Seerene News/Research

Turning Point in Software Management:Why CIOs Must Take Control of Software Now

Oliver Viel — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 08:52:12 GMT

The Next Phase of Digital Transformation: Managing Software Like a Business Function

We’ve reached a turning point in digital transformation.
For years, the mission was clear: build digital capabilities, hire developers, modernize infrastructure, migrate to the cloud. That era is ending. The challenge ahead is no longer about building software capacity; it’s about mastering it.

Software as a Management Task – A Strategic Retreat at Schloss Fürstlich Drehna

Brandon.Lewis@seerene.com (Brandon M. Lewis) — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 14:10:34 GMT

Software – From Technical Detail to Boardroom Agenda

Software has become one of the central drivers of corporate value creation and competitiveness. Yet in many boardrooms, the topic still does not receive the attention it deserves. Technical, cultural, and organizational barriers often turn software into a black box.

The 60% Software Drain: Why CIOs Must Put Efficiency on the Boardroom Agenda

Brandon.Lewis@seerene.com (Brandon M. Lewis) — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 10:33:02 GMT

Executive Summary

Across large enterprises, a stubborn share of software investment fails to translate into business value. In many organizations, less than 40% of developer time and budget produces outcomes customers or the business care about; the rest is lost to rework, defect-fixing, below-the-radar activities, and unmanaged complexity. Evidence drawn from large corporate settings suggests that a realistic baseline inefficiency can approach 60% of software spend, with seven- and eight-figure annual consequences for any firm employing thousands of developers. Platforms that create end-to-end transparency—from code and teams up to the executive view—consistently unlock double-digit efficiency gains and can be introduced with minimal friction (often via a lightweight, single-digit-hour technical onboarding and a few minutes of monthly C-level attention). The strategic question for CIOs is no longer whether to measure software production as rigorously as manufacturing; it is how quickly to institutionalize an executive system of record for software that aligns the enterprise around time and money.

Strategy Sets Direction. Efficiency Determines Speed and Range.

Oliver Viel & Brandon Lewis — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 12:13:00 GMT

Executive Summary

In large enterprises, software production is the transmission that converts strategy into market outcomes. Yet most leaders still treat “engineering efficiency” as an operational afterthought rather than a meta-competence—a foundational capability that amplifies any chosen strategy. The question is not whether your strategy is “right,” but whether the organization can translate each euro and hour of developer investment into value-creating software with minimal friction.

This article offers a management-grade definition of software efficiency and a practical governance model to make it measurable and steerable from the boardroom to the codebase. Using Seerene’s approach, efficiency is defined as the share of developer time devoted to planned backlog work aligned to strategic objectives. What falls outside—rework, unplanned firefighting, technical debt, unnecessary complexity—is explicitly treated as negative efficiency. With this clarity, leaders gain a single end-to-end KPI that ties time and budget directly to value creation, resolves cross-functional debates, and creates common ground for action.

The result is not another dashboard. It is a new management muscle: the ability to compress time-to-impact, reduce cost of delay, and raise the probability that strategy—any strategy—achieves its intended market effect. Strategy sets direction. Efficiency determines how fast and how far you can go.

Inside Bosch’s Blueprint for Automotive Software Excellence

Oliver Viel — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 06:00:00 GMT

At the recent Software Excellence Network event, Transform or Face Disruption, Alexander Springer of Bosch Mobility did something rare: he combined a sharp technical narrative with a radically honest look at human behavior inside legacy organizations. What began as a presentation about software architecture quickly turned into a masterclass on leadership, transformation, and the monsters we all carry with us.

Strategic Management of Software Development: The Power of Platforms, Reusability, and Analytics

Oliver Viel — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:15:00 GMT

In the automotive industry, companies are facing the challenge of managing software development efficiently and strategically. One of the most powerful levers in this process is the reusability of software components. Rather than developing new codebases from scratch for each project, a structured platform-based approach enables scalability, cost reductions, and significant efficiency gains.

Navigating the Future of Insurance Software: Security, Agility, and Cloud Strategy

Oliver Viel — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 22:15:00 GMT

The insurance industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by the need for greater efficiency, security, and digital adaptability. One recent example highlights the importance of software resilience: a major insurer had to shut down operations for two full days due to a system outage, with continued disruptions in accessing core systems for days afterward. This incident underscores the critical role of cybersecurity in modern insurance IT.

CIOs, 60% of Your Software Development Is Wasted!

ChatGPT — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 10:56:46 GMT

What if 60% of your software investment was going to waste—and it was considered "normal"?
In organizations with 2,000+ developers, that’s exactly what industry data suggests. But “typical” doesn’t mean acceptable. This article explores why software inefficiency at enterprise scale is both common and costly—and how a few strategic moves by the CIO or CTO can turn millions in waste into measurable business value.

From Competition to Collaboration: How CIOs Can Harness Community-Driven Innovation for Industrial Transformation

Brandon.Lewis@seerene.com (Brandon M. Lewis) — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 07:00:00 GMT

At the Software Excellence Network summit, Transform or Face Disruption, Dr. Jürgen Sturm (SVP at ZF Group) and Stephan Bauer (Platform Domain Manager at Catena-X) unveiled a new blueprint for CIO leadership—one grounded not in proprietary control or top-down deployment, but in radical collaboration, open-source software, and community-owned innovation.

Dynamic Shared Ownership: How Bayer is Rewiring the Enterprise for Agility, Purpose, and AI Readiness

Oliver Viel — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:38:23 GMT

In an era where agility, customer-centricity, and AI-readiness are redefining the role of the CIO, Bayer is executing one of the most ambitious enterprise transformations in the corporate world. Known as Dynamic Shared Ownership, the initiative isn’t just a tech modernization—it’s a reimagining of how a global life sciences giant thinks, works, and leads.