Digital transformation implementation at Euroclear

INNOCOM was engaged by Euroclear, a global Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) managing trillions of financial assets for significant banks, central banks, funds, and corporations, to assist in structuring their digital transformation. 
Given Euroclear's size and pivotal role in the financial ecosystem, this transformation posed a significant challenge, requiring a balance between modernizing and working within the constraints that come with stringent system security.  

To meet this challenge, we implemented lean methodologies and helped setup a dedicated transformation team. Working closely with Euroclear’s C-level executives, we aligned strategic objectives across the organization. This approach was rooted in value-based portfolio management and reinforced by Business Process Improvements (BPI), ensuring harmony between the Business and IT divisions. 

This alignment was achieved by linking business outcomes to the IT portfolio's side, specifically, Euroclear's software Tribes, using the portfolio layer of the Scaled Agile framework. The transformation unfolded in four phases over three years. 

INNOCOM began by collaborating with Euroclear's Senior Management Team to redefine the strategic objectives for the next five years. This provided the foundation for the digital transformation roadmap. One key challenge identified was the misalignment between Business and IT. Business teams had conflicting priorities, and IT projects were often complex and delivered unsatisfactory results. 

To address this, INNOCOM worked with Business Management Teams and Product Managers to clarify expected business outcomes and timelines. This allowed the Architecture Team to understand how existing and new technologies should support these outcomes.  

Business Roadmaps were introduced to map how strategic goals would translate into concrete business deliverables across the company’s 12 Product Lines, corporate entities, and various time horizons. This effort was a joint collaboration between Product Management, Commercial Departments, and Enterprise Architects. 

With the Business Roadmaps in place, INNOCOM shifted its focus to IT. Euroclear's annual change budget exceeding €100 million is complex.  By aligning IT initiatives to new business roadmaps, value contributions and return on investments were made transparent.  

Within six months, cross-departmental synergies improved, which helped in the prioritization of key IT foundations, such as Cloud, CIAM, and APIs. The IT Tribe Leads responded positively, acknowledging enhanced collaboration and prioritization. 

INNOCOM then supported the introduction of value management at both initiative and portfolio levels. Euroclear could focus on delivering the highest-value projects by prioritizing investments based on future value rather than just IT budgets. Senior managers were required to sign off on the value propositions for each initiative, ensuring accountability and alignment with business goals. 

This phase also involved creating Business Architecture artifacts that defined roles, responsibilities, and governance processes in the BPMS tool. INNOCOM supported the integration of these principles into Euroclear's ServiceNow Corporate Planning tool to ensure consistent organizational adoption. During this phase, communication and change management were critical, securing buy-in from all company levels. 

In the final phase, INNOCOM transitioned responsibilities to Euroclear’s internal teams, helping to appoint a senior manager for Strategic Planning, Business Roadmaps, and Value Management. This ensured that the organization had the expertise to make strategically critical decisions, such as prioritizing the investment portfolio. 

Additionally, INNOCOM focused on developing the skills of the Enterprise Architect teams through "Personal Growth Cycles," empowering them to support the business with Agile Architecting skills.  

Alignment with Euroclear's Agile Centre of Excellence ensured that value-based decision-making was embedded into the company's Agile Planning procedures, including Program Increment (PI) and Quarterly Business Review (QBR) processes. 

In summary, INNOCOM’s structured, phased approach enabled Euroclear to execute the digital transformation of its systems while ensuring alignment between business and IT. Through value-based management and strategic collaboration, INNOCOM laid the foundation for Euroclear’s continued growth and transformation.