Equans successfully carves out from Engie Group with architectural support from xplus

The Belgian Head of Architecture was appointed global stream lead for procurement and HR, and his team was responsible for ensuring business continuity after the cut off in July 2022. The project started in September 2021, so in less than a year, solutions for about 140 applications were needed. The XPLUS architects supported in the preparation.

• Mission: Prepare the carve-out from Engie Group and ensure business continuity in less than a year.

• Objectives: Mapping of all the applications on a capability map and preparing the carve out with pragmatic solutions.

• Impact: A successful carve-out, with a continuous partnership between XPLUS and Equans with our people working in the architecture team on different programs.

Being pragmatic in the approach makes the difference

One of the first steps in the project was to map the systems and tools used globally for procurement and HR, to determine which were used locally and which were still used by the group. Working closely with local IT and business stakeholders to develop an overview of the landscape: which systems could still be used, and which needed to be replaced with new solutions. xplus helped to define the necessary actions to ensure business continuity and provided input for the negotiations with providers.

The project was complicated by the fact that Equans is an international company, with calls and meetings with stakeholders around the world, including Australia and South America.

“We needed a partner that was part of the team and had a pragmatic approach, and that was exactly what xplus brought into the collaboration” 

- Tom Oostens: Head of Architecture & Development Equans

The most critical differentiator in the XPLUS approach: being pragmatic. The approach was not about creating extensive slide decks, but about finding solutions that work.

Continuous impact starting from a strong partnership

The project strengthened the collaboration between Equans and xplus, demonstrating the importance of trusted partnerships in achieving business objectives. The xplus consultants give input to grow the maturity of the architecture practice.

The necessary steps were taken to improve architectural processes and governance. With LeanIX, architecture tooling was implemented. The tooling gives an overview of the 540 applications in the organization. Also, a roadmap was developed, and demand management processes were implemented. The XPLUS enterprise architects form a close-knit team with the Equans BeLux architects.

And the journey continues

xplus and Equans continue to work together on other projects. With the Axiss project, Equans aims to identify synergies across its entities and to bring its applications to the Equans target platform. The platform includes applications like Salesforce for Sales and Field Services and SAP for finance.

Another project of note was the optimization and improvement of Maximo, a CMMS system focused on asset management and maintenance, enabling Equans to track which assets were installed where, schedule maintenance, and plan resources accordingly.