HFS Highlight: Capgemini leverages emerging technologies and ecosystem to enable “Open and Portable“ Enterprise

Recently we attended Capgemini’s Asia Pacific Virtual Analyst & Advisor Meet 2020 to understand its overall strategic and technology priorities and key client engagements. Throughout the conversation, it was clear that Capgemini is leveraging emerging technologies for client business transformation across its global client portfolio, with around 60% of Capgemini’s APAC revenue derived from digital technologies including Cloud, AI, smart analytics, cybersecurity, 5G, and IoT. Throughout numerous client success stories, Capgemini highlighted different types of successful business outcomes related to operational efficiency, better infrastructure management, etc. across the transformation engagements.

Capgemini is also using emerging technologies to build resilient enterprises for its clients including defining a new operating model, data-based decision making, zero-trust security, etc. For example, Capgemini is working with an APAC banking organization for a cloud migration program to enable flexible infrastructure management and digital operations. It is engaged with an Australian retailer to bolster cybersecurity management. In 2019, Capgemini also completed the acquisition of Leidos Cyber (the commercial cybersecurity arm of Leidos) that is an enterprise security solutions provider and 500 cybersecurity professionals joined the Capgemini team as a part of the acquisition.

Capgemini is enabling an “Open and Portable” Enterprise for its clients

Capgemini has conceptualized the “Open and Portable” Enterprise that unlocks the innovation potential of enterprises to manage better the existing business landscape and open up new opportunities. Overall, it is a bottom-up approach moving away from traditional vendor lock-in and adopting an open-source innovation approach through standardization and ecosystem collaboration. The key tenets of “Open and Portable” Enterprise are:

• Platformification: Capgemini focuses on both the aspects of its clients’ platform journey: Development of an internal platform to enable digital operations (though API and cloud operations for more collaboration among different business functions) and external-facing platform for value-added services. For example, it is engaged with an Asian banking organization to manage a banking services platform to provide a plethora of consumer banking services by migrating the workloads to the cloud environment to enhance the flexibility of operations and increased collaboration among different regional teams.
• Ecosystem: Ecosystem collaboration is a critical success factor in the digital age. With the advent of emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, etc., there is a proliferation of start-ups that are focusing on interesting use-cases across hardware and software segments. Through collaboration with ecosystem partners, Capgemini is bringing many of these innovations to the customers. Through its Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE) framework, Capgemini delivers performance innovation engagement experience through a portfolio of more than 20+ services that span across the applied innovation process.
• Delivery transformation: This transformation is to increase the agility and speed of overall delivery to accelerate go-to-market time and new product/service development, enabling more business and IT alignment, new governance models, etc. The new agile delivery model is instrumental for creating an innovation mindset that is necessary for ecosystem collaboration, legacy modernization, and best practice adherence (DevOps, DevSecOps, etc.) among others.
• Cross-industry business models: Emerging technologies are blurring the industry boundaries and new business models are emerging that are sometimes managed by several players across the value chain. In many cases, the existing value chain is also changing as the new way of working is emerging. For example, an auto damage claim can be settled by clicking a picture (in the background a deep learning algorithm evaluates the extent of damage) instead of long paperwork. Also, with the advent of connected car applications, the new insurance premium is decided by the connected car data and driver performance monitoring. This is an example in which several players (such as OEMs, car owners, insurance companies, etc.) are coming together to enable a new business model.

Bottom Line: Capgemini’s technology expertise is the key to realize the “Open and Portable” Enterprise goal

Enterprises need to collaborate with both the internal and external stakeholders to enable the “Open and Portable” Enterprise model. Since technology is the critical factor for collaboration, so the role of service providers like Capgemini is critical to enable platformification, cross-industry business models, etc. Besides its internal capability, Capgemini’s acquisition of Altran, Leidos Cyber, and WhiteSky Labs in recent times is a key enabler to further increase its technology competency and talent base that will become handy in the long term.