Across industries, the push to adopt AI, move to the cloud, or modernise infrastructure is often led by tech trends rather than business strategy. The result? Endless pilots, vendor lock-ins, ballooning budgets and very little measurable impact.
Christian Scholz, VP Cloud Business at Arvato Systems and the lead architect behind Google Wallet, has a different approach. With more than 30 years of experience leading complex transformations, his advice is clear: start with the business goal, then choose the technology that helps you reach it.
This article breaks down why tech must follow business, what goes wrong when it doesn’t, and how leaders can shift from trend-chasing to strategy-led execution.
Many companies treat cloud and AI as silver bullets. Once buzzwords like "cloud-first" or "AI transformation" hit the boardroom, technical teams are asked to move fast. But this urgency often lacks a foundation.
As Christian puts it:
"Cloud is just another data centre. It's not a strategy."
That statement cuts through the noise. If the organisation doesn't know what it wants to achieve in the next three to five years, then any tech investment is premature. It becomes a proof of concept without concept.
A clear business direction is the foundation. Everything else: data architecture, compliance tooling, scalability is there to serve it.
When technology decisions lead business strategy, several things tend to happen:
Teams lose focus on outcomes and chase features.
Budgets go toward "innovation" that doesn’t move the needle.
Transformation becomes a sequence of experiments with no clear value.
Leaders feel pressure to act fast but struggle to explain why.
Christian shared that even massive players like Microsoft and OpenAI are still spending heavily to turn services into revenue. "Everyone started building AI pilots. But most of them aren’t delivering value yet."
The takeaway? The hype cycle creates pressure. But reacting to it without strategic clarity only adds complexity.
Christian believes the real work starts with a clear vision—and it should be something emotionally resonant but grounded in numbers. Not just "grow in the AI market", but something like: "Become one of the top three cloud providers in the German Microsoft ecosystem within five years."
This kind of vision does three things:
Anchors decision-making in measurable goals.
Builds shared purpose across teams.
Filters distractions from trends that don’t serve the mission.
It also unlocks better communication. As Christian shared,
"If your North Star doesn’t fit on one slide, your team won’t follow it."
A clear goal must be paired with risk visibility. Christian’s test is simple: "If your budget is 5 million and the risk is 4, don’t start."
He doesn’t believe in abstract risk registers. Risk needs to be tangible and measurable—usually in money, people, and time. Knowing your top 3-5 risks means you can decide whether the vision is realistic, what support is needed, and where to pivot if required.
Many leaders underestimate this step. They greenlight projects without understanding the trade-offs, and get caught when things stall. Knowing your risk is not fear-based thinking. It’s strategic realism.
When Christian was building a cloud business at Arvato Systems, the vision was clear: become a top-tier Microsoft partner in Germany. But the road was difficult.
He faced pushback internally (“cloud is more expensive”), lost bids, and had to earn support one step at a time. What kept them on track wasn’t technology—it was belief in the direction.
"You need to keep the passion. You need to keep the focus. And step by step, people around you will believe."
That shift—from tools to trust, from speed to strategy—is what makes transformation sustainable.
So how do tech leaders shift from reactive to strategic?
Slow down before you speed up. Resist pressure to adopt every new tech trend. Ask: what problem are we solving?
Define a vision that’s bold, clear, and measurable. It should feel meaningful—but still fit on one slide.
Assess your risks in concrete terms. If they’re too high to absorb, wait or redesign.
Trust your people to own the mission. Strategy isn’t a document. It’s what your teams believe in and act on.
This isn’t about resisting technology. It’s about choosing wisely, with intent.
When IT follows business, the right tools show up at the right time. They scale what matters. They solve the right problems. And they build competitive advantage instead of technical debt.
As Christian says:
"Technology without strategy is just expensive experimentation."
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