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Beyond Buy versus Build: Rethinking Software Strategy in the AI Era

  For decades, one of the first questions asked at the start of every IT project was remarkably simple: Should we build the solution ourselves or should we buy a package? Entire sourcing strategies have been built around this seemingly binary decision. Some organisations adopted a "buy before build" philosophy, believing packaged software would reduce costs and implementation risks. Others preferred custom development, convinced that unique software was essential to differentiate themselves from competitors. Over time, this discussion expanded with additional questions. Should development be done in-house , outsourced, or somewhere in between? Should the solution run on-premise or in the cloud? Should it be implemented using Agile or Waterfall ? Should one choose a single vendor or a best-of-breed landscape? These remain valid questions today, but they no longer describe the reality of modern software delivery. The traditional buy-versus-build discussion assumes on...
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Insurance Products Become Commodities. Claims Don't.

  For decades, the insurance broker has been one of the cornerstones of the Belgian insurance market. Unlike in many other countries, brokers have built strong local relationships, often becoming the trusted face of an insurer without actually working for one. They know their customers personally, advise them on suitable policies and frequently become the first person people call when disaster strikes. That human connection has always been their greatest strength. After all, people rarely buy insurance because they enjoy reading policy conditions or comparing premiums. They buy insurance because they want peace of mind . That trust did not emerge by accident. Insurance remains one of the few financial products where customers pay every year in the hope they will never have to use it. When a claim eventually occurs, emotions quickly take over. Suddenly, policy wording, exclusions and legal nuances become critically important. Having an experienced professional who understands both ...

The Innovator's Dilemma: Will Banks Become the Next Kodak or the Next Microsoft?

  History has an interesting habit of repeating itself. Not because companies fail to innovate, but because they fail to embrace the innovations they have already created. Time and again, industry leaders have developed breakthrough technologies years before anyone else, only to watch competitors turn those same ideas into billion-dollar businesses. Xerox PARC developed the graphical user interface and the computer mouse long before Microsoft and Apple brought them to the masses. Kodak invented the digital camera in 1975 but hesitated to commercialize it because digital photography threatened its highly profitable film business. Nokia dominated mobile phones yet underestimated how quickly smartphones would redefine the market. BlackBerry dismissed touchscreen devices because its enterprise customers loved physical keyboards. Yahoo failed to capitalize on opportunities in search, social media and mobile. Even Blockbuster had the technology and opportunity to launch a streaming pla...

The Three Revolutions That Will Redefine Society

  Every once in a while, humanity experiences a technological revolution that fundamentally changes the way we live. The steam engine powered the Industrial Revolution. Electricity transformed every home and factory. The internet connected the world. Smartphones put that world into our pockets. Today we are entering another one of those moments in history. But this time it is different. We are not witnessing a single technological revolution, we are witnessing three revolutions unfolding simultaneously . Artificial Intelligence is changing how we think and process information. Autonomous vehicles will transform how people and goods move. And humanoid robots are about to change how physical work gets done. These three revolutions are closely connected. Modern robotics would not exist without AI. Autonomous vehicles are essentially highly specialized robots navigating the physical world. Together they create something unprecedented: for the first time in history, technology i...