PREPARED FOR NOVARTIS DD&IT

The Operating Model Behind Digital Execution

A Strategic Perspective for Novartis

THE GOVERNANCE ERA · SOLVED
Consolidate platformsDONE
Standardise technologyDONE
Strengthen governanceDONE
Reduce complexityDONE
Novartis solved for that era.The next challenge is different →
THE EXECUTION ERA · NOW

The challenge is shifting from governing the estate to increasing its capacity to execute.

THE NEW DEMAND
More launches→
More Markets→
More Campaigns→
More content→
More AI Driven Experiences→

The question is no longer whether Novartis can govern a global digital estate.

It is whether that estate can execute at the speed and scale the business now requires.

THE QUESTION WE ASKED

If all of these are to succeed...

What becomes the constraint?

Launch Excellence
↓
Market Experiences
↓
AI Search & Discoverability
↓
Campaigns
↓
Scientific Content
↓
AI-Enabled Execution
↓
Low-Code Experiences
SHARED EXECUTION CAPACITY
DEMAND ON THE ENGINE
15+
active launch programs
30+
medicines in pipeline
60–100
markets per asset

Each initiative increases the demand for digital execution. Without a different operating model, they all compete for the same execution capacity.

The bottleneck moves from technology to throughput.

THE BOTTLENECK

Different business priorities. One operational dependency.

Global Product LaunchCRITICAL
Campaign MicrositeCAMPAIGN
Market UpdateMARKET
Scientific ContentMEDICAL
Country RolloutGLOBAL
↓
SHARED EXECUTION QUEUE5 items waiting
↓
Shared release dependenciesDELAY
Shared coordination overheadDELAY
Shared execution capacityCRITICAL
$ queue.status
→ 5 items / 1 release window
⚠ commercial_priority ignored
DEMAND
15+
active launch
programs
30+
medicines in
pipeline
60–100
markets per
asset

This isn't a low-code problem. It's an operating model problem.

So we asked a different question: what should the operating model optimise for?

Not features. Outcomes.

THE CRITERIA WE USED

Five principles. Not platform features.

Before evaluating any platform, the requirements must be clear.

01
Parallel execution
Campaigns and launches don't compete for the same capacity.
✓
02
Governance by design
Standards enforced by the platform — not manual review.
✓
03
Market autonomy
Local teams move independently without enterprise drift.
✓
04
Portfolio management
The portfolio becomes the unit of execution.
✓
05
AI-ready operations
AI accelerates delivery without compromising trust.
✓

We evaluated Pantheon against each of these five operating principles.

THE PANTHEON OPERATING MODEL

One operating model. Three layers of execution.

The operating model we have described requires three things to work together.

LAYER 01Govern the estateCentral control
LAYER 02Modernise the experience layerDrupal + Next.js
LAYER 03Increase execution capacityHumans + agents
Go fast. Stay in control.
LAYER 01

Govern the estate without governing every action.

Preserve central control while changing how execution happens underneath it.

Pantheon changes the unit of work from the individual site to the portfolio. The central team governs the estate. Markets and teams execute independently within that estate.

PORTFOLIO GOVERNANCE MODEL
CENTRAL GOVERNANCE
Portfolio-level visibility across the digital estate
Centralised access and role-based control
Automated platform operations
Security and infrastructure controls
Independent site operations within a governed portfolio

The shift is not less governance. It is moving governance into the platform — so the central team does not need to manually coordinate every action across the estate.

OPERATING MODEL PRINCIPLE

The portfolio becomes the unit of work. Governance becomes systemic rather than manual.

LAYER 02

Modernise the experience layer without fragmenting the estate.

Experience teams adopt modern frameworks without creating a disconnected technology estate.

Pantheon enables Drupal and Next.js to operate as part of the same governed platform. Teams modernise progressively — different brands and markets at different speeds.

DRUPAL
→Trusted content source
→Governed workflows
→Portfolio management
→Role-based publishing
NEXT.JS
→Independent frontend
→Isolated environments
→CI/CD workflows
→No forced replatform
WHAT DOESN'T BLOCK WHAT
✓A redesign does not block a launch
✓A modernisation does not hold up a campaign
✓Teams merge changes only when they are ready
OPERATING MODEL PRINCIPLE

Campaign. Redesign. Launch. All live. All independent.

