Whitepaper - Outdated systems Outdated systems ? working with daisy www.daisygroup.com v1 - 06/13 0800 040 8888 sales@daisygroup.com
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Whitepaper - Outdated systems
Outdated systems
?
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Contents
• Downtimeandbusinesscontinuity• Flexibility• Disasterrecovery• Competitoradvantage• Barrierstoupgrades–price,fear,downtimeconcerns• Casestudy
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Usingoutdatedsystemspresentsseriousproblemsforbusinesses.ArecentstudybytheBusinessPerformanceManagement(BPM)ForuminCaliforniarevealedthatcompanyITmanagersfeelthattheirinfrastructureandsystemsarefilledwith“obsolete,redundantandunused”software.Thestudyshowedthat“nearlythreequartersofthesecompanieshavenoprocessinplaceforretiringoutmodedsoftwareandlessthanhalfconductregularsoftwareauditstoseehowmuchsoftwareisonthenetwork.”
Aswellastheobviouscostimplications,therearealsomajorsecurityconcerns.BPMForumExecutiveDirector,DonovanNeale-May,stressedthatthiswasakeyissue.
“Quality is directly tied to how vulnerable software is. Obsolete, dated applications will be more prone to compromise. The older the software, the riskier it is to use. They haven’t been designed to be resilient against attacks. We didn’t ask specifically about security, but security is below the surface in a lot of answers.”
Thesurveyalsoshowedthatbusinessesarealltoooftencontenttorelyontheirexistingcomputersystemsastheyhavebeenreliableinthepastandtheyarefamiliarwithhowtheyoperate.However,thiscomplacentapproachcanresultinsignificantbusinessinefficienciesandunnecessaryadditionalcostsbeingincurred.
Downtime
Qualityofservicewillinevitablydiminishifthesystemsexperienceperiodsofdowntime.Youwillseesalespersonnelunabletorespondtocustomerquerieswithcorrectinformation.Precioustimewillbewastedifreliancehastobeplacedonmanualsystemsandprinteddataifthesystemsthemselveswilleithernotprovidetheanswerinreal-timeorwillonlydosoaftersignificantdelays.Thiscanhaveadetrimentalknock-oneffectforthebusinesswithdisappointedcustomers,damagetogoodwill,lossofpotentialnewbusinessandareductioninprofits.Nobusinesscansensiblyallowsuchasituationtocontinuewithouttakingremedialaction.
Thisrequiresastructuredapproach.Measuringdowntimeisessentialasyoucannotproperlyaddresstheproblemwithoutdoingso.Accuratemeasurementandsettingofappropriatetargetsiskeytoremovingdowntime,orattheveryleastreducingit.Byincreasingstaffawarenessandencouragingthemtonotedowntimeeventswhentheyoccurtobedisplayedintheworkplace,willassistindeliveringmajorimprovements.
Downtime and business continuity
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“Nearly three quartersof these companies have no process in place forretiring outmodedsoftware.”
BPM Forum
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Business continuity
BusinessContinuityPlanning(BCP)isessential.BCPhasbeendefinedbytheUSFederalEmergencyAgency(FEMA)asfollows.
It“identifies an organisation’s exposure to internal and external threats and synthesises hard and soft assets to provide effective prevention and recovery for the organisation, while maintaining competitive advantage and value system integrity”.
OthertermsusedareBCRP-BusinessContinuityandResiliencyPlanning.Howeverbothtermsaresayingthesamething.Allbusinessesneedaplandesignedtoenableabusinesstocontinuetofunctioninextremecircumstances,howevercaused.
AcriticalfeatureofanyBCPhastobeariskanalysis,assessinglikelybusinessimpactsofarangeofscenarios,coupledwithanimpactanalysisdeterminingappropriateresponses.
...All businesses need a plan designed to enablea business to continue tofunction in extreme circumstances...
Flexibility
Business planning
Modernbusinessescannolongersafelyrunonthebasisthatthepastsalesprofileisanadequateguideforthefuture.Buyingandinventorydecisionsneedtobemadeonthebasisofreliableup-to-dateinformationfromitscomputersystems.Ifthesystemscannolongerprovidethiscompetitiveadvantageitcansoonbelostandwillbedifficulttoregainwithoutadditionalcostandeffort.
Alloftheseproblemsareavoidableifsensibleplanningdecisionsaremadefollowingaregularreviewofsystemcapability,withpromptpurchaseofanynecessaryupgrades.
Relianceonoutdatedsystemscanalsoresultinbothover-stockingandunder-stockingsituationsonlyrevealedaftertimeconsumingperiodicstocktakingwhichisapoorandwastefuluseofstaffresources.Modernsystemshowever,areabletoprovideup-to-dateinformationinreal-timewhichcanmakearealandtangibledifference.Thisisnotonlyintermsofcostsavings,butthroughprovidingaquickerandbetterserviceforcustomers.Itisthecustomerafterallwholosesoutiftheinventoryisincorrect.
