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The client's goal was to develop a custom e-commerce solution that works with Amazon and eBay affiliate systems. It had to be integrated with Amazon PA API and eBay API as well as synchronized with the MailChimp subscription system for sending product newsletters. One of the most challenging aspects was to ensure the secure transfer of products between online stores and affiliate databases.

In the real world, installed machines come from different machine suppliers that are equipped with different products from different component suppliers. Challenge for manufacturer X (component supplier) to access the data of his delivered product X.Current barriers to implementing collaborative business models:Lack of trustLack of corporationLack of scalabilityLack of business modelLack of framework for digital intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship

The case study compilation presents a variety of challenges faced by different organizations across various industries. Medical Industrie GmbH & Co. KG needed to optimize and streamline their B2B sales. Bank Sinarmas needed to comply with Indonesian Open-API Standards and exploit the opportunities of the ecosystem economy. MUDUM was looking to harness the power of the API-driven ecosystem economy. OCP Group needed to standardize their APIs. Al Barid Bank was undergoing a digital transformation and needed to strengthen its position as an inclusive bank. Marsa Maroc was looking to advance the digitalization of its business workflows. PharmLog needed an integration platform solution that improves their overall efficiency and creates maximum transparency. Lufthansa Technik AG needed a B2B integration environment that standardized customer engagement. Socomec needed to boost security, improve efficiency, and achieve total visibility over its business workflows. Hellmann needed to integrate more than 750 application interfaces and over 500 customers.

The client aimed to create a multi-vendor eCommerce platform that would allow multiple vendors to sell a wide range of products, from electronic gadgets to beauty products, through a single storefront. The platform needed to provide personalized panels for each vendor, enabling them to post their products and maintain their records privately. The client also wanted to streamline the product management and listing process for vendors. Additionally, the platform was to offer features to assist buyers, such as the ability to compare products from different vendors and create a wish list. The client also wanted the platform to support the running of multiple advertisements through premium listing. The challenge was to convert these requirements into a fully-functional, technologically advanced multi-vendor eCommerce platform.

GRZ IT Center specializes in providing IT services for leading regional banks in Austria. Headquartered in Linz, the company employs more than 450 people to support 86 banks, which collectively operate 458 branches and serve more than a million customers.In the last few years, competition in the IT services market has intensified dramatically. In particular, global public cloud vendors are using their economies of scale to compete aggressively on price. With this trend set to continue, local providers such as GRZ IT Center face a choice: Find ways to cut costs and compete more effectively, or risk watching services being moved off into the public cloud.

Centrifuges, critical assets in the upstream stage of the biomanufacturing process, were experiencing unplanned failures that halted operations and caused significant revenue loss for a biotechnology company. The existing rules-based monitoring systems were producing an overwhelming number of false and inadequate alerts, with an average of 60 alerts a month. However, these alerts only captured 13% of actual failures and 71% of them were false alarms. The system also provided an average of only 45 minutes of lead time before a shutdown, leaving operators with a narrow window for preventative actions. The existing system was unable to flexibly incorporate new data sources or adjust preset sensor thresholds to improve the accuracy or comprehensiveness of alerts. The company needed an AI-led approach that could integrate all relevant data sources and apply advanced machine learning techniques to improve the recall and precision of failure predictions.

The Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in question, one of only seven in India to hold the esteemed 'Maharatna' status, was facing significant challenges in its operations. The company, which provides comprehensive services related to power projects, from concept to commissioning, was struggling with a paper-based system that was reducing productivity. The company had to manage thousands of documents to comply with standards and processes, and strict timelines necessitated effective resource management. Manual processes were causing delays and errors, and the company was finding it difficult to manage multiple packages for multiple projects. The cost and engineering estimation of projects was a laborious task, and the company was also struggling with back-office operations and managing customer change requests.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), a leading global specialty retailer, was facing challenges in delivering high-quality shopping experiences across all its digital channels. The company relied on limited information from customer feedback forms to understand digital customer experiences. This approach resulted in incomplete information, making it difficult to replicate the exact circumstances that prevented customers from successfully completing their purchases. Consequently, it was challenging to identify 'sticking points' on the online and mobile journey that frustrated customers. The company was also struggling with low conversion rates due to issues such as a corrupted shopping cart and incorrect discount codes. Additionally, AEO was facing difficulties in understanding customer interactions on the mobile channel due to the complexity of multiple mobile devices, browsers, and screen sizes.

