A core system transformation is always a business transformation

A core system transformation affects the entire organization. When a core or ERP system changes, processes, responsibilities, and the customer experience change with it. Success is not determined by technology alone, but by how the change is led. We support the transformation from initial assessment through to benefits realization, working pragmatically alongside your team. 

This type of transformation is always strategic. At its best, it can create a clear competitive advantage and improve efficiency. If it fails, however, it can become costly and put business continuity at risk. The difference comes down to how clearly the goals are defined, how well data and requirements are prepared, and how systematically people are supported through the change. 

Taskmill brings clarity, structure, pace, and expertise to the transformation. We help ensure that the intended benefits are realized while avoiding the most common pitfalls.

What is a core or ERP transformation?

A core or ERP transformation means renewing an organization’s core systems, such as banking, insurance, or enterprise resource planning systems. Because these systems are business-critical, the transformation affects four areas at the same time: 

• Processes. How work is carried out in the new system and which legacy practices are left behind. 

• Operating model. How roles, responsibilities, and decision-making are organized between business and IT. 

• Data. What data is migrated, what condition it is in, and who is responsible for its quality. 

• Customer experience. What changes from the customer’s perspective, and what must not deteriorate. 

The need for change often emerges as early as the assessment and preparation phase, as business goals are defined and begin to shape what the new system ultimately needs to deliver.

Typical challenges

These issues arise in almost every transformation, and in regulated industries they can determine whether the renewal succeeds: 

• The goals remain vague. The transformation starts before there is a clear view of what the business needs to be able to do differently afterwards. 

• Requirements do not reflect the business need. The result is a solution that meets the specification but not the actual objective. 

• Data migration is underestimated. Legacy data often contains duplicates, inconsistent codes, and errors that the old system has compensated for, but that surface during migration. 

• The change is treated mainly as a technical exercise. The system progresses according to plan, but people do not move with it, and processes and responsibilities remain unchanged. 

• There is not enough internal capacity for key roles. The organization lacks the time or experience needed to lead the transformation, manage streams, or run the PMO. 

• Quality assurance remains the client’s responsibility. Vendors test their own components, but the client is responsible for ensuring that the overall solution and integrations work across a multi-vendor environment. 

• Regulatory requirements are identified too late. Regulatory and reporting obligations only come to light after the solution has already been built. 

• The project is considered complete at go-live. Post-go-live support and benefits tracking are left undefined, and the expected benefits are assumed to materialize on their own. 

How we help

Our services cover the full transformation journey from initial assessment to benefits realization. 

Before the decision

• Pre-assessment and goal setting. We create a roadmap based on the transformation goals, current-state pain points, and stakeholder perspectives to support decision-making. At the same time, we identify risks and assign clear ownership. 

• System comparison and vendor selection. We support solution comparisons, vendor evaluation, and contract negotiations to help ensure that the chosen solution meets the real business need. 

Requirements and planning

• Requirements definition and process modeling. We translate business needs into requirements at the appropriate levels and document both current-state and target-state processes in the necessary detail. In regulated industries, regulatory requirements are taken into account from the outset. 

• Data migration planning and execution. Data assessment and cleansing, mapping of data structures, test and rehearsal runs, and production migration with validation. 

Transformation delivery 

• Organization and PMO. A clear and transparent way of working that enables effective dependency management and timely decision-making. 

• Change management and deployment. A phased change journey that clarifies why the change is needed, how the required expertise will be brought together, and how the new way of working will become part of everyday operations. Our experts can act as change leads or support you in that role. 

• Key roles and specialist resources. Experienced professionals to lead the transformation, manage streams and subprojects, and coordinate integrations, migrations, and architecture work. 

Go-live and beyond 

• Quality assurance and acceptance testing. Test managers, testers, and team-based solutions that scale according to the different phases and peak workloads of the transformation. 

• Enhanced post-go-live support. The first few weeks with a new system are critical: incidents need to be resolved quickly, and users need support in their daily work. This stabilization period is commonly referred to as hypercare. 

• Benefits measurement and realization. Hypercare stabilizes the system within weeks, but business benefits accumulate over months and years. We help define the right metrics and track them so that the benefits are demonstrated rather than simply assumed. 

What changes 

• You know what the transformation is intended to achieve and how success will be measured before anything is purchased. 

• Requirements and processes are documented in a way that supports both vendor comparison and implementation. 

• Data remains reliable after go-live, reducing the risk of incorrect customer information or distorted reporting affecting the business. 

• People are engaged in the change, so the new system does not end up running alongside old ways of working. 

• The transformation does not end at go-live, but only when the benefits are reflected in business results. 

“Taskmill’s experts have played a key role in the transformation, representing both the IT and business perspectives of Säästöpankki while taking strategic objectives into account. Taskmill has also been responsible for leading quality assurance and ensuring the smooth operation of the project management office.” 

— Markus Tuomi, Säästöpankki

“Taskmill’s experts have played a key role in the transformation, representing both the IT and business perspectives of Säästöpankki while taking strategic objectives into account. Taskmill has also been responsible for leading quality assurance and ensuring the smooth operation of the project management office.” 

— Markus Tuomi, Säästöpankki

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