Accelerating cloud innovation via a dedicated hub

Organizations today must innovate on an almost-continuous basis, regardless of their sector. Several pressures drive this need – from developing new products and services and improving their customer relationships, to enhancing recruiting and retention, identifying operational efficiencies, and making the organization more sustainable.

Technology drives success in these endeavors, and increasingly it is the cloud that serves as an important enabler of innovative services.

But this migration has created a fresh challenge for companies: How can they access the talent to leverage state-of-the-art cloud-based solutions, when the definition of “state-of-the-art” is an ever-evolving target? Organizations need to draw – as needed – on professionals skilled in these leading-edge technologies and forward-looking platforms.

Capgemini identified this challenge early on and has taken many steps to address it. One of our solutions is the Capgemini Columbia Delivery Center. I’ve written previously about the need for this innovation hub, and encourage you to learn more here. But here’s the capsule history:

We established the Center in 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina, and recruited seasoned experts from across the Capgemini ecosystem, as well as recent graduates from top-flight technology programs at academic institutions in South Carolina and throughout the US Southeast. Over the past few years, a team of more than 200 consultants has turned the Center into one of our premier cloud-development sites.

The Center is our go-to resource for a number of client scenarios. For example:

• A client is launching a major cloud-based digital-transformation initiative and needs help with all aspects of this – including strategy, proof of concept, delivery, and scaling.
• A client needs access to additional talent but cannot build up its in-house workforce in an accelerated fashion.
• A client needs access to modern cloud and digital skills for a specific project.
• A client wants to work closely with its technology partners to accelerate the development and implementation process.
• A client is looking for skill availability to develop and support its business applications.
• A client is looking to innovate and develop an MVP before full-blown implementation.

The Columbia Delivery Center employs agile methodologies and the fast, flexible, and scalable Product Oriented Delivery (POD) model. We integrate dedicated PODs with client teams – and since the Center is in North America, our clients can collaborate with their assigned PODs throughout the workday.  Our PODs assemble fresh talent from campuses, experienced hires from the market, repositioned Capgemini employees with delivery experience, architects, and industry subject matter experts. This model has to date served several Fortune 500 logos with capabilities out of our Center.

The Center’s developers bring a broad range of knowledge to each project, including:

• Azure full-stack development with React, Angular, .Net, C#, Java, etc.
• Azure DevOps
• Azure Integration and Application Architecture
• Power Platform
• Azure IOT
• .Net/SQL application development and maintenance.

The Center’s cloud-based solutions are driven by Azure, enabling the free flow of ideas and collaboration across PODs. This accelerates development and reduces delivery time. The Center is also able to draw on Capgemini resources from our Global Delivery Centers (GDC) to leverage other technologies and skills as required. While the Center is a fast-growing Azure Center of Excellence, it also houses additional skills, including MuleSoft and Salesforce capabilities.

Regardless of the project’s size or complexity, the Center manages the full development lifecycle for clients – offering end-to-end delivery of systems, services, and solutions.

By working with the Center, clients benefit from the energy, agility, and personal, high-touch relationship of collaborating with a start-up. At the same time, they can leverage the experience, security, and resources of working with Capgemini – a global leader in consulting, technology services, and digital transformation.

As Capgemini’s Microsoft Service Line Leader, I have worked closely with the Center’s team in jumpstarting and growing our capabilities over the past four plus years, and I’m proud of how much they’ve grown and accomplished since we launched this project in 2017. I would be happy to hear from you to discuss how we can put the Columbia Delivery Center to work for your organization.