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"It takes an experienced digital orchestra and a skilled conductor to deliver a successful suite of technology solutions that help drive business outcomes."
Cherie Gartner, Microsoft Global 360° Lead Partner, KPMG in the US, talks to us about getting the best from transformation efforts with alliance-enabled technology solutions.
Meet Cherie Gartner, KPMG’s Microsoft Global 360° Lead Partner. In this interview, from the US state of Virginia, Cherie talks about how technology provided by alliances like Microsoft can accelerate business transformation.
How can KPMG’s alliances with other organizations make a lasting difference to business transformation?
Cherie Gartner: In today’s environment, where disruption is no longer a cyclical trend but a daily occurrence, it’s clear no one organization can meet the challenge by themselves. And that’s where the impact of KPMG Alliances shines through, bringing the story to life to meet the business transformation needs of clients.
For you, what are the key strengths of working with alliances?
Cherie Gartner: Key strengths of working with alliances include the ability to constantly evolve to address ongoing market fluctuations, the adoption of new business models and technology, and the power of innovating together. Creating more value for clients helps drive better outcomes, resulting in increased satisfaction and growth.
KPMG firms’ ecosystem of alliances helps KPMG professionals deliver business transformation projects and offers a powerful combination of trusted technology from our alliances together with KPMG professionals’ business expertise acquired over years of client work.
In my role as the Microsoft Global 360° Lead Partner, I oversee KPMG firms’ relationship with Microsoft. This includes cloud transformation services which leverage Microsoft’s extensive product portfolio across digital transformation projects for organizations across the globe.
In addition to being an alliance, Microsoft also provides technology services to the KPMG network of member firms, while KPMG professionals in different member firms advise Microsoft as a client. All of those elements comprise our 360° relationship.
What does alliance-enabled business transformation by KPMG firms look like?
Cherie Gartner: It can take many forms. With our alliance-enabled technology solutions like Connected. Powered. Trusted., KPMG firms apply collective knowledge, acquired over years of working with clients from different sectors. For example, KPMG Powered Enterprise is about moving a business function — like finance, HR or supply chain — to the cloud. We are not just moving like-for-like. KPMG professionals use blueprints to outline how to architect that function to the best target operating model. So this is a powerful example where technology and human knowledge meet. Using the experience of KPMG specialists, we can channel the technology to address the respective pain points to drive the desired business outcomes.
What’s the result of this sharing of technology and human knowledge?
Cherie Gartner: As a recent example, KPMG in New Zealand and Microsoft helped Te Puni Kōkiri transform their progressive procurement and fund management processes using KPMG Powered Enterprise enabled by Microsoft; thereby helping Māori businesses transform, uplift and create better outcomes for all.
In your view, how does working at KPMG make the difference?
Cherie Gartner: I have a technology and extensive ecosystem background, so I was attracted to this global 360° relationship role to accelerate KPMG technology services and solutions in the market with Microsoft. The KPMG network has developed blueprints for what successful business transformation should look like, and doing that with our alliances serves as a differentiator.
KPMG values include Together, For Better and my role as global lead partner for Microsoft really reflects that mindset. Additionally, KPMG is a “people first” organization and we have a strong culture of community. I appreciate our culture leading with empathy and stewardship coupled with authenticity; that serves as KPMG’s cultural backbone.