Call centres
Anagingcallcentrecanposesignificantproblemsasitwilllacktheflexibilityandagilityneededforittomeettheneedsofagrowingbusiness.
Thecallcentremaynothavebeendesignedtoprovideforincreasesincapacity.Ifthisisthecaseyoumaywelloverthecourseoftimestarttoseethesystemrunningslowlyorlackingcapacityforanybusinessgrowth.Decreasedvolumes,slowconnectionsandlackofabilitytorunmodernVoIPtelephony,canallseverelydamageyourbusinessintermsofincreasedcostsandlostbusiness.
Asyourbusinessgrows,yourcallcentremustbeabletomeetitsneeds.Thiscanbeintermsofincreasedvolumes,theneedtoaddnewtechnologicalassetstothesystem,andalsotopermitexpansiontomultiplelocations.Youneedmodernsoftwarewhichisdesignedtoensurethatthesecrucialrequirementscanbemet.
Ifyouaretomeetyourcustomers’individualrequirementsandretaintheirbusinessonalong-termbasis,youneedareliableandup-to-dateintegrateddatabase.Thisisonlyachievableifyouhavetherightsoftwareinstalled.Thisisessentialtoensurethatyoucanattheveryleastmaintainyourpositioninahighlycompetitivemarketplace.
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Recentresearchindicatesthatacompany’sabilitytorespondquicklyandappropriatelytoadisaster,particularlywherecomputersystemsareinvolved,canmakethedifferencebetweenwhetherthebusinesssurvivesatall,asopposedtoregainingitsformerpositioninthemarketplace.
Gartnerdatarevealsthatwheremajordisastershaveoccurred,upto40%ofcompaniesriskfailure.UniversityofMinnesotaresearchfindingspaintanevengloomierpictureindicatingthatasfewas6%ofcompanieswouldbeabletocontinueinbusiness.
Thereforeitiscriticallyimportantforbusinessestohaverobustdisasterrecoveryplansinplace.Riskidentificationiskey,followedbyaclearstructuredplanoutliningwhatactionwouldbetakenbywhominwhattimeframes.Itisessentialtoplanforbothforeseeableandunforeseeableevents.
Weather
Snow,rain,highwinds,flooding,lightning,stormsandothernaturaloccurrencesallhavethecapacitytowreakhavocwithsystems.Youwillneedtotakesensibleprecautionstophysicallyprotectcomputerhardwarefromdamagebytheelementsifyouaretoavoidsignificantrepairorevenfullreplacementcostsandbusinessdowntime.
Fire
Thispresentsanevengreaterpotentialhazardintermsoftheneedtohaveadequateprotectioninplacetoprevent,oratleastminimize,damagestobuildings,IThardwareandequipmentandbusinessdata.Power outages
Majorpoweroutagesaffectinglargepartsofthecountryarerare,butnotunheardof.ThesecancausemajordamagetoITequipmentandresultinlossofdata.Accesstoback-upfacilitiesandtheabilityforyourstafftoworkfromhome,oralternativebusinesslocations,hastobeakeyfeatureofanydisasterrecoveryplan.
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Disaster recovery
Protecting core business assetsYourcallcentremaybeyourmostpreciousasset.Ifthetelephonyisoutofactionforwhateverreasonforanyperiodoftime,youneedtoensurethatyouhaveback-upproviders.Youmayneedmorethanoneoftheseincasethesamedisastereventalsoaffectstheback-upfacility.
of companies risk failure
40%
6%with only
Up to
able tocontinuetrading
AnumberofrecentresearchstudieshaveconfirmedthatrelianceonoutdatedITsystemsencouragedinefficiencyandhadasignificantlyharmfuleffectontheabilityofcompaniestomoderniseandexpandcapacitytomeettheirgrowthrequirements.
Inthebankingsector,areportfromInfosysandOvumAccording,estimatesthatupto75%ofEuropeanbanksareinthisposition.Theirfindingsshowthat80%ofbusinessescanvassedfeltthattheirsystemsputthematabusinessdisadvantageand75%recognisedthattheirsystemsprevented,ratherthanaccommodated,scopeforchange.
Upgrading to state-of-the-art software
Ensuringthatyourcallcentrehasthemostup-to-datefeaturesiscriticalingainingmarketadvantageandalso,atthesametime,producingsignificantoperationalsavings.
Akeyproductavailabletobusinessisvirtualsoftware.Thishasanumberoffeaturesincludingvoicerecognition,interactiveresponsemechanismsandtheabilitytosendemailstocustomersandsupplierswithawiderangeofbusinessinformation.Thesoftwarealsohasthecapacitytoupdatecustomeraccountdetails,thusensuringstreamlinedbusinesstransactionsandhighlevelsofcustomersatisfaction.
