How We Work

 Our proprietary IT optimization methodology helps organizations with struggling IT departments turn around and improve IT performance and productivity, while aggressively containing costs. Post-implementation, our techniques ensure that IT costs are contained, IT productivity remains high and, most importantly, IT provides a platform for long-term, sustainable competitive advantage.

Our assessment process is based on our experience in helping improve the IT department effectiveness for dozens of clients. The process evaluates every aspect of the IT department to determine its overall effectiveness and identifies improvement opportunities. Areas considered include:

• IT planning
• IT operational and capital budgets
• IT organization / staffing
• Vendor selection / management
• Senior executive and end-user IT satisfaction
• IT productivity metrics
• Project inventory and IT demand management approach
• Technology footprint
• Application portfolio
• IT Operations

The result is a clear understanding for the organization senior management team and IT management of potential IT productivity improvement opportunities, and clear, actionable near-term steps to be taken by the organization to achieve savings and improved service levels.

Sample IT effectiveness engagements include:

Mid-sized Manufacturing Company
Complete IT outsourcing services provided for client. Technical environment includes a full suite manufacturing application systems. Working with client, generated the following results:

• Achieved annual savings nearly 20% IT budget reduction by reducing outside vendor spend and improving internal staff productivity
• Avoided $750,000 capital expenditure for new mid-range computing system, by improving efficiency of ERP system and reducing overall system load during peak business volume
• Reduced processor consumption on AS/400 by over 50% through in-depth code analysis and tight-loop rewrites
• Improved overall service level in IT department as measured by third party

Media & Publishing Company
In conjunction with the client senior management team, assisted in improving IT effectiveness, resulting in a large restructuring of the IT department organization, improvement of the project management process and a reduction in planned capital expenditures. Provided ongoing acting-CIO leadership to the senior management team at client, and achieved IT budget reductions that improved client EBITDA results by 17%, while quantitatively improving IT project throughput and customer satisfaction.

Internet Services Company
Provided full outsourcing of all technology support to jobs.com. Key accomplishments included:

• Reduced IT staff levels by 66% while improving service levels dramatically
• Improved customer facing website from over 26,000 customer login failures per day to fewer than 60
• Remotely managed geographically distant co-located server/disk farms while achieving near 100 percent up-time.
• Planned and implemented system database migration. Over 5 million customer records spanning five databases with less than twelve hours downtime.
• Improved data search response time for website. Reduced average database connection load by more than 70%.

Federal Government Information Services Division
Full IT outsourcing and IT effectiveness support for client, including helpdesk, network operations, systems administration and software development to client staff in over 50 countries worldwide.

Financial Services Company
Full IT outsourcing services supporting all client locations. Working with client, achieved a variety of IT improvements including:

• Improved IT effectiveness by creating clear roles / responsibilities, improving communication with business, reducing technology chaos, prioritizing and pruning project lists and driving IT accountability
• Provided ongoing acting CIO leadership to senior management
• Provided product development, application, database, operations and infrastructure support
• Helpdesk management for desktop, email, and geographically disparate remote users
• Business process improvement and redesign