Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform Picks Up Speed
Bertelsmann officially launched the Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform (BCP) at the beginning of the "Data Week," and hundreds of experts are already using beta access to the Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform. The central platform serves as a Group-wide "one-stop-shop" for Tech & Data colleagues to promote exchange. The experts involved in the BCP set up explain its potential.
The first day of this year's "Data Week" taking place in mid-November also marked the Group-wide BCP's launch. The newly created platform promotes networking among IT colleagues, provides greater transparency in Tech & Data projects, and offers faster interaction opportunities for the cross-divisional development of applications. The BCP is also anticipated to serve as a personalized business learning platform. Cross divisional experts from the Tech & Data team, Arvato Systems, and Corporate IT explain the platform's potential in a BENET interview. Rhys Nölke, Senior Vice President Tech & Data at Bertelsmann, presented the Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform during the virtual meeting of around 500 participants from all divisions.
"Cooperation and collaboration are becoming increasingly important at Bertelsmann," says Nölke. "With the launch of the new platform, we are creating a new way to share technologies and knowledge in the form of an expert community. Over the next few months, we will expand the current beta version into a central platform that will serve as a 'one-stop-shop' for all Tech & Data colleagues working at Bertelsmann worldwide." He says the launch gives the first colleagues in the Group the chance to get beta access via a single sign-on using Okta, to explore and try out the platform. Nölke continues to say that the BCP consists of four central components.
The four central components are described as following:
First successful examples
"Creating a platform on which colleagues from all Bertelsmann companies can easily, intuitively, and securely exchange information is a huge challenge that motivated us," says Gregor Schumacher, Head of Innovation Incubation at Arvato Systems. "With the Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform, we have managed to lower the operational and technical hurdles for collaboration. Colleagues can use the platform to share documents or knowledge easily, work together on coding, and reuse IT services from all divisions".
The Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform already showcases a wide range of content and offers opportunities for collaboration. According to the participating teams, more than 500 experts have already been given beta access. A good 370 of those are already actively using this access and exchanging information on various topics in 17 connected communities. Also, 55 innovative use cases are already available on the platform for inspiration, and 27 APIs are available for a specific application.
“An API-based ecosystem within Bertelsmann forms the basis for scalable, vertically integrated value chains,” explains Sebastian Strugholtz, Senior Program Manager Cloud Innovation & Incubation at Arvato Systems. “Its great potential lies in the easy reusability of digital components that all interested colleagues can view and use on the Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform. This leads to the faster market maturity of new, innovative digital offerings.” Strugholtz says the first successful examples are the joint projects of Paigo and Deutsche Post Address as well as Bertelsmann Accounting Services and Arvato Systems, which clearly demonstrate the potential.
The APIs should also be seen as the key to simplified collaboration with external partners. "In this new form of cooperation via the Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform, one thing is very noticeable: the respective division plays less and less of a role– the focus is on the pragmatic exchange between experts," emphasizes Corinna Ebert, Manager Roadmap Coordination & Transformation at Bertelsmann Corporate IT. "The platform is the vehicle we use to interlink knowledge, technologies, and experts across divisional boundaries and with many value-adds for the entire Group. For more information about the Bertelsmann Collaboration Platform, including registration options, please visit https://collaboration.bertelsmann.de. For questions and feedback, please contact the support team at techdata@bertelsmann.de.
Source: BENET