Client: International Bank

Client Challenge

To ensure the availability and performance of its IT services, this international bank invested in many operation support applications over the years to manage the five pillars of its infrastructure: servers, network, workstations, storage and applications. However, it suspected it was not realizing the full value of these investments. Through an internal review, they found many applications providing overlapping functionality and, more critically, gaps in their ability to manage the breadth of their five IT pillars. This situation left the IT organization not only with unsupportable software costs, especially in light of rising maintenance bills, but operations vulnerabilities that needed to be resolved.

As Windward had performed a successful implementation and integration of its central manager of managers (MOM) application, the bank requested the services of Windward to provide a thorough assessment of the operations management situation and to recommend specific actions with regard to its governance processes, toolsets and staffing.

IT Solution

Using the IT Services Management (ITSM) service delivery and support process areas as a guide, Windward thoroughly evaluated how the 70 distinct toolsets from 42 different vendors supported operations of the bank’s five IT pillars. The integrator analyzed the configuration and use of each application, and interviewed and observed 35 personnel involved in operations, client services, finance and multimedia services. With this data, Windward compiled a detailed matrix describing the real-world use of each tool and illustrating significant gaps and overlaps in functionality managing the IT infrastructure. Windward then recommended further development of targeted toolsets and reduced or eliminated use of other tools where necessary.

Windward also evaluated the bank’s operations management governance process. As a decentralized decision making process had resulted in the proliferation of underutilized tools, Windward recommended formation of a cross-functional architecture committee to guide and approve software purchasing, use and removal decisions. Beyond its establishment, the central governance process also needed to address specific issues such as budgeting, staffing, architecture and documentation. Windward recommended centralization of the IT service management budgeting decision to ensure that IT operations moved towards further integration. Additionally, Windward proposed changes to the project-based and operations staffing process to better leverage skill sets and increase productivity. Windward also advised modifying the architecture around a few tightly integrated platforms to expedite incident resolution and bring structure to change management practices. Finally, Windward addressed documentation with the development of an initial “Service Book” that captured and advertised the bank’s various applications for better use by its distributed IT departments.

Addressing staff levels, Windward performed a workload study to determine the resources required to adequately support the recommended management architecture. Comparing workload requirements to existing staffing levels, Windward found a shortage in some areas and over staffing in others. Windward recommended a specific organizational structure assigned to specific technologies and processes focused on more effective use of resources and increased reliability in the bank’s IT service management applications.

Guaranteed Result

Windward’s ITIL assessment across technology, processes and staffing provided significant benefit to the bank’s monitoring and management initiative, including:

• Alignment of staffing, governance and management processes and technology to IT services and infrastructure,
• Findings of management gaps and overlaps across all IT services and infrastructure,
• Specific recommendations for addressing management challenges in the architecture, selection, implementation and support of management technologies, and
• Clear management investments to reduce total cost of ownership and derive increased return on its existing tools investment.