APPLICATION OF VENKATRAMAN MODEL – COWI

The reason for selecting this company is because I have worked with the firm for a period of 3.5
years and have closely analyzed and observed the business strategy, IT strategy, Organizational
Infrastructure and the IT infrastructure of the firm.

About Company:

COWI is a leading engineering consulting group with headquarters in Lyngby, Denmark and
subsidiary offices spread all across the globe. One of its major delivery centers is located in
Gurgaon, India where Structural design, Roads & Airports Design, Tunnel design and Water
Infrastructure design is done. The company is undergoing a transition phase in which it is trying
to align technology advancement with the business goals to meet the client requirements.

IT STRATEGY:

The firm’s IT strategy comprises of external and Internal domains.

The external domains are:

Information technology scope: The firm has started to use advance technologies which are
currently present in the market such as VR, Microsoft lens, BIM technology.

Systemic competencies: The firm utilizes cloud-based applications, country specific software (for
example use of Novapoint in Scandinavian countries which gives the firm an advantage over the
competitors), et cetera.

IT governance: The firm has tied up with Bentley, Autodesk, Vianova and other companies to use
their licensed technologies based on annual, quarterly or bi annual basis. The firm has also tied
up with SAP technologies for various administrative activities such as ERM, payroll system, etc.

The internal domains are:

I/S architecture: All the employees are given high end laptops which are replaced after a period
of three years. Other than that, big desktop screens, wireless keyboards, mouse are provided to
the employees to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

I/S processes: A specialized support team has been created in the firm to cater various needs of
the employees related to IT infrastructure. Also, there is 24x7 help available through
“ServiceDesk – Skype” where employees can ask for help for troubleshooting their problems
related to IT.
I/S skills: Regular training and development sessions are conducted to get the employees
familiarized with the software and the technologies.

STRATEGIC INTEGRATION (Alignment of Business strategy and IT strategy):

Examples:

1. Business strategy – Business integration

IT strategy – Implementation of BIM technology

COWI used to provide its services across various disciplines such as Roads, Airports, Water
utilities, Buildings, bridges, et cetera. However, it was becoming more and more difficult to
integrate the data at one place as the software packages used by different disciplines were
different and hence the Input/output were in different formats. So, the firm decided to leverage
the technology of Business Integrated Modelling (BIM) which provides a common platform to
integrate the data from various sources for purposes such as 3D modelling, clash detection, etc.

2. Business strategy – Grow presence in Scandinavia market

IT strategy – Use of software packages which are popular in Scandinavia market

The firm started to utilize software packages such as Novapoint, Projectwise, etc. to make its
presence visible in the Scandinavia market.

3. Business strategy – Technologically leader

IT strategy – Use of Virtual reality

COWI tied up with Microsoft to use its Microsoft HoloLens Technology which helped the clients
to visualize the design and construction activities in more realistic manner.

OPERATIONAL INTEGRATION (Alignment of I/S infrastructure and processes and organizational

infrastructure and processes):

Examples:

I/S infrastructure and processes – SAP ERM, payroll, ServiceDesk

Organizational Infrastructure & processes – IT hardware and software packages

The hardware and software packages provided by the organization helped the employees
to access the tools and software which were necessary for them in order to perform
effectively and productively. For example, MicroStation – which is a licensed software and
can run with a specific computer configuration were provided the employees; the IT
infrastructure enabled ServiceDesk helped the employees to troubleshoot any issues
related to the MicroStation whether it be technical or system related.
Other than this, there were two more alignments present in the organization:

Alignment of Business Strategy and Organizational Infrastructure and processes:

As mentioned before as well, the organizational Infrastructure and processes enabled the
employees to achieve maximum efficiency and productivity which in turn helped the
organization to achieve its Business goals such as high-quality deliveries, timely deliveries,
improved coordination and communication.

Alignment of IT strategy and I/S infrastructure and processes

This was an extremely important step in achieving the overall business goals by utilizing
the full potential of IT strategy by using the best I/S infrastructure and processes.

In overall, COWI underwent technology transformation with Business strategy as the key
driver.

BUSINESS
STRATEGY

IT STRATEGY

I/S
INFRASTRUCTURE
AND PROCESSES

As shown in Figure, the technology transformation is achieved by COWI through

articulation of the required I/S infrastructure and processes as part of the IT strategy. This
hence enabled the firm to achieve its organizational goals.

DRIVER: BUSINESS STRATEGY – As mentioned the business strategy was to be a market

leader in using advanced technology in the field of engineering consulting and grow
business in untapped markets.
 ROLE OF TOP MANAGEMENT – TECHNOLOGY VISIONARY: The top management of the
firm played a key role in the implementation of the IT strategy. The top management
identified the needs of the customers and the recent trends in the market and created a
business strategy where the IT tools can be leveraged to become a market leader. The
senior management even used to conduct visits from Denmark office to Asian and African
offices to assure that the implementation of the IT strategy is universal across all the
offices of COWI.

ROLE OF I/S MANAGEMENT – TECHNOLOGY ARCHITECT: The I/S management in this case
was not only limited to the IT team that was created, but it also involved the people which
were part of the organization from where the software and technologies were licensed
and also the employees who improvised their skills and updated their knowledge to use
the technology in an efficient and productive manner. Apart from the that, the I/S
management team was responsible for design and implementation of the right I/S
infrastructure.

APPLICATION OF MODIFIED VENKATRAMAN MODEL:

After application of the modified Venkatraman model, it can be concluded that COWI falls in the
intersection of executive business strategy & innovative business strategy.

EXECUTIVE BUSINESS INNOVATIVE BUSINESS

STRATEGY STRATEGY

COWI
The steps taken by COWI enabled them to be revolutionary and transformative which perfectly
aligned with the Business and IT strategy of the organization.