Thissoftwarecanalsoformamajorcomponentofyourdisasterrecoveryplan.Shouldanydisastereventoccuritwillgiveyoutheabilitytooutsourcebusinesscustomersupport,reducingpotentialdowntime.Thiswillminimisebusinessinterruption,reducelossesinrevenueandmaintaintheappropriatelevelofserviceforcustomers.Allofthesegainswillensurethatyourbusinesskeepsfunctioning,oftenplacingitaheadofcompetingbusinesses.
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Competitor advantage
Equallywithstaffcover,itispossiblethatlargenumbersofstaffbecomeunavailableatshortnoticethroughillnessorevenanepidemic.Youneedtoensurethatyouhaveaccesstocompaniesthatwillbeabletotakebusinesscallsforyou.
Ifinternetaccessgoesdown,tomaintaincustomerserviceyouwillneedtohavesystemsinplacetodealwithonlinebusinessdifferently.Thismeansdivertingstaffeitherwithinyourbusinesstotakeahighervolumeoflandlinecallsintoyourcallcentreorusingspecialistoutsourcingcompanies.Yourdisasterplanwillneedtoensurethereforethatpersonnelareproperlytrainedtobeabletotakeondifferentrolesinanemergency.
of systems prevent rather than
accommodate.
75%
felt their systemsput them at adisadvantage
80%
Report from Infosys and Ovum According
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Whyisitthatsomanycompaniesarereluctanttogoforsoftwareupgrades,choosinginsteadtocarryonrelyingontheirexistingITsystems?Itseemsatfirstsighttomakenobusinesssense.Businessesneedtounderstandthatinthelongtermthisattitudewillrestrictbusinessgrowthandresultinadditionalandunnecessarycosts.Thereareanumberofreasonsforthis,allofwhichariseindifferingdegreesfromaninnateconservatismandfearofchangewithinbusinesses.
Familiarity
Itishumannaturethatpeoplearehappiestwithwhattheynobest.Theyhavebeentrainedontheirexistingsystemandunderstandit.Eveniftheyrecognisethatitmayhavesomedeficienciestheyfeel,duetoexperience,thatitdoesthejobperfectlyadequately.Aboveall,theyareconfidentthatitwon’tletthemdown.Inrealitytheytreattheirsystemlikeanoldovercoatandtheycheerfullyputtoonesideanythoughtthatitmightbeholdingthebusinessback.
Impact of change
ITdirectorsandmanagerswillhavelegitimateconcernsabouttheknock-oneffectsofupgradestoagingsystems.Willintegrationbetechnicallypossible?Whatwilltheimplicationsbeformigratingdata?Whatadditionalhiddendirectandindirectcostsoftheupgradewilltherebe?Towhatextentwilltheexistingbusinessoperationbedisrupted?Howmanystaffwillhavetobedivertedfromexistingdutiesandforhowlong?Allthesearekeyandrealquestionswhichhavetobeproperlyaddressed.Theycannotbedismissedasshowingmerereluctancetochangeonthepartofstaff.
Assessment of new products
Alltoooftenbusinessmanagersarecontenttoconcentrateontheday-to-daymattersinhandanddonotallowsufficienttimetoreviewtheproductsthatareonthemarket,testthem,lookatreferencesitesandchecktheiroverallsuitability.Thisagainservestomilitateagainstbusinessesapproachingdecision-makingabouttheirsystemsinaplannedandreasonedmanner.
Software costNewsoftwarehastocomewithaprice,includingone-offpurchasecosts,installationandongoingannualpayments.Thishastobemeasuredagainstthepotentialbenefitstothebusiness.Itbegsthequestionastowhethertheycanbeproperlyidentifiedandassessed.What are the benefits?
Businessesarenaturallywaryofupgradesthatwillonlyprovidemarginalbenefits.Theycanillaffordtoincuradditionalcostsforupgradeswhicharesupposedtodramaticallyincreasebusinessperformance.Againtheyhavelegitimatefearsthatthesebenefitsmaynotmaterialise,oreveniftheydo,furtherupgradeswillberequiredwithinaveryshortperiod.Theywillnotwanttopayoutunnecessarysumsforwhatappearstobeonlystop-gaparrangements.Therehastobehonestandopendialoguebetweensuppliersandbusinessessothatorganisationscanhaveconfidenceintheclaimsthatarebeingmadeforthesoftware.
Barriers to upgrades
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Thetruthisthattherearesignificant,quantifiablebenefitstobehad: Reduced costs
Businessesdoneedtounderstandthatthereisacosttomaintainingoldsoftwareparticularlywherebusinessesaregrowing.Lackofcapacity,dataoverloadsandsystemoutagescanallresultin,notonlyprovidingbusinessinefficiencies,butalsoloadingthebusinesswithadditionalcosts.