LAYER 03

Many things at once. Humans and agents.

Launches, markets, campaigns and AI-assisted changes each move in their own workstream. Nothing waits on anything else.

Today, a global launch, a market experience, a campaign microsite and an AI-assisted content change all create demand on the same delivery organisation. The future model must allow all of them to move simultaneously.

PARALLEL WORKSTREAMS — ALL LIVE SIMULTANEOUSLY
LAUNCH
Global launch → market activation → live
LIVE
MARKET
Local adaptation → approval → live
LIVE
CAMPAIGN
Microsite → review → live
LIVE
CONTENT
Create → govern → publish
LIVE
AI AGENT
Generate → validate → approve → live
LIVE
→Parallel isolated workstreams for every commercial moment
→Humans and AI agents operating inside the same governed system
→Experiences built from governed components
→Checkpointing and rollback for AI-assisted changes
→Controlled review, approval and release per workstream
OPERATING MODEL PRINCIPLE

Go fast. Stay in control. More work in motion. More control over what reaches production.

THE MODEL IN PRACTICE

From one delivery queue to parallel commercial execution.

TODAY
↓Global Launch
↓Market Activation
↓Campaign Experience
↓Content Update
↓Microsite
ONE SHARED QUEUE
Coordination increases.
Priorities compete.
Throughput becomes the constraint.
PANTHEON
→Launch workstream
→Market workstream
→LOW-CODE CAMPAIGN
Create → approve → live
→Content workstream
→AI workstream
ALL SIMULTANEOUS
All governed centrally.
All visible across the portfolio.
Commercial priority determines timing.

The shift is not simply faster delivery. It is the ability to execute more commercial priorities at the same time.

Low-code is not a separate platform. It is an execution path within the same governed operating model.

Different priorities. One execution model beneath them.NOVARTIS DD&IT · 2026
COMMERCIAL PRIORITIES
Launch Excellence
More launches and market activations move simultaneously. Shared delivery capacity no longer dictates the sequence of execution.
Market Flexibility
Markets adapt and execute independently within centrally governed standards. No market waits on another.
Faster Time to Market
Campaigns, launches and market experiences no longer compete for the same execution capacity.
DIGITAL PRIORITIES
AI Search & Discoverability
Trusted content published faster, kept current and structured to be discovered across search and AI-driven journeys.
AI-Enabled Execution
Humans and AI agents inside the same governed operating model — from approved components, through validation, before reaching production.
Decoupled Architecture
Experience teams modernise with Next.js without creating a disconnected operating model or forcing a CMS replatform.
Low-Code Experiences
Campaign, redesign and launch all move simultaneously without competing for the same delivery capacity.
Content Syndication
Governed components and structured content reused across experiences, markets and channels.
Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)
Every change lands in its own workstream. Teams build, test and release independently.

These are not separate challenges. They place different demands on the same underlying execution model.

THE COMMERCIAL CASE

Increase execution capacity. Reduce the cost of the estate.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL PLATFORM SAVING
~$1.4M
per year

But platform saving is only one part of the value.

LOWER OPERATING COMPLEXITY
−
→ Fewer shared dependencies
→ Less coordination across releases
→ Automated platform operations
→ Governance embedded in the system
→ Lower operational overhead per digital experience
GREATER EXECUTION CAPACITY
↑
→ More simultaneous launches and activations
→ Faster market execution
→ Campaigns moving without consuming launch capacity
→ Faster publishing of approved content
→ Greater content velocity for AI discoverability

The opportunity is not simply to operate the estate for less. It is to increase what the estate is capable of delivering.

OUR RECOMMENDATION

The next phase is about execution.

Novartis has already solved for consolidation and governance. The challenge now is enabling more launches, markets, campaigns, content and AI-driven experiences to move simultaneously — without increasing operational complexity or weakening control.

Govern the estate.
Execute in parallel.
Scale without adding complexity.

This is the operating model Pantheon enables: more digital experiences moving simultaneously, within one governed estate.

Go fast. Stay in control.
Daniel Burke
Enterprise Strategy, Pantheon
daniel.burke@pantheon.io+353 83 484 1586

prepared exclusively for Novartis