Managed Sourcing Strategies

Challenge/Opportunity

Widelity was contracted to provide Sourcing Selection Services for a client undergoing rapid growth in products, infrastructure, and staff. The challenge for the client was to rapidly evolve from a relatively small company (150-200 employees) to a larger company focused on the management of third-party partners providing communications services – on much broader scope and larger scale. There was an urgent need to develop strategy and a transition plan enabling the company to move to this new model in a timely, coordinated, and coherent manner.

Solution

To enable the client to better focus on its core business, Widelity conducted an assessment to identify core and non-core business functions. Given the desire of the client to retain direct control of its core, revenue-bearing services, Widelity recommended the client consider outsourcing its IT Infrastructure support that included the internal IT Service (Help) Desk, Desktop Support for all PCs and peripherals, Email, and to provide a solution for the legacy phone system. While these non-core functions were essential to the business, they were candidates for an established service provider to assume management responsibility. The advantage here was that the existing small IT support staff would remain in place to manage the service providers.

Widelity Sourcing Selection Services for the client included the following:

• Gathered and documented requirements for IT Service Desk, Desktop Support, Email, and company phone system,
• Conducted a full cost analysis for existing functions and included estimates for projected growth should the client decide not to outsource any of the functions,
• Conducted a Service Provider search and assessment based on the client’s requirements to identify candidate Service Providers most suited to successfully deliver the services,
• Develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) and invited a short list of Service Providers best matched to the client’s needs to respond,
• Reviewed RFP response reviews and held final Service Provider presentations with the client’s management team,
• Provided the client with make versus buy financial scenarios,
• Recommended a Service Provider for the IT Service Desk, Desktop Support, and hosted Email,
• Recommended a phone system upgrade,
• Worked closely with client’s procurement team to negotiate final contracts and service agreements with the selected vendors,
• Managed the successful transition to the new solutions including staff communications, solution deliverables review, client acceptance, and coordination of the final “go live” date.

Benefits

Widelity assisted the client in selecting the right Service Provider for Help Desk, Desktop Support, and hosted Email. The client was successful in avoiding significant costs in increasing its IT staff in response to staff growth while retaining a Service Provider who added value and efficiencies to the services provided. The client realized a 63 percent cost savings in the first year with increasing savings per year over the 3-year contract period. In addition, Widelity helped the client successfully transition to a new, state-of-the-art phone system that supports its staff locally and remotely while also providing the robust features of an Enterprise Contact Center for use by its Customer Care staff. The total savings amounted to 39.6 percent for the new voice solution with an additional annual cost avoidance of 31 percent as Widelity assisted the client in identifying and eliminating unnecessary voice communications costs.

Widelity Services Utilized

The following Widelity knowledge and skill sets contributed to the sourcing deliverables:

• Organizational planning and Telecom/IT service management expertise,
• Widelity’s knowledge bank and research of Managed Service Providers
• Program/ Project Management
• Broad Network & IT Operations Management Experience