Center of Excellence — one expertise, many business units.

A competence center (CC, also known as Center of Excellence — CoE) is an expertise cell dedicated to a specific technology domain (ServiceNow, Dynamics 365, AI, Power Platform…) that serves multiple business units of the same client. Its main role: pool know-how, share expertise, ensure consistency of practices. An ODC focuses on a specific program; a CoE is cross-cutting, providing expertise, training, reference architecture, N3 support, and supporting the projects of various business units. Many English-speaking organizations use the term Center of Excellence (CoE) for this model.

A CoE is suited when a technology is used at group scale by several business units (example: Dynamics 365 used by sales, service, HR). In that case, pooling expertise avoids each unit reinventing the wheel, ensures consistency of data models, captures best practices. An ODC stays focused on one program; a CoE is cross-cutting. You choose a CoE if more than 3 business units use the same technology with a need for transversal governance.

The most requested CoEs from our clients: (1) ServiceNow CoE — for large enterprises with ITSM + ITOM + CSM + HRSD deployed across several BUs; (2) Dynamics 365 & Power Platform CoE — for multi-country multi-subsidiary groups; (3) AI & Data CoE — to industrialize GenAI, RAG, Power BI at enterprise scale; (4) Legacy Modernization CoE — to drive the migration of dozens of legacy applications. Each CoE has a typical size of 5 to 15 experts.

Three governance levels: (1) Monthly CoE steering committee with representatives from each BU + CIO — priority arbitration, allocations; (2) Unified backlog visible to all BUs — transparency on who consumes how much; (3) Service-level rules per BU based on internal SLA agreement. Access provides technical expertise and coordination; the client retains strategic decision-making and cross-BU prioritization. This prevents the loudest BU from monopolizing expertise.

A 100% internal CoE requires recruiting, training, and retaining 5-15 experts on a technology — cost, time, attrition risk. An Access CoE provides expertise directly via our pool, with guaranteed backup, continuous training, technology watch. Many clients combine: 2-3 internal experts for strategic leadership + Access CoE for operational capacity. Some clients start 100% Access then internalize progressively (BOT model). Others keep the Access CoE indefinitely to guarantee access to state-of-the-art expertise.

The typical deliverables of an Access CoE: (1) Documented and maintained reference architecture, (2) Cataloged reusable patterns and solutions, (3) N3 support escalated from project or vendor teams, (4) Internal training (workshops, knowledge-transfer sessions), (5) Technical reviews and architecture validations on BU projects, (6) Technology watch and evolution recommendations, (7) Consumption and impact reporting by BU.

The cost of a CoE depends on three variables: the **size of the cell** and its seniority mix, the **technology** involved (some skills are scarcer than others), and the **delivery location**. The right comparison is not the monthly rate in isolation, but the fully loaded cost of the internal alternative: salaries, charges, training, retention risk, and above all 6 to 12 months before a newly recruited team is fully operational. A CoE is operational from day one, and the internal rotation of our experts provides continuous training at no effort on your side. We price after scoping.

Yes, this is actually the most common format. The client keeps 2-3 internal experts for strategic roles (tech lead, principal architect, vendor relationship) and Access provides the 5-12 operational experts. Governance is unified: shared backlog, common rituals, common visibility. This hybrid approach offers strategic sovereignty on the client side while capitalizing on Access's depth of expertise and nearshore cost reduction.