Installingsoftwareupgradescanavoidtheseissues.Capacitywillbeincreased,downtimewillbereducedandsmoothbusinessprocessesensured.Thesearemajorandrealgainswhichcanbedemonstratedwithinaveryshortperiod.
Thiswillalsobeaccompaniedwithsignificantproductivitygainsasstaffcanseeandreapthebenefitsofhavingreliable,flexibleandresponsivesystems.
Security
Relyingonoldsoftwareinevitablyhasasecurityriskattachedtoit.Systemdegradation,viruses,malwareallpresentanever-growingdangertobusinessITinfrastructure,increasingthelikelihoodofbusinessinterruptionanddowntime.Upgradingtothemanytriedandtestnewsoftwarepackagesthatareavailableonthemarketcangivethebusinessacomprehensiveassurancethatthesedangerswillberemoved.
Thesebenefitsarereal.Businessesthatcarryoutaproperreviewoftheirsystemswillbeabletoseethattheadvantagestheywillachievethoughupgradesaremeasurableandsignificant.Itisapowerfulpackage.Higherproductivity,reducedcostsandincreasedsecuritycantogethermakeamajorcontributiontobusinessviabilityandprofitability,enablingittocompetemoresuccessfullyinthemarketplace.
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Verizon upgrades school district’s call centre
VerizonhasbeenabletohelpaschooldistrictontheeastcoastoftheUnitedStatestoimproveitscallcentreoperation,improvingthequalityofserviceprovidedtoenquirers,withouttheneedformajoradditionalexpenditure.IthasutiliseditsEnhancedCallRoutingapplication(ECR)whichhasthefacilitytospeedupconnectionsandenablecallcentrestafftoconcentrateonasmallernumberofcomplexcalls.ThisisachievedthroughtheECRsystem’skeyfeaturesofautomatedcallroutingforroutinecallsandhandlingofcalls.
VerizoncoupledtheECRsystemwithanInteractiveVoiceResponse(IVR)arrangement.Thisoperatesbylettingcallersobtaininformationandchoosethepersontheyneedtospeaktoonanautomatedbasissimplythroughusingtheirtelephonekeyboard.Thiseliminatesdelaysandspeedsupconnectiontimesdramatically.
AthirdfeaturetailoredtotheneedsoftheschooldistrictwasaHostConnect(HC)solution.HCprovidescallerswithinformationonbusroutingsandtimetables.Allthatcallershavetodoistypeinstandardpersonalidentificationtogainaccess.
Thisintegratedandrobustsystemofferedreliabilityandround-the-clockservicethroughouttheyear.
Dealing with peaks
Verizonhadtobeabletodeliverasystemthatcoulddealwithveryhighpeaksincallerdemand.Thiswasconcentratedintotwoperiodsoftheacademicyear,whenitcommencedinSeptemberandatyear-endinJune.Callsineachofthosetwoperiodsamountedto140,000,representing50%oftotaldemandfortheentireacademicyear.
PriortoVerizonbeingbroughtin,thecallcentresimplycouldnotcopewithseveredelaysincallsbeingansweredaswellaslargenumbersofcallsbeinglost.Althoughadditionalcallcentrepersonnelwerebroughtin,thiscouldnotsolvetheproblem.Userresponsewasunderstandablynegativewithasteepriseincomplaintsfromparentstotheschoolauthoritiesandlocalpoliticians.Suchasituationwasclearlyunsustainableandrequiredurgentaction.
Approval and implementation of the Verizon proposition
Againstthisproblematicbackground,Verizonsubmitteditsproposalstotheschooldistrictboard.Thesewerequicklyapprovedandfundingwasmadeavailableforimmediateinstallationofitscallcentresolution.Theresultwasthatinco-operationwithschooldistrict,Verizonwasabletoachievecompletionofimplementationinonlyfivemonths.Thismeantanewcallsystemwasfullyoperational,deliveringthepromisedbenefitsofspeedierresponsesandtheeliminationofheldorabandonedcalls.Parents’reactionstotheseimprovementswasswiftandpositiveandamajorsuccesshadbeengained.
Case study
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Don’tbeheldbackbyyouroutdatedlegacysystems.Companiesthatarestillusingthesamesystemstheyinstalledtenormoreyearsagocouldbelimitingtheirbusinessproductivityandabilitytorespondtomarketconditions.
BycarryingoutregularupgradesyoucanlowertheriskoffailureandobtainsignificantcostreductionsatthesametimeassafelyimprovingyourITinfrastructure.Thiswillensureyoucanprolongtheworkinglifeofyoursystemsandprovidelastingbenefitstoyourbusiness.
Conclusion
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