This is my all new spot on Horses for Sources. The home of razor-sharp analysis and the place where hypes are crushed and real trends are born. Phil has set the bar incredibly high over the past decade. Inspired by the best analyst blogger around, my aim is to be as edgy as you are used to on Horses for Sources.
What you can expect on Berzerk with Derk
I lead the energy, utilities and natural resources practice at HfS. I’m passionate about these industries and the huge shifts they need to make to stay relevant to this world. These are the largest and most fundamental industries in the world. The looming departure from fossil fuels mean the world’s energy systems, which have historically been slow to change, are in an unprecedented period of rapid transformation.
Renewable energy is the next normal – but the world has not woken up to this new reality yet
This blog will help you stay abreast of all these fast-moving trends plus cut through all the hype that is out there. We’ll be covering the energy markets and the ongoing energy transition; away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. And specifically zoom in on the transformation of energy companies and service providers. The As-a-Service Economy has arrived in the services world and holds the potential to play a critical role in the energy transition.
The holy triangle of services; People, Process and Technology
In my focus areas, besides aforementioned Energy, these are Supply Chain Management and Procurement, we see a fast convergence of people, process and technology, forever changing market demand and the offerings of service providers. Talent is a major topic for enterprises and service providers; there is a deficit of skills needed in the As-a-Service Economy. We need more people who can be strategic, experiment, play with business and revenue models, design new organizational structures and cultures, implement and pivot rapidly. People who have a keen eye for societal, political and technological developments and its ensuing opportunities and threats. There is an enormous opportunity for technology and business service providers to become part of the solution. This requires investment from both sides, real partnerships and the application of leading-edge technologies: intelligent automation, IoT ecosystems, actionable data and analytics are essential ingredients of digital transformations designed to push energy providers forward on the energy transition journey.
Change = new stuff = hype
The common theme in much of our work at HfS is change. The old, legacy way of doing things is not cutting it anymore. Labor arbitrage, lift and shift and the traditional models of outsourcing are well past their prime and the services industry is transitioning into this new phase of As-a-Service. Before new things come to fruition, there is often a lot of hype and fluff surrounding them, clouding the view of what is real and what is not (yet). This is where HfS analysts come in… This blog won’t shy away to expose bs, calling out cookie cutter hype and identifying what is real.
All nice and well Mr Erbé, but why should I care?
My goal is to tell you something you may not know with every post. I have been in the trenches of technology implementations, business transformations and operating model changes. I’ve managed the backlash of failed implementations on the business, designed business and IT functions. So in a lot of situations where theoretic solutions and vendor promises have broken down and the real issues still need to be fixed.
On this blog I will address the real-world issues screaming for real change, exploring what works, what doesn’t work and what needs to be done.
I will be:
– Harsh (sometimes)
– Real (always)
– Candid (the key to being an analyst isn’t it)
Are you of the curious variety, care about the world around you and the vast opportunities there are for business and you as a professional? I will introduce you to the most intelligent, innovative and forward looking folks in energy, supply chain and procurement. And help you navigate the real-hype divide, which solutions are aspirational and which solutions can bring scale, results and impact now.
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Looking forward to this, Derk =)