Archive for 2011

Is het jaar alweer voorbij?

De titel van deze blogpost verklapt het al, mijn jaar is snel gegaan! Ik heb ontzettend veel gedaan en daardoor ook heel erg veel geleerd.

Er is één fase van drie maanden geweest welke echter de meeste indruk heeft gemaakt: het wegvallen van m’n team waardoor de oplevering van innovatie aan verschillende ‘mission critical’ systemen in gevaar kwam.In een korte tijd Read more…

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2011 ends with a bang: my ‘mini-wow’ experience

As the end of 2011 approachs it time to take a moment to look back at all it has brought and all it has become.  What a disappointment.  Now I am not trying to be the grinch that stole away the happy holiday feeling but lets’ face it folks, no one really surprised us this year?!

I opened the 2011 year with a positive post about customer service and a challenge question as to whether this would be the year that companies would make the difference or if they would continue to kick-back and let customers scream at the door.  As a law abiding Netherlands consumer let me just say I have lost my voice a few times this year.  But has all been lost?  Can our little Dutch customer service economy be saved?  I still really believe so and am awaiting to meet the individuals with the ‘doorzettingsvermogen’ to change the game. Oh where oh where can they be….?

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Tijd voor reflectie en vakantie

Het is een belangrijk jaar voor me geweest met de nodige uitdagingen en gelukkig veelal leuke dingen. Persoonlijk heb heb ik een leuk en gezond jaar gehad (vijf kilo afgevallen, koffieconsumptie enorm naar beneden) en heb genoeg tijd met vrienden en familie door kunnen brengen. Geen tegenslagen eigenlijk nu ik er over na denk. Voor wat betreft carriere – goede stappen gemaakt. Inhoudelijk heb ik Read more…

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From invention-driven to a systematic scaling model

Most people agree that perseverance and discipline are very important qualities for any entrepreneur or business leader. You need plenty of both to run and grow a business successfully. At the same time, most of us associate innovation with ideation and creativity, which is actually odd. Innovation essentially breaks down into two key activities: Invention and Scaling. It is absolutely no use scaling up a bad innovation, but not scaling up a big idea can also fail to deliver value. Invention is about foresight, ideas and creation. Scaling is about quality, speed and predictability; actually it’s about operational excellence in development & research. Successful innovators therefore treat innovation & product development as a systematic capability that can be repeated time and again. I do realize that this sounds a bit counter intuitive, but if you want sustained innovation success, you’d better start managing the development of your future business with the same rigor and discipline as you manage your current business.

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Er is alweer een jaar voorbij!

Wat vliegt de tijd toch voorbij. Afgelopen jaar was een hectisch, maar succesvol jaar. Dit jaar ben ik actief geweest op twee projecten in twee verschillende rollen. Voor het eerste project werd ik teruggevraagd voor een rol op mijn allereerste project bij Accenture. Dit kon ik natuurlijk niet weigeren en ging daar na een succesvol intake gesprek aan de slag als Release Manager. Read more…

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Open Source out-innovates IT mega-vendors

Today enterprises can strongly benefit from the innovation that can be unlocked using Open Source solutions. Now that the consumerization trend in IT is moving so quickly, newest technology solutions are Open Source right from the start. Open Source is no longer a mere substitute for commodity solutions, it has become a key enabler of innovative solutions that just would not have existed without Open Source. Open Source now has started to out-innovate the IT mega-vendors.

These concepts summarize the Accenture keynote presented by Accenture’s Tony Roby on the 4th edition of the largest and most successful recurring Open Source Conference in the Benelux that was held on December 9th in Amsterdam. The annual conference, founded by Accenture and Red Hat attracted nearly 800 people and offered an extensive program of real-life cases and first class keynote speakers. Simone Brummelhuis, founder and CEO of thenextwomen.com chaired the event. Simone is no stranger when it comes to innovation, as she is also part a member the Accenture Innovation Awards jury.

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‘Al’ een jaar hetzelfde werk, even wat vaart minderen?

Inmiddels zit ik al langer dan een jaar bij dezelfde klant. In de titel van deze blog post staat ‘al’ tussen quotes, want dit kan je natuurlijk op verschillende manieren opvatten. Ik zal met de mindere puntjes beginnen. Eindigen met iets positiefs is leuker.

Het werk dat ik verricht is erg divers: innovatie aan systemen, bedrijfsprocessen en interne teamprocessen, maar daarnaast ook analyse van bestaande functionele en technische problemen op de productieomgevingen van de klant. Na een jaar Read more…

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5th edition Dutch Shared Services Forum (DSSF)

Blog post written by AdJan Brouwer. Adjan is a former blogger on Blogpodium and Executive Partner Talent & Organization Accenture Netherlands till September 2012.


Recently, Accenture’s research report “Trends in Shared Services: Unlocking the full potential” confirms that shared services organizations are enjoying the benefits of cost savings, efficiencies and better service. But the shared services model continues to evolve. One of the main outcomes is that “the gap between what is and what can be will continue to be bridged by the innovative spirit of pioneering shared services leaders”. With this knowledge it is key to have insights in the developments and challenges of Shared Services professionals.

Since December 2009 Finance & Enterprise Performance and Talent & Organisation facilitate the Dutch Shared Services Forum twice a year. During these events structural Shared Service challenges are discussed by Shared Services professionals and Accenture representatives. Although the focus of the event is on HR and Finance, Shared Services Directors from all functions in the Netherlands and Belgium are welcome. By discussing structural challenges, the participating members share knowledge and experience to help each other take Shared Services to the next level.

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Strategic approach to IT cost reduction

Blog post written by Anke Schlichting. Anke is a former blogger on Blogpodium and Financial Service Technology lead Accenture Netherlands till January 2012.


The imperative to reduce costs is hardly new. However, economic uncertainty has major implications for companies’ efforts to achieve and sustain high performance and has inevitably put cost reduction back on the senior management agenda. With costs again under sharp focus, much of the exploration to find savings will inevitably fall on IT—which is both a significant cost center and a driver of costs (and cost savings) in the business, and therefore a major target for cost reduction initiatives.

Reactive and Strategic approach
For CIOs facing today’s intensifying focus on IT costs, now is the time to examine a new approach to IT spending. Hereby, the CIO faces the challenge of trying to find ways to reduce costs in IT, while maintaining service and delivering the technology investments required to support the business efficiency. Their task of reducing costs is often made even more complicated by the traditional reactive approach to discretionary IT spending.

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Predictive maintenance by using vertical integration

Blog post written by Richard Schouten. Richard is a former blogger on Blogpodium and Plant Automation Solutions Lead Chemicals & Natural resources till January 2012.


Information technology has become increasingly more integrated into maintenance. But the advantages are not yet visible. Most often, it is seen as an administrative burden. Yet, further integration of information technology will be necessary in the future to deliver visible results.

Research by the US Department of Energy has shown that the shift from preventive and corrective maintenance to predictive maintenance offers a number of advantages, such as lower maintenance costs, downtime reduction and increased production. However, it requires quite an investment in time and money to realize vertical integration of the current systems.

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