During our project at a leading Belgian institution, our team, comprised of Jan Van Ruyssevelt and Yara Verhasselt, played a pivotal role in the transition from a Citrix environment to regular laptops. Jan, a junior solution architect with experience in Industry 4.0 and business analysis, brought valuable technical insights, while Yara, a junior enterprise architect and business analyst with a master’s in business administration, provided strategic insights. Together, we formed a dynamic duo equipped to tackle the complexities of the project.
Challenge
The challenge was multifaceted. We needed to gain insight into the software landscape, rationalize and optimize the application portfolio, and identify high-risk applications throughout the institution and subsidiaries. Additionally, we recognized the need to set up new tracks and projects throughout the organization to cover these high-risk applications. This required effective communication and collaboration across organizational levels and external stakeholders. Throughout the whole project it was very important to address the strict security measures, which are inherent to the sector.
Solution
Strategic IT assessment
As business analysts we uncovered and evaluated the ‘as-is’ IT landscape of the organization by delivering an up-to-date software catalog including the right people and information.
Strategic recommendations & facilitation
Throughout the process we advised on business-critical systems. We formulated and proposed a roadmap for the implementation and migration of the Citrix environment to be able to successfully tackle the deadline of end 2025.
Implementation
Data collection and assessment
As analysts, we assessed all applications within the organization and subsidiaries. We connected with people from all layers of the organization and uncovered and isolated the most critical and high-risk systems.
Application portfolio rationalization
We aggregated all the information and streamlined the IT landscape by slimming down the application portfolio
Results
This project enabled the organization to efficiently transform their IT landscape with a streamlined portfolio for both business and IT. It set up them to handle future adaptions and advancements with a unified portfolio ensuring future growth to be smoother and more efficient.
Reflections
This project emphasized the importance of cross-functional teams during business-critical changes within enterprises. Leveraging the technical background of Jan and the strategic knowledge of Yara, we were able to successfully guide the transformation of the organization’s future IT landscape. It gave us more insight into the importance of coupling high level overview and deep understanding and knowledge of both IT and strategy and how intricate these two are connected.
