Cycle to Accelerate: Actualising the Art of Digital Transformation

When one reminisces the late Bob Ross, the first thoughts that pop up in mind are his gentle demeanour and extraordinary artistic skills. Millions of people from all over the world who watch his videos, even to this day, can vouch for the air of mysticism and charm that surround his art. Watching as colours seemingly mismatched, conjoin, and diverge in harmony to create an awe-inspiring landscape is truly a marvel to witness.

And strange as it may seem, art and digital transformation have more in common than one would expect, as demonstrated by the company, Cycle to Accelerate (CtoA).

“Our mission is to be the nr 1 full service platform for enterprises, to support them through their complete Digital Transformation journey and become a high performer”

In art, objects/elements are harmonised in proportion and variety to create a painting that shows their accord with one another. Likewise, digital transformation, too, is a process that requires harmonising people, departments, and technology, in all dimensions to further the vision of an organisation. CtoA stands apart in this approach, where many companies fail to see that such transformation requires well-coordinated sequential efforts from all branches in the organisation. In a process that leaves no room for legacy plans that are etched in stone, innovation is done by cycling, step by step (one pedal push at a time) while learning from mistakes and adjusting whenever necessary. With a team well-versed in IT production and governance of organisations, CtoA offers a full-service platform that supports enterprises throughout their entire digital transformation journey.

The Solution Lies In the Performance Pattern

The company assesses its clients’ issues and utilises its tools and services based on a specific organisational performance pattern. This includes the interaction between five transformation capabilities: collaboration, governance, IT production, technology, and the infrastructure of the company. In a classic client engagement, CtoA begins with determining the customer’s current digital transformation performance and organisational positioning followed by the implementation and maintenance of essential improvement steps. “Many companies shell out money in vain when attempting to innovate without a clear-cut goal,” says Ibtissam Ben Baha, General Manager of Cycle to Accelerate. Even if they have the vision to work towards, Ibtissam observes that they are quickly impeded by the next roadblock—for example prioritising initiatives and understanding the potential value they bring in.

Working with CtoA allows these companies to have a much-needed overview and insight into their initiatives, such that capital is invested into the ones that matter the most. According to the company’s philosophy, this is the first step in becoming a high performer in the field of digital transformation. “Our mission is to be the link between the strategic digital roadmap and successfully applying these initiatives in the market”, adds Ibtissam.
When it comes to enabling firms to transform their business and keeping up with the digital era, the team at CtoA knows the ropes well. In all its years working in the industry, a common issue that the company has helped fix is the communication gap between employees and their higher-ups.

For instance, workers could fail to sell their ideas of digital transformation to their colleagues and managers, and as a result, the organisation loses potential value. IT departments, too, struggle to keep up with boardroom strategies and company goals due to the same inconsistency in communication. This can lead to queue-ups in IT production that further hamper performance. CtoA helps bridge this gap by analysing its clients’ capabilities and implementing the necessary steps to nurture digital growth. Common pitfalls in communication, combined with the management’s muddled goals, make digital transformation seem to be an impossible task. That is why CtoA’s services, that focus on harmonising various elements within an organisation, work as well as they do.

Services That Suit Every Need

Since the transformation process is more of a continual journey than a one-time destination, CtoA ensures that it stays by the clients’ side, providing them with the necessary support as and when required. “Where most companies offer services as is, we differentiate ourselves with our custom-fit services,” states Ibtissam. Typically the tailoring of services starts with the performance identification process. Through a questionnaire provided to the client, CtoA creates an overview of their current organisational standpoint in the digital transformation journey. An additional in-depth analysis of their operations also aids in the prioritisation of which improvement measures the client should focus on. It is an action-oriented process that involves conducting interviews and deep-diving into every nook and cranny of the client’s organisation to develop an implementation plan. Possibly the most vital service that the company offers is helping clients in implementing their improvement measures. It is an action-oriented process that involves conducting interviews and deep-diving into every nook and cranny of the client’s organisation to develop an implementation plan. CtoA coaches the customer on deploying the needed changes in order to set the organisation in continuous motion “We let them (the clients) steer it, as their perspectives and values play a tremendous role in the success of their digital journey,” adds Ibtissam.

As a finishing touch, CtoA’s coaching & maintenance services are designed to help clients stay on their path and maintain the changes implemented throughout their digital adventure. It is an avenue for enterprises to monitor their progress in terms of performance and ensure the longevity of organisational transformation. Rather than leaving its client’s side once the implementation is complete, the Dutch company stays to maintain the change and explore greater possibilities for innovation. Referring to the process as ‘cycling’, Ibtissam says that organisations need to adapt and overcome conflicts in complex systems continually in an ever-changing environment, for a successful transformation.

Harmony among the Elements of Transformation

Collaborations with the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the municipality of Amsterdam, and VNG—an association of Netherlands municipalities—highlight how Cycle to Accelerate’s services expedite any organisation’s digital expansion. Once CtoA engaged with the clients, the company quickly identified various parameters that were detrimental to its clients’ performances. These issues were mainly rooted in the governance of the organisations and had created impediments in their IT production. CtoA then devised an implementation plan consisting of the necessary actions, responsibilities, and resources to guide the companies ahead in their journeys.

Since the company’s services have been a boon for many firms aiming to venture into digitalisation, Cycle to Accelerate plans create a franchise that spreads the CtoA way of working. The company will initiate training and eLearning courses to not only educate customers but also to draw in prospective practitioners who want to help build the franchise. These training regimen can also be used in the implementation and consulting stage during an assignment with a client. Another ace up the company’s sleeve is the OTIS (Organisation Transformation & Information System) program, focused on governing an organisation’s IT architecture to support everlasting transformation possibilities. The program will assist customers in gathering data from external tools, provide metrics that can be later used to prioritise business objectives, and ultimately enable a progressive digital transformation.

“Our target market that we would like to expand to first, is the UK,” says Ibtissam. While the British may be known for their highly regulated taxicab services, cycling is arguably the most common mode of transport in the Netherlands. And as the founders of CtoA have observed, cycling, art, and digital transformation are all linked with one another. They all involve finding the right technique, focusing on the process, and improvising as hurdles come along the way. Cycle to Accelerate is a company that shows business leaders how digital transformation is a more straightforward process than what they foresee, thereby helping harmonise various aspects of the organisational palette to create the portrait that their clients envisioned.