ARTESP, the São Paulo State Transport Agency, was facing challenges in managing its vast road network, which spans over 6,400 kilometers and serves more than 20 million people across 271 cities. The agency was struggling with a lack of clear visibility into traffic and road conditions, which made it difficult to prioritize highway maintenance and management activities. This lack of clarity could potentially cause delays to inspection activities. Furthermore, the inconsistency in data reports and responses to problems by the private contractors responsible for day-to-day road maintenance, toll collection, and responding to traffic accidents, hindered ARTESP’s capacity to manage the contracts proactively and risked jeopardizing road quality. The manual effort of identifying road hazards through physical inspections and correlating service issues with accidents was increasingly time-consuming and prone to human error.

A business outsourcing company that provides human capital management solutions, including HR, payroll, talent management, tax and benefits administration solutions, was faced with the challenge of modernizing its mainframe applications. One of the company’s groups, responsible for maintaining a complex payroll application, was tasked with providing web services for its front-end systems, which are written in Java. The payroll application runs on mainframe servers and processes payroll requests in large batches. The group, consisting of developers, testers, quality assurance staff and statutory research analysts, needed to find a development application that would facilitate this modernization effort.

The police forces in the German federal state of Lower Saxony were facing challenges in fighting crime and improving traffic flows due to the lack of efficient use of information from various sources. The existing systems stored information about suspects, incidents, victims of crime, and traffic accidents in several systems, making it difficult for officers to gain an overview without consulting multiple data sources. This process was time-consuming and inefficient. Moreover, the technical demands for analyzing and evaluating incidents had increased over the years, necessitating a more advanced business intelligence solution. The police force needed a solution that could provide officers with individually compiled reports about specific locations and types of crimes in near real-time, supported by a unified, consistent event processing and evaluation system.

Christian Brothers Services, a nonprofit service provider to Catholic and faith-based institutions, faced a challenge with its increasingly dispersed workforce. The company needed to enhance employee access to collaboration and social networking tools. The company's field employees frequently traveled within and outside the country, and many of their customer service agents worked from home full time. The company had been relying on IBM collaboration solutions to keep its workforce connected. However, the existing system of electronic teamrooms was proving to be inefficient. If an employee was involved in multiple projects, a meeting affecting all those projects appeared on each project’s team room calendar instead of as a single entry on the person’s Notes calendar. This led to a lack of centralized information and increased difficulty in managing multiple projects.

Advantech Co., Ltd., a Taiwan-based company offering hardware, software, system integration, design services, and logistics support, was preparing to construct two new buildings. The company wanted to avoid the issues that had plagued its existing facilities, particularly in terms of energy efficiency. This was not only due to the high costs associated with wasteful operations and reactive maintenance procedures but also because of the strict energy efficiency standards imposed by the Taiwanese government for new buildings. The challenge was to develop a solution that would enable Advantech to meet these standards and improve its overall energy efficiency.

Mitsuiwa, a company that handles over 1,000 customer requests monthly, was facing a significant challenge in dispatching Customer Engineers (CEs) to respond to incidents and computer breakdown requests. The traditional process involved an operator receiving a request, referring to the personnel’s skills and schedule, and then contacting multiple individuals by phone or email to find a match. This process took an average of 30 minutes per case. Moreover, the personnel were often unavailable to take calls while working at the customer’s location or on the move, leading to repeated contact attempts, increased frustration for CEs, and longer response times for customers. Compounding these issues was a national decrease in the working population, making it difficult to hire more operators and maintenance personnel to respond to issues quickly.

BEMAS Software, a leading provider of technology solutions for benefits administrators, was faced with the challenge of migrating their product line to a Software as a Service (SaaS) architecture. The existing technology solution was written in Visual Basic with a SQL Server database, which was not compatible with the SaaS model they aimed to adopt. The company needed a new technical architecture that could support the SaaS model for their software product line. The transition was crucial for the company to increase revenue and acquire new customers. However, defining the goals for the SaaS model and performing a gap analysis was a complex task that required expert intervention.

