SITUATION
New executive leadership was embarking on a new strategic directive to achieve 40% growth in four years. Although this was a challenging and ambitious objective, there was one major problem. The IT organization was is no position to support that type of growth. Over the past 12 years, investment in IT was kept to a minimum. Executive leadership minimized the investment in IT due to the financial performance of the company and the fact that they viewed IT as a cost center, providing minimal value.
CHALLENGE
Since there was no investment in IT for over 12+ years other than operational expenses, all the IT operating platforms, SAP, technical infrastructure and IT organization were all out of date, out of maintenance and did not adequately support the company. The challenge was where to start, how much could be done and how much would it cost. The digital transformation effort needed to take place without disrupting ongoing business operations.
ACTION
Full On Consulting worked with executives and business leaders to better understand the current situation, their business challenges and strategy moving forward. We also evaluated the IT organization – it’s staffing model, applications, infrastructure, security, vendor licensing and data center. The objectives set forth by the leaders were:
Implement the changes without impacting day to day business operations Update the applications and infrastructure and get them onto support Secure the computing environment Position the technical environment for substantial future growth
Additionally, Full On Consulting developed a three year plan with the IT initiatives, their cost, business savings and the order in which applications would be migrated to a modern platform. The plan was presented to the executive team for review and approval.
Some of the key initiatives (not in any specific order) of the plan included:
- Defining an IT Strategy and processes to review, align and prioritize initiatives.
- Implementing Disaster Recovery, including a cloud-based SAP backup.
- Upgrading SAP from ECC 5.0 to ECC 6.7 (which was out of support).
- Upgrading the Warehouse Management System.
- Upgrading the Virtualization Environment (which was out of support).
- Installing a new enterprise-scale SAN to support business growth.
- Installing an enterprise scale firewall solution for security.
- Implementing Salesforce.com for CRM, quote generation and order
creation. - Implementing a Data Warehouse and Data Analytics solution for a near-real time view of financial performance, inventory, sales and costs.
- Upgrading B2B and B2C eCommerce sites from Magento 1.7 to 1.14 and migrating them to a new AWS cloud environment.
- Implementing an Integration Platform to automate the brokerage of data between Salesforce, SAP, Magento and the Data Warehouse.
- Re-aligning the IT organization to better serve each business unit.
Another key aspect of this initiative was engaging executives and business leaders to garner their support. Since a number of new technologies were being implemented, they needed to be implemented in conjunction with revamped business processes and business ownership. With out the buy in and partnership with the business, this effort would have failed. For example, with the SAP Upgrade, there were 50+ business leaders and analysts verifying each business process functioned as required.
RESULT
The implementation of this plan was life saving for the company. One of the first initiatives implemented was disaster recovery and business continuity planning. There was no disaster recovery in place. A cloud-based ERP solution was implemented along with a business continuity plan. Which was implemented a short time later since the data center caught on fire due to faulty battery maintenance, saving the company $40M and their reputation with their customers.
Let's Get Started
We’ve helped clients large and small deliver their critical initiatives. Full On Consulting provides experienced consultants that will help ensure your success.
Let’s get together and discuss the value that Full On Consulting brings to the table.
OUR IT STRATEGY SERVICES
STRATEGIC ADVISORY
We provide an outside perspective, industry expertise and thought leadership to help forge the best path forward for your organization. direction.
ASSESS
Creating an IT strategy and need an objective opinion? Our team of IT executives can quickly come in, assess your IT Strategy, provide recommendations and point you in the right direction.
STAFF AUGMENTATION
Looking for a great IT Executive to supplement your team? Our IT leaders have in-depth experience across a variety of industries.
PROJECT-BASED
Need to define an IT Strategy but don't have the bandwidth? We can help. Our IT leaders are ready to deliver.
Position IT For The Future
You need to have a solid strategy and plan to drive down costs and increase revenue. We’ve helped companies define their strategy, then successfully execute. For one client, we saved $40M. Let’s start a conversation to see what we can do for you.
WHY FULL ON CONSULTING
Success Plan
We invest in your success. Our unique approach of developing a success plan for every engagement ensures you will succeed before you start.
Our People
We provide our clients with proven, talented consultants who know what it takes to successfully deliver. Our people are what sets us apart.
Save Time & Money
When you have the right people using proven processes the results are what you expect.
Trust & Integrity
A TRUSTED PARTNER always does whats in the best interest of their clients. We focus on building long term relationships which are based on trust and integrity.
Proven Results
Your success is our success. It is our mission to ensure your success. That's why our unique and proven approach has delivered successful results for over 30 years.
Partnerships
Our partnerships with leading technology companies allow us early access to new technology and provide visibility and access for our clients.
