Health insurer CZ on the journey to becoming a digital enterprise

In its journey to becoming a digital enterprise, CZ took three crucial steps in the space of two years: transformation of IT, reassessment of business strategy and the decision to undergo major standardization. Peter Slager, CIO of the Dutch insurance group, reflects on the journey so far.
With over four million customers, CZ is one of the largest health insurance companies in the Netherlands. When Peter Slager (a former top handball player) took office as CIO two years ago, he had been on board with the company for some time.
“That made my first hundred days a lot easier, because I was able to do an analysis on the entire division in the without having to manage the department. I wanted to transform the IT organization from an internal supplier to an enabler of business objectives.”
The initial IT transformation program was based on four values: customer focus, simplicity, well-oiled processes and professionalism. Next to a more value-chain and customer journeys-oriented IT organization, CZ is working to modernize its technology and data landscape.
“Soon we also decided to review our business strategy. Our services so far have had various digital elements, such as using technology and data to improve and enrich the CZ app. But rising healthcare costs and scarce talent required a much broader focus. After all, if we as a sector do nothing now, we are heading for a shortage of 80,000 healthcare professionals by 2030.”
Pivotal
“In the summer of 2023, we saw that there was suddenly a lot going on,” Slagter continued. “The BizzTech program bringing IT closer to the business had led to improvement in the delivery process, but it was still not moving fast enough. Moreover, IT costs continued to rise. Partly because of our pivotal role in the CZ 2030 strategy.”
To receive guidance on the best way forward, Slagter reached out to Anderson MacGyver. The CIO had three questions: how can CZ IT accelerate, to what extent does the current architecture fit the ambitions and are IT costs keeping pace with other health insurers, and should we continue to want to do everything ourselves in terms of IT?
Anderson MacGyver introduced the concept of multimodality – a concept that argues that different aspects of business operations require different kinds of IT. Sometimes focused on distinctive service or market position, and sometimes focused on operational efficiency. The so-called Operating Model Canvas (OMC) then helped determine which IT optimally fits which business activity.
“The Operating Model Canvas draws a single picture of the organization in terms of its business activities, value propositions, products, channels, customers, and main stakeholders. The approach has proven to be an excellent basis for effective discussions about the impact of strategic choices, and for setting the digital agenda,” explained Gerard Wijers, partner at Anderson MacGyver.
Indeed, at CZ, this too was the case, noted Slagter: “Using the Operating Model Canvas, it became clear which IT best fits our processes, principles and business activities.”
Bringing improvements to life
The Operating Model Canvas highlighted to Slagter where steps needed to be taken. “The most important conclusion was that with the existing IT landscape we would not be able to realize the CZ 2030 strategy.”
It did however take a while before the Operating Model Canvas fully found its place in the organization. But fast forward to today, and both management and employees recognize and acknowledge the value of such an overview. “The visualization helps enormously to get people on board with the changes.”
Compared to similar organizations, CZ’s change capacity turned out to be rather limited. “The conclusion was that we had too many in-house developed customizations. Together with Anderson MacGyver, we are now defining a new target architecture. Parallel to the initiated standardization is the transition to a scalable, modular and secure IT landscape. This includes sound data management. We are also reassessing the sourcing strategy.”
Organizational principles
But in a parallel track, CZ is looking ahead even further. The principles embraced within the IT division, such as well invested responsibilities and the pursuit of efficiency and simplicity, inspire a future vision for the overall organization, business processes and culture.
“All in all, in two years we as an IT function have made the move from internal supplier to more strategic enabler based on technology and data,” concluded Slager. “Business and IT can no longer be separated in this regard.”