MECS, an environmental engineering process technology company, was facing a significant challenge with their critical production server. The server was running software that could no longer be maintained, and there was no one left on staff who understood how the software was built or how to perform a restoration in case of failure. This situation posed a significant risk to the company's operations as the business users had a high dependency on this server. A critical application that was essential for the business operations would not be available if the server failed. The company needed a reliable server and available application to operate the business effectively and efficiently.

Micron Technology, a leading innovator in memory and semiconductor technologies, faced a significant challenge in managing and extracting manufacturing big data from 12 separate sites. The company was unable to deliver data within the requested timeframes, leading to many sites attempting to access OLTP data directly. This resulted in redundant processes, resource inefficiency, and data integration and performance issues. The data warehousing and analytics solutions developed were not able to keep up with the needs of the business. Projects that did occur were isolated, with no ability to build onto or modify when needed.

The company needed a trusted and long-term strategic partner to provide technical and engineering support to its video engineering unit. It wanted to focus on investment and resources to develop new product concepts for next-generation offerings while continuing to deliver high-quality service to its existing customer base in Europe. The company turned to Cognizant.

With its high initial cost and ongoing expense, is becoming harder to defend in a market increasingly reliant on software-as-a-service (SaaS). One major technology player saw an opportunity to increase its revenue by adding a subscription payment model to its traditional on-premises licensing.Adding subscriptions meant changes to product and solution pricing, support, and billing as well as the underlying technology for these processes. A new technology platform would be required to support these business model changes.  

Having a large and diverse portfolio and working with a range of systems and vendors, each with its own set of processes, means that it can be difficult for large property managers to consistently record and catalog every device connected to their buildings.Oxford Properties wanted visibility of every system and device connected to its networks across its office and retail sites in Canada. Oxford is leading the way in Canada with its robust digital facilities management plans, and it understands that having each building fully connected is thefirst, a crucial step in that journey.

Europcar Mobility Group, a global mobility service provider operating in 130 countries, was facing challenges in accurately predicting fluctuations in demand for car rentals at airports based on market changes. The International Air Transport Association predicted an increase of 2.35 billion annual passengers by 2037, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, which would significantly impact Europcar's operations. To address this, Europcar aimed to build an application using data from various sources, including fleet traffic, passenger volume, reservation and billing data, and data on new airline routes. However, the data was scattered across different locations, in different formats, and was massive in volume, posing a significant challenge.

Allianz Managed Operations & Services SE (AMOS), the shared service provider for Allianz Group, was faced with the challenge of facilitating compliance by rolling out new, standardized processes to accelerate reporting workflows and streamline quarter- and year-end closing processes. The company was seeking a more robust and efficient way to provide accurate reports in a timely manner. The aim was to build a best-practice approach that could meet the current reporting requirements and deliver the scalability to support future business growth. The challenge was to replace multiple processes with a single, integrated solution that could connect more than 80 source systems to the local SAP ERP and SAP Business Warehouse applications.

Amadori Group, a leading food company in Italy, was facing the challenge of keeping pace with the changing culinary preferences and dietary needs of young people aged 25–35. The company wanted to evolve its marketing to dynamically align with these changes and sought to create engaging ways to target this segment by exploiting the potential of online marketing and social media. The goal was to boost brand visibility, encourage customer loyalty, and gauge consumers’ reactions to products and marketing campaigns. The company also wanted to monitor marketplace perceptions of the Amadori brand and maintain brand integrity and consistency across product lines. Another challenge was to keep the content current and engaging to diverse audiences.

AMB Sports and Entertainment Group (AMBSE), a subsidiary of AMB Group LLC, is responsible for managing the Atlanta Falcons Football Club, the New Atlanta Stadium project, and a future Atlanta Major League Soccer team. The group faced a significant challenge in attracting fans to the stadium, as they had to compete with high-tech, at-home, and other viewing experiences. The group needed to deploy technology that could enhance the traffic and parking experience, provide faster food and beverage service, and offer equal or better Wi-Fi connectivity than at home. The ultimate goal was to create an immersive, one-of-a-kind stadium experience that would draw fans away from their screens at home and into the stadium seats.

