The Key to DX Promotion is "Talent and Organizational Strategy": How Large Enterprises Can Build DX Teams Without Outsourcing or Hiring (Part 2)

• The Key to DX Promotion Lies in "Talent and Organizational Strategy": How Large Enterprises Can Build DX Teams Without Outsourcing or Hiring (Part 1)

We understand that companies must advance DX, but we often hear concerns about not knowing how to proceed or finding it difficult to implement smoothly. In this article, Kunihiko Bunbun of GNUS Inc., who has extensive experience in corporate DX project execution, explains one of the major challenges in DX advancement: "Talent and Organizational Strategy." GNUS Inc., in partnership with the US startup Gigster, has networked numerous DX freelancers. By enabling flexible team formation tailored to specific challenges, they have successfully guided many DX projects to completion.

In Part 1, we unpacked the first of two resource-related challenges in DX advancement: "resource shortage," and introduced the actual talent needed. In this Part 2, we address the second challenge that arises once the necessary resources are identified: "how to compensate for the missing resources."

The Future of DX Team Building: Hybrid Models

The aforementioned U.S. startup Gigster counts clients like Google and IBM among its customers. While these companies can typically build most functions in-house, quickly assembling teams with the right resources for new services is challenging through hiring alone. Even global IT giants don't fully rely on internal development, proving that building teams in-house isn't always the best solution.

When considering whether to build teams in-house, two key factors come into play. The first is the speed of in-house development: Do you need it immediately, or can you wait several months to years? The second is the scale of resources to be in-sourced: Is it the entire team, or just a portion? Some companies pursue M&A when they need to build large teams quickly. While building in-house direction talent is desirable, it inevitably takes time. Even when hiring, selecting the right person is crucial; even startups can take 1-2 years to hire a CTO. Therefore, building in-house requires a long-term perspective regarding hiring and development.

Hybrid In-House and Outsourcing

For effective team building, one approach is to combine in-house and outsourced talent, gradually increasing the proportion of in-house staff. However, when trying to hire DX talent, it's often difficult because you don't know what conditions would attract them in the first place. This leads to a vicious cycle where you end up without DX talent.

To break this cycle, external expertise is crucial. Shadowing those already playing at a high level—observing successful models to understand required roles and structures—is key. Collaborating with external members on projects helps grasp what DX talent seeks, identify the right profiles for your company, and start building a recruitment loop. This ultimately creates an environment ready to absorb DX talent, enabling internal development.

The First Step in Building Teams to Accelerate DX

"I understand hybrid teams combining in-house and outsourced talent are effective for DX, but I'm unsure how to start." For those facing this challenge, GNUS Inc. offers diverse support. GNUS Inc. collaborates with the US startup Gigster to support DX team building and project execution.

A key feature is our vetted network of highly skilled freelancers. With freelancers from diverse backgrounds, including former employees of foreign IT companies, we can build flexible, optimal teams to drive DX success. Imagine having access to top-tier tech talent from anywhere. Our vetted GNUS Inc. network includes experienced freelancers across all roles, and its scale is constantly expanding.

Furthermore, the greatest challenge in agile development is flexible teaming. GNUS Inc. achieves agile advancement from concept to product development and operation by forming the optimal team from specialized HQ/NW members based on the project's content and situation at each phase.

GNUS Inc. provides solutions to these challenges.

Thus far, we've explained two resource-related challenges in "talent and organizational strategy" – resource scarcity and how to compensate for it – which are key to driving DX. Leveraging the features mentioned earlier, GNUS Inc. can provide solutions for companies facing the following challenges:

1. Struggling to achieve results despite efforts in open innovation and internal stage gates
2. Limited capacity for hiring DX talent, desiring external support while still needing all members to understand the business and avoiding multi-layered structures
3. Companies whose mission is new business creation but end up vaguely seeking isolated projects, unable to concretely envision them as core company ventures
4. Want to increase the resolution of business concepts and drive them toward execution steps
5. Existing IT assets are causing concerns about the speed of customer touchpoint improvements
6. There is a shortage of personnel capable of addressing specific technical elements or industry-specific regulations.
7. We are implementing product improvements but face challenges with quality, scalability, speed, and resource constraints.

If you are facing such challenges, please do not hesitate to consult with us. We will support you in building a team to accelerate DX through flexible teaming while securing the appropriate resources.

※This article is based on "GNUS Agile Report: How Large Enterprises Build DX Teams Without Outsourcing or Hiring" (November 2021), with some additions and revisions.