The Monetization Engine: Why Your IT Strategy Needs a Digital Center of Excellence
Your digital strategy isn't complete without this piece of the puzzle
Strategic North insight series | September 2026
Everyone loves to talk about digital transformation. The keynote speeches write themselves: artificial intelligence, cloud-native architectures, and data-driven agility. But when the applause fades and the boardroom doors close, a much less glamorous question inevitably arises: How are we going to pay for all of this?
The vehicle that actually monetizes your digital value creation is the Digital Center of Excellence (Digital COE).
A Digital COE is the mechanism that can unlock significant cash flow, creating the "pay-for" that funds future development. Even if your organization isn't quite ready to embrace a holistic self-funding digital model, understanding and leveraging a Digital COE is a strategic imperative for any leadership team playing in the modern digital space.
Dive into our thinking:
The Monetization Engine: Why Your IT Strategy Needs a Digital Center of Excellence
Download PDFThe Bottom Line
A Digital COE is the engine that can turn internal IT from a cost center into a self-funding source of value, monetizing your digital innovation, attracting global talent, and capturing tax efficiencies, but only when built on genuine business substance rather than tax-driven motives. The companies that figure out how to monetize the digital value they're already creating are the ones that will fund the future.
Monday Morning Audit
As you look at your current digital roadmap, ask your leadership team these three questions tomorrow morning:
Are we getting enough from our global IT talent strategy?
Would we benefit from having an orchestration layer that bridges the gap between headquarters and our teams in India?
Is a degree of change management worth it to enhance talent resiliency and generate a fly wheel of long-term self-funding for my IT investments?
Strategic North
This series explores the critical intersection of operations, technology, and financial strategy. Our goal is simple: to help ensure that every journey you take, big or small, moves your organization closer to its Strategic North.
Paul Glunt is a Principal who leads the KPMG LLP Value Chain Management practice, advising C-suite leaders on the financial and operational mechanics of digital transformation. He specializes in architecting self-funding IT organizations, digital COEs, and global operating models that turn technology investments into sustainable cash flow. Paul bridges the critical gap between tax objectives and IT execution, helping to ensure that every digital journey is financially focused and firmly anchored to a company’s Strategic North.
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