The IT transformation of Eteck
Eteck is a market leader in the Dutch Decentralized Cooling and Heating (DHC) sector, delivering sustainable heating and cooling solutions across residential areas and large-scale buildings throughout the Netherlands. With nearly 300 operational installations, Eteck manages a complex and rapidly growing asset portfolio. As digitalization increasingly becomes a critical enabler for asset lifecycle management, operational efficiency, and scalability, IT emerges as a strategic capability rather than a supporting function.
Their question
On the eve of a major expansion of their business, Eteck and Anderson MacGyver started a joint exploration around a clear and pressing question:
‘How can we shape an IT landscape and organization that supports Eteck’s rapid growth?’
This challenge went far beyond incremental improvements; an overhaul of the current digital set-up was required to maximize future value. Together, Eteck and Anderson MacGyver set out to define:
- A future‑proof IT landscape, largely designed from a green‑field perspective
- A redefinition of the IT organization, including roles, governance, and ways of working, codesigned with key stakeholders
- A clear and realistic transformation roadmap that would allow the organization to evolve without losing control, continuity, or strategic alignment
For Eteck’s management team, the key focus was balancing speed with control, managing dependencies, and minimizing transformation risk over a multi‑year horizon.
Our answer
Anderson MacGyver partnered closely with Eteck’s IT Manager and COO to develop a holistic IT transformation plan that aligned business ambition, technology, and organizational capabilities. The starting point for the transformation rested in the business departments of Eteck. By involving them from the start, we ensured that their needs would be the central to the coming changes. All business needs were collected and used to create a set of EPICs that were central to the rest of the transformation plan.
Anderson MacGyver translated Eteck’s core business activities and growth objectives into a coherent target IT landscape using the Operating Model Canvas (OMC). This ensured that future systems and IT capabilities were directly driven by business needs and supported scalability and asset lifecycle management.
In parallel, we designed a scalable IT operating model, including clear roles, team structures, and ways of working.
All changes were integrated into a phased transformation roadmap, providing management and the board with clarity, control, and flexibility to steer the transformation in such a way that it could match the growth of the asset portfolio and revenue using intelligent stage gates.
Finally, we started a market consultation to find potential IT partners for Eteck that could realize the new IT landscape that we designed. In this market consultation, we also challenged the potential partners on the proposed IT landscape. This approach not only introduced Eteck to fit-for-the-challenge IT partners but also introduced valuable insights into our own assumptions, further refining the IT transformation plan for Eteck.
The impact
Instead of facing an overwhelming and high‑risk transformation, Eteck now has clarity, control, and confidence in its IT journey. The transformation roadmap serves as a jointly owned narrative for both business and IT leadership, enabling informed and aligned decision‑making at every stage.
As a result:
- IT has evolved into a strategic enabler for growth, supported by strong business ownership
- Eteck can scale in a controlled and sustainable manner, with clear governance and collaboration
- The organization remains agile, while staying aligned with long‑term objectives
Eteck can now follow a healthy and sustainable growth path in the areas that matter to them. For example, by focusing on asset administration and management first, as opposed to fully automatic asset control, Eteck can expand its systems and landscape at a sustainable pace.
Rather than working towards a single, static end state, Eteck is now equipped to continuously evolve its IT capabilities together, staying resilient and prepared for future challenges in an increasingly digital and asset‑intensive market.
