Transforming ITREAL COMPANIES, REAL RESULTS, SOLID ADVICE.

Government agency brings consistency to service definition and delivery processes

Retailer uses an honest assessment of maturity and readiness as a starting point

Financial services firm finds that process change is a critical part of cloud adoption

Healthcare provider implements a realistic, step-by-step transformation process

Financial services firm discovers the importance of organizational change

Telecom provider breaks key transformation initiatives into manageable phases

Consulting firm overcomes management and stakeholder pushback in three steps

Aircraft manufacturer uses quick wins to secure management support

Retailer tests new technical capabilities and processes with a pilot project

Featured Customers

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IT transformation is underway at most growing enterprises, fueled by an urgent need to deliver more and better services to a wider array of users and devices, and to more tightly align IT capabilities with business requirements.

The question is, why do some operations transformation strategies fail while others succeed? Why do some flounder, stall, or derail while others thrive and exceed expectations? Here are answers straight from those who know best: VMware customers that have achieved tangible, quantifiable success on their journey to IT as a Service (ITaaS). The global customers featured here represent a broad spectrum of industries and a range of types and sizes. All of them engaged with VMware Professional Services to provide the insight and expertise to help them create and execute their transformation strategies across operational processes and organizational structures.

We present their stories from a unique perspective: not just the challenges they faced, the solutions they implemented, and the results they achieved, but more importantly the lessons they learned along the way and the advice they can offer.

Success on the Road to Operations Transformation

Define exactly what a “service” is.

A service is about more than technology.A large government agency undertook an IT transformation initiative to become more service-centric. However, at the outset of the project IT leaders realized that there was no consistent understanding among service owners exactly what a “service” is or what’s entailed in delivering a service.

Working with VMware Professional Services, the agency developed a consistent and repeatable process for defining cloud-based services. IT staff stopped focusing on the technical requirements of service delivery and started thinking about response times, availability levels, support requirements, staffing needs, performance metrics, and so on. In other words, they started thinking like true service providers.

Equally important, the agency learned how to take full advantage of the VMware software it had already purchased. Utilization rates grew exponentially; skeptics became staunch supporters; and the new service definition process was passed along to other government agencies.

Government agency found that consistent service definition was the key to repeatable, high-quality service delivery.

01LESSON

INDUSTRY

GovernmentCHALLENGEInconsistent service delivery practices

Underutilized VMware software investment

SOLUTION Formalized service definition process

Redefinition of key roles and responsibilities

Training and knowledge transfer to improve utilization rates for VMware software

RESULTSExponential increase in utilization rates for VMware® vRealize™ Operations

Deployed existing 50 licenses and purchased several hundred more to fully leverage vRealize Operations capabilities

Broad adoption of new processes among other government agencies

Honestly assess your operational readiness.

To reap the rewards of the cloud, you need to organize for the cloud.A retailer in the fashion industry wanted to harness the efficiencies of the private cloud model to accelerate everything from development to website performance. However, the move to the cloud impacted current IT processes, roles and responsibil-ities, and organizational structures—and IT had no idea how to reorganize for the cloud or build a cloud-based Center of Excellence.

With help from VMware Professional Services, the company created a solid strategy and road map for moving to the cloud model—including an open, honest assessment of its current cloud maturity level and the impact on operations and skill levels across IT.

The readiness assessment identified gaps and presented a series of recommend-ations for filling them. Armed with a comprehensive roadmap, the retailer was able to evolve to the cloud model, accelerate time-to-market, get support from all stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition—and make better use of the vRealize Automation software it had purchased.

Retailer discovered that the benefits of the cloud model are huge—if you assess and address the needed operational changes.

02LESSON

INDUSTRY

RetailCHALLENGEWanted to harness the cloud model but needed to consider organizational impact

SOLUTION Detailed recommendations for evolving to a private cloud-based operating model

Definition and documentation of roles and responsibilities for cloud Center of Excellence

RESULTSFaster adoption of leading-edge technologies such as VMware® vRealize™ Automation

Total buy-in from all stakeholders helped ensure a smooth transition

Renewed sense of focus and increased agility in its business

Recognize the impact on processes.

