Case Studies
DAK Intermediairscollectief, a cooperative of 1,500 advisory offices, faced a major challenge: their old central customer application was no longer future-proof, and dependence on external parties limited their agility. In March 2025, DAK’s own IT team began implementing a new application on the Novulo platform. The system went live on November 1, 2025.
For years, DAK had worked with a custom-built application that functioned as the Central Customer System (CKS). This system served as the digital front door for all connected advisory offices and their employees—a total of around 6,000 users. The system handled identification, authentication, and authorization, providing seamless access to all underlying applications.
But there were problems:
“We no longer had control over our own systems,” says Mark van Uffelen, IT director at DAK. “Every change meant an external project, long lead times, and high costs. We wanted to break that cycle.”
After a careful selection process, DAK chose the Novulo platform. Not only for its technical capabilities, but especially because Novulo allowed them to take control themselves. The platform offered a wide range of reusable components, and where functionality was missing, DAK’s team could develop it themselves.
But there was one condition: DAK wanted to do it themselves. With their own people.
Two DAK employees received intensive training on the Novulo platform three days a week. The training provided them with foundational knowledge of the platform. “After the training, we felt like we understood the basics,” recalls one team member, “but we didn’t feel ready to work completely independently just yet. That only really happened once we started building ourselves.”
The real learning began when the team started assembling the application. The project was set up with clear milestones.
The scope was clear: a complete replacement of the CKS system. It would become the central access point for all DAK systems, with integrations to five different providers. For the 6,000 users, the change had to be seamless they would log in differently, but everything else needed to work perfectly.
While assembling the application, the team discovered that about 95% of the required functionality was already available in the platform via the Novulo Store. But for the remaining 5% specific integrations and functionalities new components had to be developed.
“We were pleasantly surprised by how much was already ready-made,” says Mark, “but certain technologies needed for the integrations with other platforms still had to be built. That extended the timeline not just because of the development itself, but also because of setting up all the prerequisites. Technologically, it was ultimately only a small percentage of the total solution.”
The great thing was that the new components DAK’s team developed were added to the platform and are now available for other Novulo users.
Preparation for go-live was crucial. After all, this was DAK’s front door—if it didn’t work, members wouldn’t have access to DAK’s offerings. And with 1,500 offices that could also shop with competitors for products, failure was not an option.
Thanks to clear communication in advance about the new login process, the transition went smoothly. The rollout was done in two waves instead of one big “bang,” allowing the team to learn from the first group before the rest followed.
“Novulo really understood our situation. They were flexible, thought along with us, and stepped in where needed without taking over. That was exactly the balance we were looking for. Now we have the foundation: a solid platform, a team that knows how it works, and the freedom to do what’s necessary. Now the real work begins: innovating, optimizing, and creating value for our offices and their clients.” - Mark van Uffelen
On November 1, 2025, the new application went live. The key results:
“I’m especially pleased to see how our team is handling this themselves now,” says Mark. “They take initiative, experiment, and deliver work they can be proud of. That’s a huge plus for us.”
With the foundation in place, DAK is now looking at the next project: a 360-degree customer view. This has always been the ultimate goal: to bring together all customer data from different sources, remove duplicates, organize it, and make it accessible. This way, advisors and DAK employees will soon be able to see exactly which customer has which products, with which advisors, and where opportunities lie.
This phase is now possible because the foundations are solid. Data can now be systematically brought into Novulo and made available in a structured way.
While this project is already underway, DAK is exploring which other functionalities from external systems can be migrated to Novulo for example, the administration of membership fees and subscriptions for cooperative members.
“We see more and more possibilities,” says Mark. “Now that we know the platform better and see what it can do, new ideas are emerging. That’s exactly where we wanted to go: agility and the freedom to innovate.”
Looking back, what would the team have done differently? “The timeline should have been more realistic,” the team admits. “We aimed to deliver the new application in three months, but that was too ambitious. Since we had to develop new components, we needed more time. But nine months is still very fast.”
Both DAK and Novulo look back positively on the collaboration. “Novulo really understood our situation,” says the DAK team. “They were flexible, thought along with us, and stepped in where needed without taking over. That was exactly the balance we were looking for.”
Frank Wille, CEO of Novulo, adds: “This project perfectly demonstrates what we stand for: enabling organizations to take control of their own digital future. The DAK team has shown that with the right guidance and a good platform, you can quickly become self-sufficient. We look forward to everything they will build next.
DAK’s story is one of transformation not only technological, moving from old to new technology, but especially organizational. From dependent to self-sufficient. From outsourcing to doing it yourself. From limitations to possibilities. And perhaps most importantly: from an IT team that executes assignments to a team that experiments, innovates, and decides for itself where the organization is heading.
“We now have the foundation,” summarizes Mark. “A solid platform, a team that knows how it works, and the freedom to do what’s necessary. Now the real work begins: innovating, optimizing, and creating value for our offices and their clients.”
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