Arjo van Oosten, Senior Vice President of Digital Transformation at Mendix, believes that digital transformation is a driving force in the business landscape. It is continuously evolving and challenging companies. Mendix’s digital transformation approach is comprehensive and nuanced.
It recognizes that actual change goes far beyond simply implementing new technologies. The company views digital transformation as a holistic journey. It encompasses technological shifts and changes in organizational structure, processes, and culture.
It’s about reimagining how businesses operate in the digital age, focusing on agility, innovation, and customer-centricity. Mendix’s methodology is built on two key mantras: the “5 P’s” and the “3 S’s.” The 5 P’s – Portfolio, People, Process, Platform, and Promotion – form the backbone of organizations’ transformation strategy. They ensure that they address all critical aspects of change.
The 3 S’s – Start, Structure, and Scale – provide a roadmap for the transformation journey, breaking it into manageable stages. The 5 P’s Methodology focuses on what to build and when, the starting team and growth strategy, working towards the minimal viable product (MVP), integrating technology into an existing enterprise architecture ecosystem, and internal PR and stakeholder management. The 3 S’s Framework starts with quick wins, aiming to deliver value rapidly by getting an application live in 60 days.
Mendix’s holistic transformation strategy
It then builds predictability and continuity, and finally expands organizational transformation efforts to achieve broader impacts. Arjo van Oosten emphasizes that many transformation initiatives fail due to a lack of clear vision, poor portfolio selection, or an inability to demonstrate value quickly.
Mendix’s methodology addresses these challenges head-on. Central to Mendix’s approach is its low-code platform, which acts as an enabler of digital transformation. By reducing the time and complexity involved in application development, low-code platforms like Mendix allow organizations to bring new solutions to market faster and respond more quickly to changing business needs.
Successful digital transformation is fundamentally about people. It’s about empowering employees with new skills, fostering a culture of innovation, and breaking down silos between different parts of the organization. Mendix recommends three key metrics for tracking transformation success: Time to Application Completion, Number of Certified Developers, and Number of Applications Built on Low-Code.
Arjo van Oosten envisions emerging technologies like AI significantly shaping the future of digital transformation. AI will potentially act as a co-developer in application development, make applications smarter through integrated capabilities, and assist in driving the transformation process. Mendix’s structured approach to digital transformation through its low-code platform and the 5 P’s and 3 S’s framework highlights the importance of a strategic, people-centric method in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape.
By focusing on quick wins, structured scaling, and fostering innovation, Mendix is helping organizations achieve lasting success in their digital transformation journeys.
