Method
Enterprise Variation Method
The Enterprise Variation Method is the approach SIMO uses to develop and evaluate a company’s alternative courses of action systematically.
We use the EVM for major business, data, infrastructure, and AI decisions. Instead of jumping to a target architecture, we build feasible options for business, processes, data, applications, technology, AI, and governance, simulate them against future scenarios, and assess them against your criteria. The result is not a vendor recommendation but a reasoned management decision.
45 minutes, by video, free of charge.
Prefer to assess your position first? Twelve questions, about 3 minutes.
The method
Eight steps, each with a result
From the starting point to measured impact. Every step ends with a result you can verify.
- 01 · Baseline
Record the starting point
Where business, data, applications, and technology stand today, and which goals apply.
Result: a documented starting point.
- 02 · Decompose
Break the decision down
The big question is broken down into decision areas, together with their dependencies.
Result: the areas that need a decision.
- 03 · Vary
Build options
For each area we develop feasible alternatives, including ones no vendor would propose.
Result: a few clearly described options.
- 04 · Simulate
Test against scenarios
Each option is stress-tested against possible futures: growth, regulation, and outages.
Result: how each option behaves in each scenario.
- 05 · Evaluate
Assess against criteria
Ten criteria, weighted by your goals, make the options comparable.
Result: a transparent, traceable assessment.
- 06 · Decide
Decide
The executive team chooses. The reasons and the rejected alternatives are recorded.
Result: a reasoned management decision.
- 07 · Transform
Implement
The chosen option becomes the target architecture with a roadmap and is implemented step by step.
Result: target architecture, roadmap, and sign-off.
- 08 · Measure
Measure impact
Against the figures agreed on beforehand, we check whether the benefit materializes, and adjust.
Result: evidence of the impact.
Assessment criteria
Ten criteria, weighted by your goals
No single number decides which option fits; the criteria are weighed together.
Value and fit
- Business Value
- The measurable contribution the option makes to results, cost, or quality.
- Strategic Fit
- How well it fits strategy, business model, and business vision.
- Time-to-Value
- How quickly the benefit actually arrives.
- Data Readiness
- Whether the data needed exists, is reliable, and has an owner.
- AI Readiness
- Whether data, technology, rules, and accountability are ready for AI.
Effort and risk
- Feasibility
- Whether the option can be delivered with your resources, your team, and your partners.
- TCO
- Total cost of ownership over the full lifecycle, not just the purchase price.
- Risk
- Which risks to operations, data, and goals arise or decrease.
- Compliance
- Which statutory, contractual, and internal requirements are affected.
- Operational Complexity
- How demanding day-to-day operations, control, and change become.
We take requirements from the GDPR, NIS2, or DORA into account from an architecture and risk perspective. This is not legal advice.
What you gain
What the executive team gets out of it
A decision, not a recommendation
You choose among options with visible pros and cons, instead of voting yes or no on a single proposal.
Independent of vendors
The options are built before any vendor selection. No vendor shapes the question.
Recorded and traceable
Criteria, weighting, and rejected alternatives are documented for boards, auditors, and successors.
Measurable after the fact
The figures behind the decision become targets for implementation and are measured later.
Business Data Transformation Framework
The EVM in the framework, between Define and Architect
The framework is the path of every engagement. Within it, the EVM is the stage where the decision is made.
- Understand
Current state
Where business, data, and systems stand.
- Define
Goals and criteria
What the decision has to achieve.
- Enterprise Variation MethodVary · Simulate · Decide
Options instead of early commitment
Build feasible options, simulate them against future scenarios, and decide based on your criteria.
- Architect
Target architecture
The chosen option, with a roadmap.
- Transform
Implementation
Supported through go-live.
- Enable
Enablement
Your team carries it forward.
- Measure
Measure impact
Measure the benefit and adjust.
Questions
Questions executives ask about the method
Do I need the EVM for every decision?
No. It pays off when several paths are open and a lot depends on the choice: a major investment, a system or cloud change, an AI initiative, or an acquisition. For clearly defined questions, a single service is often enough.
Who takes part in the assessment?
The executive team sets goals, criteria, and weighting, and decides. Business units and IT contribute their knowledge of options and scenarios; the Managing Partner who leads your engagement guides you through the method.
Is the EVM a piece of software?
No, the EVM is a consulting method. We do not sell software and earn nothing from licenses; tools are chosen to fit your needs.
Where does work with the EVM begin?
With the starting point. It is established on site in the BISA or BEIA entry engagement; options and assessment build on it, with a fixed scope and defined deliverables.
Your next step
45 minutes, and you will know whether SIMO fits your decision.
An initial call by video, free of charge and without obligation, with one of our two Managing Partners. If working together doesn’t make sense, we’ll tell you openly.
45 minutes, free of charge, by video.
Prefer to assess your position first? Twelve questions, about 3 minutes.
Prefer to call? +49 6021 625 63 40
Note: the 3D visualizations on this page were created with AI.