TCS Guiding your Journey to Transformation

By Owen Coppage, Global head of transformation, utilities at Tata Consultancy Services

Technology-driven innovation is empowering more Australian businesses to propel onto the global stage and become best in class leaders. This journey relies on having the right technology partner, one that understands your business and shares your goals. As the trusted former chief information officer at AGL and now Tata Consultancy Services’s global head of transformation, utilities, Owen Coppage understands how companies can leverage the best out of their tech partnerships. He reveals a strategy that can lead any organisation to success. 

Real tech partners bring more than the latest digital technologies to the table. They inspire progress, transformation and growth. In a business environment where companies increasingly depend on access to new artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to deliver operational efficiencies, uplift capability and generate business intelligence, the quality of your relationship is critical.

“Your relationship must run deep. Your tech partner must be genuinely interested in your business and invested in achieving great things with you,” Owen says. “At the heart of it there must be trust, commitment, shared interests and vision.” 

 

How effective is your partnership? 

Like all relationships, a tech partnership takes time and effort. Different organisations take different approaches to engaging with tech services, some are very tech-biased while others are focused on number crunching. If you’re not involving your tech partner intimately in the running of your business and your outlook for new products and services then it’s worth asking the question … How genuine is your relationship? How does your future together look?

It’s the “terms and conditions” type approach that many companies are taking that is holding them back from getting the best out of their tech partnerships, Owen says.

For companies it’s ultimately about building a sustainable capability that gives you a competitive advantage,  he says. “You can’t achieve this if the nature of your relationship is purely transactional.”

Building your relationship on the 5 dysfunctions of a team will beat a tech or financially-driven strategy faster and more effectively, Owen says. And he knows because this is how he has achieved success for one of Australia’s most important companies over more than a decade.

 

Team worked: TCS and AGL’s perfect union

The long-standing nature and success of TCS’s partnership with AGL was a pilot that has become a model example for chief information officers everywhere. Industry-renowned for using tech partnerships to steer progress and growth, Owen extended the boundaries of the energy company through a sustainable connection with TCS. Building capability enabled AGL to become the lowest cost customer platform in the market, way ahead of its competitors.

“As a result of our partnership with TCS, AGL became one of the first utilities in the world to implement SAP’s in-memory database solution HANA,” Owen says. “The technology was so new at the time it was being built just as we were implementing it. This was a specific TCS strength.

“Our relationship with TCS resulted in sharpening up AGL’s short-term and medium trading insights and data capability so we could make decisions faster.

“Metering for demand aggregations that used to take 16 hours could be done in sub-three seconds.”

Top stuff for someone who doesn’t come from an IT background! Owen was so inspired by his work with TCS at AGL, that he joined us four years ago. He now spends much of his time imparting his wisdom to other CIOs, not just in utilities, but across a diverse range of industries.

Creating the perfect tech union 

The secret to a long and successful union, as TCS’s relationship with AGL shows, is team work. Owen boils down the most effective strategy for maximising your tech partnership into the following key steps.

#1 Understanding
Putting the technology to one side, the conversation has to start by talking about what success looks like to your business and what you need to achieve it. Your tech partner needs to understand you from a business perspective before diving into the detail of best practice solutions. To do this you need to be aware of your own business needs, industry and target market.


#2 Commitment 
Understand that a partnership is exactly that. Be genuine, whole-hearted and committed to your relationship. Invest as much time and effort into learning about your tech partner as we do about you.

#3 People and culture
Align key relationships within your organisation with those of your tech partner. Do a talent review of your tech partner to find the best people to support and drive your strategy.

You also don’t want artificial harmony and a fear of failure to thwart your innovation efforts. Allow discussion and respectful debate because it often leads to creativity.

#4 Strategy
Developing a solid framework to achieve short terms goals should be a joint venture while you explore a path to broader transformation and growth. In doing this you need to recognise the idea of creating value for mutual benefit and that your tech partner is sharing the risk and reward.

#5 Process
No industry or business environment is predictable. So your process has got to be flexible. Your tech partner needs to be agile and adaptable and ready to provide new solutions as your business evolves. They are your eyes to future opportunities.

#6 Clever accountability
Develop common goals and measure the outcome of your relationship with tangible results whether performance or improvement based. Has it led to client satisfaction or brought your business a sustainable competitive or financial advantage and best practice implementation?

What qualities to look for in your tech partners

Taking the time to build a meaningful relationship with your tech partner will lead you to continuously discover new and exciting things about the kind of value they can add, Owen says. Does your tech partner have all of TCS’s top qualities?

Trust
It’s a two way street. How does your tech partner demonstrate that people matter? A true tech partner will be fair and reasonable in day-to-day negotiations and respect everybody’s views. Their key people will be leaders who can be believed. But you also need to be open. If you’re going to get the most out of your tech partner, you need to keep them involved in your conversations around business development including new products, services or innovations.

Best practice
Is your tech partner challenging you to push the boundaries? Or are they just looking to create the next revenue stream? A best practice tech provider can use their arsenal of experience to encourage you to explore new capabilities to help you grow. Allow them to help you take advantage of opportunities before your competitors do.

Communication
Does your partner listen and understand your vision, are they are part of it? They should be able to translate the most complex tech jargon so your non-tech execs, from the CEO to counter staff, can understand it. And their method and style of communication should match your own.

Dependability
The relationship should be one of longevity. Your partner should be reliable and give you the confidence that their support is there through good times and bad.

Rethinking your tech relationship

At TCS we have long-standing relationships with many of Australia's biggest companies. We know what it takes and have the right people and frameworks to help you achieve your transformation and growth goals.

Taking the time to build a meaningful relationship with TCS meant that every time I engaged with them I discovered something new and exciting about the kind of value they could add,” Owen says.

“Now TCS and I can help you to explore the same capabilities on your journey to success.”