ISG supported VKBIT, the IT infrastructure service provider of Versicherungskammer, with the migration of its IT infrastructure and related services to a new provider.
Opportunity
VKBit decided in mid-2020 to solicit new bids for its data center operations. The result was a complete migration. A new service provider took over the already outsourced services as part of a second-generation outsourcing and, in a first-generation outsourcing, additional services. The overall goal was to modernize the entire IT infrastructure and become better prepared for the cloud era. Most of the basic services (“commodities”) were to be migrated to the new provider while VKBit retained the topics and tasks Versicherungskammer, the group parent, sees as its competitive advantages.
The bid process took five months, leaving just eight for the complete transition. This was just one of the reasons VKBit placed great value on transparency as well as a comprehensive task list and timing for the complex, time-critical project.
Imagining IT Differently
VKBit called on the sourcing specialists at the Information Services Group (ISG) because of their years of experience as well their standardized toolkit – the ISG Scope Catalog – for these types of transition projects. ISG consultants used it to ensure that all important functions and aspects were included, sufficiently defined and realistically scheduled in the contract even before it was signed.
ISG also took on key roles in the project planning to bring its own transition and transformation experience into the VKBit team and provide additional support to project personnel. ISG primarily took over responsibility for the following tasks: Transition management, lead solution architecture, migration from data center to data center, creating the Project Management Office (PMO) and governance/ITIL processes
Future Made Possible
- The data center migration including the mainframe was on-time and within the budget and quality requirements.
- Unexpected delays in, for example, purchasing and logistics were able to be offset by short project communication paths and a systematic provider management, among other reasons.
- The modernization of the machinery during the transition led to an expected increase in speed, which will primarily benefit the specialist users at Versicherungskammer.
- VKBit achieved its strategic goal and transferred almost all routine tasks (“commodities”) to the new provider. VKBit can now concentrate on the modernizations that will provide competitive advantages.
- The transformation is continuing beyond the migration, especially via the modernization of applications – whether it’s productivity and communications solutions or the increased use of cloud services.
- The company now has a higher rate of process standardization. Processing requests can now, for example, be automated within the service processes.
