be able to handle these in a cost-efficient and operationally stable manner, changes in the IT architectural designs are indispensable.
High-quality planning in terms of alignment with an IT target architecture and active management of technical debts reduces risks in the implementation and helps to coordinate the scope of change and align it with external expectations. A frequent goal of our activities in connection with IT architecture changes is the avoidance of increasing complexity as well as the introduction of new, efficient technology components in order to be able to leverage synergies from technology development.

How we approach challenges

Due to technological sedimentation, existing IT systems are not designed to be changed with low effort and operational stability. Therefore, the expertise of our IT architects helps to reduce associated risks and to exploit efficiencies with the help of proven frameworks. 
CORE analyses technology impacts based on empirical evidence and market insights, manages technology transformations and evaluates technology-driven decisions and strategies. As an inherent part of forward-looking technology management, topics such as reviewing and establishing modern technology lifecycle processes, assessing and defining target architecture designs, and restructuring and enabling IT governance are core components of the CORE service portfolio and support offering.

Market situation in Product Design & Engineering

The goal of product development is to develop a product tailored to the customer's needs in a short time and thus in a way that conserves resources. The challenges here are manifold. Due to long development cycles without adequate integration of customer feedback, customer needs are often only inadequately addressed. This can lead to low adaptation of the product. Necessary adaptations of the product to subsequently address target group needs result in higher costs. Agile implementation methods address these challenges, while at the same time the timing of a changeover from waterfall to agile must be well chosen due to organisational implications, especially regarding the required mindset and skillset.
We support our clients throughout the entire value chain, from requirements engineering to go-live, in the realisation of short release cycles, efficient use of resources and the development of products tailored to customer needs. In doing so, we pursue a consistent MVP approach. Our strengths lie in the areas of product design, UI/UX design, test management, release management, app and web security and go-live management.

How we approach challenges

Our methods and approaches are as diverse as our clients' requirements. We follow an MVP approach, which allows us to iteratively develop products in smaller increments and thereby quickly achieve presentable and testable results. By incorporating user feedback at an early stage, we ensure that released products and features are tailored to the needs of the target group.
Using approaches such as Domain Driven Design, we model complex business and technical systems with the participation of business and IT experts. During development, we rely primarily on agile methods and, depending on the project setup, use Scrum, Kanban or scaling approaches such as LeSS or DSDM. We use approaches such as Test-Driven Development and Behaviour-Driven Testing to efficiently test the resulting software.

Market situation in Transformation Management

Empowering companies to successfully execute IT transformations becomes increasingly significant when we consider that the share of project work in gross value added worldwide has risen from 29% to 40% in just one decade (2009 to 2019). The most important drivers of transformations are the modernisation of IT and digitalisation. The complexity associated with transformations poses major challenges for many companies.

• Conceptual preparation of project work requires an objective assessment of scope, budget, project duration and required expertise
• Managing complex projects or programmes with sometimes more than a hundred employees requires methodological competence and structured controlling
• In the case of projects lasting several years, a regular review of the planning, budget requirements provides transparency on adjustments to the overall planning
• Strategic goals of the company should be consistently pursued

CORE accompanies its clients from the conception phase to go-live. CORE carries out analyses of the status quo for the topics of IT architecture, IT security, strategy or project or programme management, and derives recommendations for action and measures for identified misalignments. After conducting reviews, we support our clients strategically and operationally in eliminating identified misalignments.
For the diagnosis of programmes, we use our CORE diagnostic framework. For projects or programmes with serious misalignments, CORE supports the implementation of turnaround management.

How we approach challenges

With frameworks for the analysis and implementation of projects and programmes over the entire life cycle, CORE provides a methodological framework for both successful implementation and the diagnosis of misalignments.
Successfully managed projects and programmes are often characterised by a structured approach to planning, implementation and control. CORE successfully accompanies its clients in transformation projects and combines methodological expertise in steering and management communication with professional support at the operational level.

Market situation in IT Organiation and Sourcing

Building modern IT organisations requires fundamental paradigm shifts. It is often necessary to break down dependencies, break up old structures and introduce new collaboration models. However, the use of modern IT paradigms such as the operation of a cloud-native application landscape requires precisely this paradigm shift in the IT organisation. The accompanying necessary adaptation of the IT organisation often confronts those responsible with a conflict of interest that can often be resolved through the use of modern technologies.
In the context of IT sourcing, access to state-of-the-art technologies and solutions must be ensured. Often, simultaneous and partly conflicting secondary conditions such as high speed, assurance of service delivery as well as cost optimisation have to be met. This requires a fundamental change in sourcing strategy, execution approach and required capabilities. A structured IT sourcing process can help to identify and realise cost reduction potentials.

How we approach challenges

Together with our clients, we develop individual solution models to align the IT organisation for current and future challenges. The focus here is on reducing dependencies and establishing teams that act as autonomously as possible. The procedure is always oriented towards the maturity level of our clients, the goals and individual needs for organisational development and the establishment of a sustainable target operating model. Furthermore, the successive transfer of knowledge and the sustainable empowerment of the organisation by our experts are fixed components of our service promise.
Together with our clients, we develop the IT sourcing strategy to achieve short-term as well as long-term and sustainable goals. This includes the identification of required technologies and digital competencies as well as the appropriate way of sourcing. The optimal supplier strategy for strategic, digital projects and critical technologies form the cornerstone of the further procedure. The sourcing process is adapted to the needs of our clients through agile methods such as SaaS, managed services, application management, agile IT product development or customising of standard software and the selection of suitable delivery models (on-shore, near-shore, off-shore). Through close exchange with innovation drivers and start-ups within the framework of our ProcTech Radar, the latest technologies and methods are applied.

Market situation in M&A and Divestitures

The motivations behind merger and acquisition activities and the associated growth are manifold. Often, increasing competition in an increasingly complex and global market environment is the reason for wanting to expand one's competitive advantage by adding complementary competencies in breadth and depth. Rising transaction volumes after crises, low interest rates and a growing trend towards digital deal execution are further drivers of increasing activity in the M&A sector.
The cause of challenges in the aftermath of transactions is often an insufficient focus on integration efforts both in the (pre-) deal phase and in the post-merger phase of the M&A process. To counteract this, it is advisable to initiate the integration phase at an early stage in the overall process, rather than waiting until a signing. This includes a thorough analysis of the initial technological conditions in both companies involved, a selection of a suitable integration approach and a detailed planning of the integration project. In our experience, carrying out IT due diligence at an early stage of the analysis phase is an aspect of an M&A transaction that is often ignored but critical to success. The consequence of underestimating the technological due diligence is often a lack of synergy effects.
We support our clients with in-depth professional and industry knowledge combined with strong process expertise to fully exploit the potential of a transaction. We cover the entire value chain of M&A transactions, from strategic preparation to process support and post-merger integration. Our strengths lie in the areas of IT strategy, IT due diligence and post-merger IT integration. This means that the transaction process is professionally accompanied and the hoped-for synergies are reliably realised.

How we approach challenges

With proven frameworks for the complete process of an M&A deal, especially for IT due diligence and post-merger integration, we offer a hollistic review of the technological fit with the target and accompany our clients in the successful IT integration in the deal execution and post-merger integration phases.
In order to address challenges regarding IT integration in the post-merger integration phase, we rely on the PEC approach: Plan - Execute - Control.
To ensure a successful transaction, we provide support with technical and methodological expertise. Technology-oriented companies in particular benefit from the consideration of the technical aspect of a potential acquisition or merger.