Enabling business transformation with effective IT deployment

Background

The UK’s leading retail stockbroker needed to update their customer offering, increase revenue and reduce costs.  This was to be achieved by expanding the service channels and features, re-branding the products, increasing automation and relocating key functions outside of London.  A new outsourced system was to replace the existing legacy platform, which had the key advantage of providing internet dealing facilities.  The front office was being relocated to Scotland, with back office facilities being moved to new premises in London.
This generated a complex set of interrelated IT deliverables which underpinned the business change programme and covered three separate functions of the business.
Our consultant was appointed to structure and then manage the delivery of the IT Programme, working with the IT Director and the Business Sponsor.

Business Challenge

The organisation faced the issues of:

• Tight timescales to achieve business case targets
• Strong competition from other brokers with online access and richer functionality
• Engagement of a new third party system provider
• Contract constraints on the legacy business applications

Services Provided

• Programme design
• Programme execution
• Supplier Due Diligence

Skills Deployed

• Programme Management
• Supplier Management
• Contract Management

Our Approach

The main IT deliverables, and how they interrelated to the business change, were agreed and documented.  The core IT team engaged with the business stakeholders to agree requirements and construct individual projects to deliver these, all utilising the client’s project management methodology.  Our consultant’s role as the IT Workstream lead was also established as a key member of the programme board.
A set of work streams was established covering infrastructure, system development, data migration and supplier governance.  These were managed by our consultant who represented all IT deliverables at the programme board.  Niche third party suppliers were engaged to deliver items such as call centre infrastructure, whilst the third party supplier was subject to due diligence and then managed under the clients supplier governance process.
The IT elements were successfully delivered enabling the migration of customers to the new service and workloads out of London to complete to the clients timetable.

Business Outcome

The delivery of the new systems and infrastructure enabled the business case to be delivered with a favourable variance.  It also allowed the client to ‘leap frog’ the competition by having a multi channel, feature rich product, which has enabled them to maintain their position as the UK’s leading retail stockbroker (by volume).  Our consultant not only delivered the enabling IT, but acted as a busines stakeholder, ensuring the overall success of the change programme.

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