AUDI AG, a leading global car manufacturer, was facing stiff competition from low-cost manufacturers developing their own brands. To stay ahead, Audi aimed to create super-efficient business processes. The company had implemented SAP® ERP to manage various aspects of its business operations, from human resources and cost control to supply chain and plant maintenance. Over time, the SAP environment had expanded to around 100 separate systems, running on 12 HP servers with Oracle databases and an additional 24 HP blades. Audi wanted to improve its IT efficiency to reduce capital and operational costs and create a greener infrastructure, aligning with the company’s sustainability strategy. The company also aimed to increase the availability and performance of its SAP systems, making them more scalable and flexible. The IT Services Department at Audi was tasked with helping the company face several broad business challenges, including increasing demands from employees, customers, and suppliers; the need to support new technologies; rising cost pressures; and growing competition.

Banco Galicia, one of Argentina's top three private banks, faced a significant challenge in improving the time-to-market for new financial products and services. The bank's legacy IT applications and systems were unable to support the rapid changes required to stay competitive in the market. The bank's existing software, which had been in place for over 20 years, was largely developed in-house and designed to meet past banking needs. However, the proposed new services required a customer-focused approach, and the older software could not be extended or adapted rapidly enough to provide the necessary capabilities. The bank serves a large client base, from individuals to large corporations, each with specific requirements. The existing IT systems were not flexible enough to differentiate the bank's approach to each client. The challenge was to modernize the IT infrastructure to meet the requirements of a 21st-century bank and compete with the world's major banking corporations.

A Benelux bank, providing banking, savings, investment, and pension products and services, was facing a significant challenge due to the increase in malware-based attacks in its region. The bank was particularly concerned about man-in-the-browser and man-in-the-middle attacks against its customers. While the bank had not experienced a fraud loss from these attacks, the executives were worried about the potential damage these attacks could cause to the bank and its customers. The bank had previously invested heavily in perimeter security, such as intrusion prevention systems, to prevent criminals from accessing the bank's network. However, as fraudsters began targeting bank customers through malware attacks, the bank executives realized the need to expand their security capabilities to the endpoint. The bank was only able to learn about a fraud attempt when a customer reported an issue with their account balance. Therefore, they sought an additional layer of security to gain an early warning of malware-driven attacks.

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice, specifically the Department of Assets Recovery and International Legal Cooperation, was tasked with the challenge of identifying and investigating the illicit proceeds of criminal activities such as corruption, organized crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering. The department created the Technology Laboratory Against Money Laundering (LAB-LD) to support complex investigations into corruption and money laundering. As of 2014, there are 43 laboratories across Brazil, which make up the Federal Laboratory Network Against Money Laundering (REDE-LAB). These laboratories analyze a vast amount of data to uncover and freeze illicit assets. However, the process of analyzing the data was complex and time-consuming, often taking months and thousands of person-hours. The challenge was further compounded by the fact that 60 percent of the data came from structured sources such as databases and spreadsheets, and the remaining 40 percent from unstructured sources, such as social media and email.

Bugaboo, a Dutch company known for its trendy pushchairs, was facing challenges in generating accurate financial and sales forecasts in a timely manner. The company's rapid growth had led to changes in planning and forecasting requirements, and the existing system, IBM Cognos Planning, was reaching its limits. Performance-related issues were causing disruptions, and any changes to the planning model required the entire system to be halted. The model was split into four geographic regions to facilitate management outside office hours, but this meant that each change had to be implemented four times. Furthermore, Bugaboo wanted to broaden its planning and forecasting to include more than just financial and sales forecasts. For instance, the Innovation Department wanted to monitor costs at every stage of a project, from development through to production.

The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), a part of the California Government Operations Agency, was faced with a daunting task. They had a list of over three million delinquent or non-filing taxpayers and were struggling to determine where to start the collection process. The traditional methods of relying on experience and anecdotal evidence were no longer effective, and state revenue was suffering as a result. The board was grappling with a multibillion-dollar gap between the amount they collected and the amount they were owed. The challenge was to find a more efficient and effective way to prioritize nonpayment cases and increase revenue collection.