Bringing Business and Change Together: Introducing Mature Integration Technology to make Governance realistic. 

In many organisations, the worlds of strategy delivery and business-as-usual operate in parallel. Each has its own structures, reporting cycles, and data systems. Yet the reality is that performance depends on both working in concert – and that is where Business Integrated Governance (BIG) comes in. 

In a recent discussion between Alex Shapley, Director at Business Integrated Governance CIC, and Christopher Pond, Commercial Director at The Project Group (TPG), the two explored how organisations can use BIG to connect purpose, vision, strategy and delivery – and how technology is now mature enough to make that integration real. 

A Framework for Integrated Governance 

At its core, BIG is a way of governing the whole business as a connected system. It brings together change initiatives (projects, programmes and portfolios) with ongoing operations so that decisions are made on a single, balanced view of organisational performance. 

Alex explained that this is not about adding another layer of process or bureaucracy. It’s about creating clarity and coherence – ensuring that everyone from the boardroom to the delivery teams can see the same truth, based on the same data. 

Why Organisations Need BIG 

Many executives will recognise the challenges Alex described: 

• Messages about priorities and imperatives are not always clear.
• Accountability is often misplaced or unfairly assigned. 
• Information is fragmented across spreadsheets, slide decks and systems – ‘sent’ not ‘shared’  
• Decisions take too long because nobody fully trusts the data. 

BIG addresses these problems by aligning communication, accountability and decision-making around a unified information model – what Alex calls “a single version of the truth.” 

The Role of Technology 

Christopher Pond joined the conversation to explore the technology that underpins BIG. He noted that most organisations still lack a proper technology backbone to support integrated governance.  

Data lives in separate applications – finance systems, project tools, HR platforms – each reliable in isolation yet unfortunately disconnected from the bigger picture. 

Modern service-oriented architecture changes this. BIG is system-agnostic, meaning it can connect platforms such as Oracle, SAP, Workday, JIRA, Azure DevOps, and others through integration tools like TPG PSLink and Microsoft Azure Data Factory. 

These solutions act as the “glue” between systems, extracting, transforming and loading data across platforms so that reports and dashboards are always based on current, consistent information – without the need for massive central data warehouses. 

From Silos to Seamless Data Flow 

Both speakers recalled how earlier attempts at integration – such as those built on Lotus Notes – struggled with the limits of their time. Today, the technology is different: secure access controls, cloud-based data services and modern APIs now allow organisations to combine visibility with governance. 

With these capabilities in place, organisations can maintain confidentiality while ensuring everyone sees the data relevant to their role. That balance between access and control is fundamental to BIG’s promise of integrated governance. 

Automation and Governance in Practice 

Automation is another important theme. Using tools like Microsoft Power Automate Flow, organisations can embed governance processes directly into their ways of working – for example, automatically escalating risks, updating issue logs, or triggering notifications when decisions are required. 

As Alex noted, risks and issues don’t just belong to projects; they exist across the entire business. Automating their escalation ensures the right people act at the right time, with a clear audit trail and no loss of visibility between change and business-as-usual. 

AI and the Next Phase of Integration 

Christopher also touched on the growing interest in agentic AI – intelligent agents that could one day automate aspects of data collection and integration. While the potential is clear, he cautioned that we are not yet at the point where AI can replace the discipline of governed integration. There will always be the need for a human in the loop. Human oversight remains essential to ensure data quality and trustworthiness – something every executive will recognise as non-negotiable when decisions carry material risk. 

Making Integration Tangible 

To bring the concept to life, Alex and Christopher used the example of a standard board agenda.  

(Editor’s note: Clearly, a standard agenda does not have to be a static agenda, and the information needed as time passes will change. Standard agendas are there to provide a common framework, not stifle or impose bureaucracy) 

BIG applies even here: standardising agendas ensures that key governance items – such as issues, risks and progress updates – are always reviewed.  

Crucially, the data from those discussions can feed directly back into connected systems, creating a two-way flow of information. Actions and decisions captured in meetings update the systems of record automatically, ensuring that every level of the organisation is working from live, aligned data. 

(Editor’s note: while dashboards are often flexible and allow exploration of the presented information – they are often static items. A challenge remains to enable real time capture of issues, risks and decisions as agenda items are closed – to enable instant assignment and automated minute capture) 

A Foundation for Better Decision-Making 

BIG is not a technology platform or a management fad. It is a practical framework for running a business that learns from itself – where data, process and policy are orchestrated into one governance model. 

As Christopher summarised, technology alone does not create integration; governance does. The role of tools like PSLink and Azure Data Factory is to support that governance by making information trustworthy, timely and complete. 

Where to Learn More 

The Business Integrated Governance CIC provides a range of learning resources, including the BIG website, a YouTube channel with short explainer videos, and the Body of Knowledge (Book Club) – a monthly forum exploring BIG’s principles and applications in depth. 

TPG continues to provide the integration technology that enables BIG to work in practice, collaborating with knowledge partners like BIG CIC, and other commercial and professional partners who focus on the organisational and cultural aspects of implementation. 

In essence, BIG helps organisations make better decisions, faster – not by adding more systems or layers of control, but by connecting what already exists.  It’s about achieving the agility and coherence every executive seeks: strategy, delivery, and operations working together as one system of governance. 

Call to action

The message is simple: integration turns strategy from aspiration into action.

Find out more and connect with other professionals at Business Integrated Governance Conference

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PLEASE NOTE: While the BIG CIC is firmly TECHNOLOGY AGNOSTIC, where vendors help us, we will point out their solutions where they support Business Integrated Governance.

“At The Project Group (TPG), we understand the daily challenge organisations face in aligning strategy, execution, and accountability across every level of the business. Business Integrated Governance (BIG) ensures that decisions, investments, and delivery are connected — not siloed. Our technologies enable leadership and teams alike to see not only what’s happening, but also why it’s happening.”