Notes accompany this presentation. Please select Notes Page view.These materials can be reproduced only with Gartner’s official approval. Such approvals may be requested via e-mail — quote.requests@gartner.com.

the Agile Virtual Enterprise

empty concept or future necessity?

Marc Buyensmarc.buyens@xpragma.com

www.xpragma.com

contents

� the historical perspective

� is it a better organisational form?

� can it be done within a single organisation?

the historical

PERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVE

the conceptconcept “business agility”

“an agile organization is one that responds

quickly to changes in its business

environment; immediately exploiting new

business opportunities whilst recognizing and

repelling unwelcome threats”

Business Agility (www.business-agility.com)

flexibilityflexibility agilityagility

commoditisationcommoditisation innovationinnovation

predictability

cha

ng

e

high low

low

hig

h

the conceptconcept “business agility”

changing withoutwithout changing

“The good-to-great companies paid scant

attention to managing change, motivating

people, or creating alignment.

UnderUnder the the right conditionsright conditions, the problems of

commitment, alignment, motivation, and change

largely melt away.“

Jim Collins, Good to great

the productproduct “business agility”

� On Demand — IBM, CA, and others

� Adaptive Enterprise — HP

� Organic Business — Forrester Research

� Agile Enterprise — EDS, Unisys

� Scalable Enterprise — Dell

� Adaptive Infrastructure — CAP/E&Y

� Dynamic Systems Initiative — Microsoft

� Other

– Policy-based computing

– Service-centric computing

– Harmonious Computing

– Open mission-critical systems

the productproduct “business agility”

� On Demand — IBM, CA, and others

� Adaptive Enterprise — HP

� Organic Business — Forrester Research

� Agile Enterprise — EDS, Unisys

� Scalable Enterprise — Dell

� Adaptive Infrastructure — CAP/E&Y

� Dynamic Systems Initiative — Microsoft

� Other

– Policy-based computing

– Service-centric computing

– Harmonious Computing

– Open mission-critical systems

so I can

really BUY

this?

the “virtual enterprise”

“a virtual enterprise is a temporary

aggregation of core competencies and

associated resources collaborating to address

a specific situation, presumed to be a

business opportunity“

H. T. Goranson, The agile virtual enterprise, Cases, metrics, tools

what good is it for?

R-77RVV-AE Missile (NATO designation: AA-12 Adder)AIM-9M Sidewinder

The AIM-9X Sidewinder Air-to-Air missile program will develop a short

range heat seeking weapon to be employed in both offensive and

defensive counter-air operations. The new missile is required to

reestablish the parity of US aircraft in short range air combat, vis-à-vis

improved foreign export aircraft and missiles.

Source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/

examples

types of Virtual Enterprises

opportunity-driven

bidding consortiumsupply chain

capability-driven

the Virtual Enterprise framework

opportunity

identification

virtual enterprise

reconfiguration /

dissolution

virtual enterprise

operation

partner

identification

virtual enterprise

formation

the networked market model

marketmarket

lead partner Alead partner A

coordinator Bcoordinator B

coordinator Acoordinator A

contributor Bcontributor Bcontributor Acontributor A

contributor Ccontributor C

lead partner Blead partner B

is it a betterbetterorganisational form?

UNPREDICTABILITYUNPREDICTABILITY is fact

…but we keep on dreaming of

PERFECT PERFECT control

© The Cockpit Group

when everything is GREENGREENmost likely, you are DEADDEAD

© The Cockpit Group

…but we keep on dreaming of

PERFECT PERFECT control

structure

MATTERSMATTERS

the beer game

brewery

retailer

wholesaler

so…

Malcolm Gladwell

“... if everyone has to think outside the box,

maybe it’s the box that needs fixing”

the INNOVATIONINNOVATION mantra

� the creation of a working environment that facilitates and stimulates innovation

� the development of personal skills and the promotion of practices, tools and methods to stimulate creative thinking

� the management of new ideas

...but we keep on playing the

dog cratedog crate race

can it be done

within a singlesingle

organisation?

the innovationinnovation requirements list

� adopting an open communication between all layers of the organisation so that everyone is fully aware of the strategic direction, the opportunities and also the challenges of the organisation

� having a willingness to accept a reasonable amount of promising, yet risky ideas to have their fair chance for development and implementation; being tolerant for failure

� stimulating an entrepreneurial mindset

� fostering knowledge sharing and cross-fertilisation of ideas across all entities of the organisation

� having the conviction that anyone in the organisation can be a potential contributor for innovation

� introducing a fair amount of challenge

� freeing up the necessary time/resources for innovative thinking

the promisepromise of the VE

� peer-to-peer; relationships based on equality

� loosely coupled; nothing is forever

� trust; accepted distrust

� shared/partial control

� small footprint relationships

� high concept

� not built to last

differentiators

� high concept

� unprotected

� negotiated

� open

� interpreted

� autonomous

� light-weight agreements

� strategy and objectives

� protected

� inherited

� closed

� understood

� dependent

� formal contracts

characteristics of the VE agreement

� personalised mission statement

� personal agenda’s are OK

� peer-to-peer relationship

� actors are contributors or facilitators, not control layers

� participation and positioning in VE is competence based not seniority

� ‘no expectations’ based trust

� together we succeed, together we fail

� it’s your problem

remaining questions

� how do we protect the lower layers?

� the impact of external stakeholders is not balanced

� pains and gains are not identical at all levels

� ‘breed’ and ‘greed’ are still the dominant models

� legal and regulatory requirements

is CSRCSR a way to go?

“Socially responsible practices are the ultimate

value creators: They create emotional value,

experiential value, social value, and have course,

financial value. People who interact with such

companies feel safe, secure, and pleased in their

dealings.”

Idris Mootee

annex

Creative Commons

clip works

gailf548 Zak A jslander

JOE M500

Office Now

photohome_uk

billjacobus1 closelyobserved.com Orin Optiglot

MK Media

Productions

tyger_lyllie Wonderlane

Creative Commons

billjacobus1 @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/billjacobus1/

clip works @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/14947022@N06/

closelyobserved.com @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/soylentgreen23/

Gailf548 @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/galfred/

JOE M500 @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/m500/

Jslander @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/pancakejess/

MK Media Productions @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakobusan/

Office Now @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/officenow/

Orin Optoglot @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/

photohome_uk @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/photohome_uk/

tyger_lyllie @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyger_lyllie/

Wonderlane @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/

Zak A @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/79605023@N00/

resources

The agile virtual

enterprise

Cases, metrics, tools

H.T. Goranson

The Black Swan

The Impact of the

Highly Improbable

Nassim Nicholas

Taleb

The Tipping Point

How Little Things

Can Make a

Big Difference

Malcolm Gladwell

The Fifth Discipline

The Art & Practice

of the Learning

Organization

Peter M. Senge

resources

Good to great

Why some companies

make the leap and

others don't

Jim Collins