Comfort is not a strategy. Or why we urgently need to broaden our view on IT tooling.
“But I love using my tools so much.” It is a remark Nicolas De Greef, Managing Partner at Equalminds, hears remarkably often from clients and consultants alike. It sounds innocent until you stop to think about it for a moment. “That is exactly where the problem lies,” he points out during our conversation. “We are too often stuck in our habits, while the world around us is fundamentally changing.”
What begins as a conversation about project management tools quickly turns into a strategic debate about dependencies, scalability, and the place of European companies in a turbulent geopolitical landscape. For how steadfast is the foundation of our IT projects – and our IT in general – when the geopolitical cards are truly shuffled?
Four boxes, one reality
“If you want to categorize the market simply,” Nicolas outlines, “you must look at a quadrant based on two axes: the size of the company versus the degree of technological independence. Today, you see a very clear dichotomy within those four boxes.”
On one side are the SMEs, which often pragmatically choose Teams or Excel to manage their projects, and on the other side are the large enterprises and governments that dare to rely blindly on the established American ‘Atlantic stack’. Think of software like Confluence for documentation and Jira for backlogs and Kanban functionalities. Great tools, there is no doubt about that, but the on-premises versions are disappearing, and everything is shifting to the American vendor’s cloud.
“And on top of that comes the notorious vendor lock-in,” Nicolas adds. “You buy the so-called Rolls-Royce of software, build some adjustments and integrations around it, and before you know it, you are stuck for years. Not because it is still the best solution, but because change has simply become too expensive or too complex.”
“Your data may supposedly be yours, but you have lost control,” – Nicolas De Greef, Managing Partner Equalminds
Digital sovereignty as a necessity
According to Nicolas, the risk is greater than merely an expensive subscription price. Due to current geopolitical tensions, international law is under pressure, and global stability is no longer guaranteed. Many European organizations reassure themselves that their data is located on servers in Europe, but under the hood, the software remains American (and therefore subject to American law).
“If a foreign government decides tomorrow to demand data, it simply happens. Edward Snowden demonstrated that painfully clearly back then,” Nicolas reminds us. “Large institutions, such as the Flemish government, are doing fantastic work in the field of security and data protection. But fundamentally, we must dare to ask ourselves the critical question: isn’t it time to switch to a European or sovereign alternative?”
“Fortunately, the realization that digital sovereignty is no longer a luxury is gradually starting to grow,” – Nicolas De Greef, Managing Partner Equalminds
As a technology-agnostic company, Equalminds proactively encourages these thought exercises. “We never enter a client with preconceived notions. Whether it is a large corporate or a smaller SME, we follow what the client uses, but we try to stimulate critical thinking by laying out three alternatives side by side—from build to buy or low-code—and seeing what really fits. After all, we must ensure that the tooling layer keeps pace with the larger underlying movement.”
Although there is currently no ready-made, universal European project management standard, the homegrown tech stack is under full development. European cloud providers are gaining ground, and partnerships between parties such as IONOS and Red Hat demonstrate that things are moving forward. “We have now extended our feelers into the market and are establishing initial contacts with European software partners,” sounds ambitious.
Shift East: broadening the perspective with π-shaped profiles
We often hear about the ‘shift left’ within testing, where writing a user story and automated testing move closer together to deliver faster. Today, Equalminds advocates for a ‘Shift East’. Our view on IT tooling: let us not look solely to the West for our tooling and methodologies, but also to the East and to our own soil.
“This is reflected, for example, in our adoption of Obeya: an originally Japanese visual management strategy that stands for ‘large space’. Behind the scenes, we are working hard on new ways to implement this. It is a wonderful example of how you can streamline processes without being directly dependent on heavy (American) software packages.”
It aligns perfectly with our vision on talent: the evolution towards π-shaped profiles. The classic T-profile (broadly applicable with one deep specialization) is making way for consultants with two rock-solid knowledge domains. With that solid foundation, we want not only to help our own people grow, but also to help our clients build that conscious, European layer on top of their operations.”
From CV pushers to trusted advisors
For Nicolas, this critical perspective also marks the evolution that consultancy firms must undergo. “We need to move away from pure CV pushing. Equalminds wants to be a full-fledged consultancy firm that brings a vision. If a client is struggling with the question of what to do with the tooling for their analysts or PMs, we must be able to guide them.”
At the end of the interview, Nicolas shares his advice for entrepreneurial Flanders and our government bodies: “Keep performing, keep delivering, but take the time for an internal change lab. Reflect on the broader context. Dare to be critical of the tools you use, dare to analyze the risks, and don’t miss the European train.” The moral of the story is not that we should hastily scrap every software system. Rather, it is that we choose awareness, strategic resilience, and control over our own data. Equalminds is already ready to shape that transition together.
