Looking back and ahead with Lourens: towards an 'AI-enabled' future
2026 has been underway for a while and at Wortell we are in full swing. Still, I like to take a short step back to look back and forward. What steps have we taken in 2025 for and with our customers towards 2026? And what can you expect from us this year?
New AI developments, new course
Last year, we started our plans for 2025 with a fresh mind. But we soon decided to change course, because AI developments were gaining enormous momentum. This led to important questions among our customers, such as: 'What is the impact on our primary processes?' 'Are the functions of our people going to change drastically?' 'What are our competitors doing?' 'Will we get new competitors?'
Customers who performed many IT tasks themselves seemed to have a growing need for a partner with whom they could work together. A party that takes certain basic tasks off their hands and helps them accelerate the AI transformation.
That is why we sat down at Wortell in the first half of 2025. And that resulted in the necessary changes. For example, our repositioning resulted in our AI Service Center , a support model in which AI automation and human expertise come together. In addition, we rolled out the first AI Workplace , in which we use AI and automation to ensure that the digital workplace is smarter, safer and more user-friendly. AI Workplace is secure by design and fully aligned with Microsoft 365 and Copilot.
Co-Managed fills the need for hybrid outsourcing approach
To test the changing needs of organizations regarding outsourcing, we also conducted a survey among a large group of IT directors and managers.
The outcome? A growing need for a new solution. In the past, organizations often wanted to either outsource everything or perform all IT tasks in-house. Our research found that many now prefer a hybrid approach: outsourcing some IT tasks (such as managing the tenant) to a trusted partner and doing other tasks (such as managing a web application) themselves.
We have thoroughly investigated this need in order to be able to respond to it properly. The result is Co-Managed, our hybrid service that offers the best of both worlds. We manage the customer's platform, ensuring that it is secure, up-to-date and compliant. By firmly guarding these guardrails , the customer can continue to develop them. We work together as one team on an AI-enabled foundation. And the customer remains in control: you decide what you remain responsible for, while we take care of the assurance.
Several customers have already embraced this service. With enthusiasm, as it turns out: in 2025 we conducted a customer satisfaction survey that resulted in an NPS score of +9. Our ambition for 2026 is to get that score even higher!
'Connectivity' as a keyword
We have also launched a new service in the field of networking. With AI Connectivity , we now combine the power of Cisco, Fortinet and Azure Networking, among others, to ensure that you as a Wortell customer are always connected, future-proof and secure by design . AI Connectivity brings you very close to a one-stop-shop: Wortell takes care of everything around your networks and your workplace, so you don't have to switch between different parties every time.
When I look back on the past year, 'connectivity' in the broader sense of the word is also the right keyword: we have further intensified cooperation (between our own teams and with our customers). Internally, for example, we worked closely together on our transition to our Cloud & AI Platforms promise and joined forces around data, security and meeting rooms. This optimization process naturally benefits our customers, because the shorter lines of communication allow us to help them even better.
Because we started working more from a transformation perspective, we also noticed that transition and onboarding processes of our customers went more smoothly. I thought that was nice to see!
Innovation first with Azure Expert MSP and Wortell Next
One of the milestones we achieved in 2025 is that after an extensive audit process , we officially achieved Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Services Provider (MSP) status in November! Only a select group of Microsoft partners worldwide have been awarded this international certification. After all, you have to meet the highest requirements in terms of knowledge, processes, security and customer satisfaction.
Earning this certification demonstrates that you're managing customer environments within Azure in the most mature way and helping customers innovate. We are very proud of this. The fact that we involve customers in innovations was also evident at Wortell Ready. During this event, we took attendees through what is going on and what they can expect. The success of Wortell Ready has made us decide to repeat the event later this year. However, we have already organised Wortell Next especially for our customers: an exclusive event in which we take them through the innovation of our services and in which they can actively contribute ideas about our roadmap, so that we continue to meet their needs. (sign up here)!
Central in 2026: 'AI-driven', 'AI-enabled' and standardization
In 2026, we will continue to make everything we deliver from Cloud & AI Platforms AI-driven and AI-enabled . Our goal is to make an impact with our products and to optimally support customers in their AI innovation.
As part of this, we are now working a standardized AI data platform for our customers. This fits in well with the philosophy that we have traditionally used at Wortell. Our top consultants always put their heads together after several similar projects to think about how we could standardize a recurring customer request. Effective solutions have been rolled out around Network, Workplace and the Cloud.
Now the time has come to standardize the data platform. We are going to ensure that customers can purchase a standard data platform from us in Azure, including standard links and dashboard sets. For a healthcare organization, this could mean, for example, that it can view data from Nedap and AFAS at a glance in a clear dashboard.
Other AI developments include introducing AI agents at the service desk (to help answer questions), in the workplace (to automatically resolve incidents), and in Azure (to roll out standard elements).
What will 2026 bring you as a Wortell customer?
In short: a lot. For example, you notice that our products are getting better and better, because we can develop faster and use AI to detect and solve potential problems at an early stage. This not only ensures more quality and stability, but also makes our solutions more cost-efficient for customers.
It also makes working at the Wortell workplace easier. With AI support, you can find and create information faster, get help with daily tasks, and collaborate more efficiently. Exactly where it saves you time and energy.
In addition, we offer far-reaching AI consulting and solutions to organizations that need them. A big step we are now taking is to set up AI competence centers at customers. This makes it possible to further develop AI where it really provides competition or financial advantage and makes AI really active in your primary processes.
Are you ready for an innovative future? Hopefully, the answer is a resounding yes. In any case, I am looking forward to facing the AI-enabled future together with customers and colleagues!