Highlights
The client is a bank operating in the EMEA market. HCLTech worked to modernize, simplify and migrate its IT investment management to a SaaS environment. The solution is the standard tool IT employees use to manage demand, portfolios and timesheet allocation for internal and external resources.
About the client
The client needed a solution to manage all their IT investments, project management, sponsor demand, budget approvals and costs (labor and non-labor expenses). They had an on-premises solution that was heavily customized and not upgradeable, plus it was already out of support as the client was running a very old version. The client had several customizations in their database that were not in accordance with best practice standards and had infrastructure problems that led to performance degradation of the solution, making it difficult to support the on-prem instance.
Their focus was to move to a supported PPM version, with a guaranteed version upgrade every year, and remove concerns related to their infrastructure. Therefore, moving to a SaaS solution was the best option to meet their requirements.
The objective was to adopt the tool and the standard version of the features, taking advantage of what the tool offers out of the box, even if this meant adapting internal processes.
The Challenge
Addressing IT investment challenges in the banking sector
The client has a considerable portfolio of IT investments. Due to performance problems, they often could not continue the teams' workflow in projects and delivery management and could not integrate financial data with SAP.
Prioritizing the IT portfolio had many issues that needed to be corrected. The work was done manually, resulting in many inconsistencies in the assigned priorities, resulting in unnecessary time and cost expenditures.
The banking sector is regularly subject to internal and external audits and regulatory demands from various regulating agencies. As a result, the client needed new requirements they did not initially foresee to be necessary, including requirements for more financial details and investment risks.
Change management within the bank has been historically challenging and there has been considerable resistance to adopting the standard version of the investment management functionalities.
Analysis:
- Outdated systems: The legacy system was technologically outdated, causing numerous inefficiencies and operational difficulties.
- Inefficiency: Staff struggled to input timesheets due to an inefficient approval process. The IT investment invoicing process was slow, in part due to manual data entry and processing.
- Compliance risks: The system struggled to meet regulatory audit standards, posing risks of non-compliance and potential penalties.
- Sponsor dissatisfaction: Data inaccuracies and invoicing delays led to numerous sponsor complaints, which affected the reputation of the bank’s IT department.
The Objective
Boost user productivity and operational excellence
HCLTech consulting experts were tasked to help the client increase user productivity, allowing more agility and outstanding operational excellence.
They also sought greater visibility and management of the IT investment portfolio to enable them to make more efficient decisions and prioritize strategic projects.
Finally, they needed to simplify the budget approval processes and and add greater visibility of financial execution.
The Solution
Phased migration simplifies approvals and accelerates user adoption
A phased, or incremental, migration plan was defined with the client, defining the scope of the data to be migrated to ensure efficiency, integrity and quality.
In the legacy system, all investments were incorrectly classified as projects, which had to be reclassified as ideas, assets and other work. Approvals were simplified, particularly in the timesheet, budget and financial execution processes.
The personas — such as project managers, finance, sponsors and directors — defined the solution's target users. Multiple training sessions were carried out with a set of personas to ensure adoption, minimize the learning curve and maximize time to action.
The Impact
Automation and standardization enhance efficiency, compliance and customer satisfaction
This case study is a successful example of an evolution from an on-premises system to a SaaS solution. With HCLTech consulting experts working in close collaboration with the client, it was possible to simplify and automate portfolio management processes, budgets and timesheets — including integration with the invoicing system. It was also possible to implement new portfolio management functionalities that have brought great objectivity to the way prioritization rules are applied. There is now great standardization and transparency in the processes, guaranteeing quality and compliance with the rules.
In short, IT management is now more organized, agile and largely automated, reducing operating costs and errors associated with manual processes. As a result, customer satisfaction has been recognized across the board due to the great efficiency acquired in all aspects of investment management.
