From data to action: HDSR's digital transformation with Cmotions.
Hoogheemraadschap De Stichtse Rijnlanden (HDSR) regulates water management in the southern part of the province of Utrecht and part of South Holland. This includes pumping and treating sewage and surface water, reinforcing and widening dikes and ensuring good water quality.
Due to urbanization, climate change, salinization of coastal areas, and increasing and diverse interests, the water management of the Netherlands is becoming increasingly complex. Therefore, it is essential that the water boards cooperate more and more, because water management does not stop at the border. This is where data plays an indispensable role in arriving at accurate information for making important decisions.
The challenge: How HDSR got a grip on digital transformation.
HDSR has been engaged in a digital transformation for several years, but lacked a central and manageable environment for data to effectively support the knowledge, capacity and technology needed for this transition. The organization wanted to establish, expand and strengthen a data team to enable future growth. "When I started at HDSR 3.5 years ago, Informatisering & Automatisering (I&A) was at the beginning of this transition and internally there was not yet a unified data infrastructure for data management," says Jeroen Koning, Product Owner at HDSR in the I&A department. "The team was set up and gradually expanded, but we could see that we would need more knowledge and expertise in the future to keep making steps forward."
Therefore, a tender was issued for a long-term cooperation with a knowledge partner. The goal: learning and development, and additional capacity to make concrete progress at the same time.
During the tender process, Cmotions distinguished themselves through their positioning as a knowledge partner and their broad support throughout the process. "Cmotions did not position itself as a party that performs an assignment and then disappears. Rather, they work with partners to increase knowledge and expertise within the organization," Jeroen said.
The solution: A future-proof data platform.
The process began with the realization of a data platform in Microsoft Azure, supplemented by Microsoft Fabric. This platform forms a basis for further digital innovation. In addition to the technical implementation, there was a strong focus on knowledge transfer. HDSR employees received training in data visualization, Python and version control with Git, among other things.
"Digital transformation is not about technology alone," Jeroen emphasizes. "It's about fundamentally changing how HDSR works and handles data. Data should help HDSR make better decisions, but the human factor remains crucial."
To make the digital transformation successful, HDSR must not only embrace new technologies, but also work differently. Thus, the human factor plays a crucial role in this. The goal is for the data platform to function not only as a technological foundation, but also as a means to accelerate innovation within the organization by being able to easily produce quality data and information.
"Without Cmotions' support, the realization of the data platform would have taken considerably longer. Now we have something I could only dream of before."
Jeroen Koning, Product Owner at HDSR
Success in practice: The impact of a smart data platform.
Thanks to the partnership with Cmotions, HDSR now has a manageable and scalable data platform with a higher maturity level than before. This enables the organization to work faster and more efficiently and address new issues.
In addition, Cmotions acts as a sounding board and sparring partner, allowing HDSR to move quickly when needed. "The biggest advantage is that we can make meters when we want to," says Jeroen. "Before, we were running into capacity problems, but now we can take steps as soon as we are ready."
Insights: What we learned from this trajectory.
There are also learning moments in this type of process. For HDSR, that was the need for better planning. "In the beginning it was: a question comes in, and then quickly arrange someone. That didn't always work," Jeroen admits. "Now we have an I-portfolio process that requires us to look and plan at least a year ahead. That helps tremendously but there is still a lot to learn here as well."
In addition, dynamism remains a constant factor within digital transformation. "The better you as a partner can anticipate what's to come, the more effective the cooperation will be."
The future: HDSR's next digital steps..
In the coming period, HDSR will focus on further optimizing the data platform, focusing on creating a sustainable system in which both technology and people work together optimally. "The system has to run well," says Jeroen. "Not only technically, but also in terms of team and processes." For example, a training program is in place for the next two years to highlight more of the data engineering side and take the team to the next level.
They are also looking at integrating data science, such as training predictive models and performing simple and complex analyses. In the long term, Jeroen envisions closer cooperation with other water boards and chain partners where data can be a connecting factor. "Water does not stop at the border, so our data should also be able to flow across our borders," he said.
The ambition is to grow further into an integrated collaboration by 2026-2027 in which data and a party like Cmotions play a key role. "Through Cmotions's experience with other water boards, they may be able to build bridges and strengthen cooperation within the water sector by sharing knowledge and experiences. In the interest of the water sector, I am happy to cooperate in this," Jeroen concludes.
"Cmotions helps you grow into a more mature data-driven organization. And they do that together with you, not for you."
Jeroen Koning, Product Owner at HDSR