The move from physical to virtual requires changes in processes. A major financial services firm knew how the cloud could benefit its operations, but wasn’t sure how to modernize its IT processes, organizational structure, roles, and skill sets. They engaged with VMware Professional Services to provide solid recommendations and a roadmap.

The VMware team started by helping the company analyze its current processes and identify opportunities for improvement. The consultants provided actionable recommendations that put the organization on a path to a software-defined data center (SDDC), including establishing a SDDC team; defining, delivering, and measuring services; and using a phased rollout approach.

By focusing on process and organizational change, the firm not only got started on its path to SDDC, but also was able to increase the utilization rates of software it had already purchased, because its maturity levels increased to the point where the advanced functionality of the products became useful in day-to-day operations.

Financial services firm saw that the old way of doing things simply wasn’t working; focused on process change for long-term agility.

03LESSON

INDUSTRY

Financial ServicesCHALLENGEInternal teams lacked experience with SDDC operations processes

SOLUTION Actionable recommendations to optimize IT organization/operation for cloud environment

RESULTSPilot implementation of more integrated organization model

Two-year roadmap to enable global standardization with regional execution

Higher utilization rates for VMware software products in which they had invested

Take it one step at a time.

The “promise” of transformation is nothing without a solid plan.A global healthcare leader found that its growth was placing huge demands on IT, and IT could not always keep pace. Managing and controlling demand was difficult, and development and provisioning timeframes for new services were too slow.

Working with VMware Professional Services, the company arrived at a well-planned, realistic transformation initiative, featuring three key phases:

1. Assessing operational maturity and benchmarking the company’s service request process against that of industry peers2. Evaluating the cost of provisioning and identifying opportunities for long-term OpEx reductions3. Creating the business case for future process evolutions

The VMware team then recommended four concrete steps for realizing the transformational vision. The company followed these guidelines—and achieved OpEx savings of more than €25 million and a five-year ROI of 231% with payback in just 26 months.

Healthcare provider learned that a step-by-step approach was the key to turning its transformation vision into reality.

04LESSON

INDUSTRY

HealthcareCHALLENGENeeded a concrete, detailed plan for turning transformation vision into reality

SOLUTION Identified gaps in organizational, functional, and process areas

Detailed transformation roadmap with step-by-step processes for achieving vision

RESULTSOpEx savings of €25 million

ROI of 231%, payback in just 26 months

Organize for IT as a Service (ITaaS).

If you want full business value, you need full organizational support.A financial services firm wanted to implement a complete solution for its “automate once, deploy multiple times” concept to make its business more agile. However, it found that excessive back-and-forth among engineers and other stakeholders was slowing down the process.

The VMware Professional Services team helped the customer understand that the technical requirements of faster, smoother provisioning was just one consideration; the organizational and operational impacts were equally important.

The VMware team presented areas of focus for improved efficiency, including the creation of a customized operating model with a high-level roadmap for implementing organizational changes. Now the company has reduced provisioning time from 15–25 days to 3 hours, increased responsiveness and service quality, and enhanced the reputation and perceived value of IT.

Financial services firm learns that the organizational impacts of transformation are every bit as important as the technical requirements.

05LESSON

INDUSTRY

Financial ServicesCHALLENGEWanted to find a way to accelerate virtual infrastructure provisioning

SOLUTION Detailed recommendations for evolving the organization to streamline provisioning

Definition and documentation of processes, roles and responsibilities

RESULTSReduced provisioning time from 15-25 days to 3 hours

Eliminated confusion and delay, improving responsiveness and service agility

Improved value of IT, as seen by the business

Break it into manageable phases.

Phased implementation for faster ROI.A leading provider of telecommunications services wanted to design and build a new software-defined data center (SDDC) to help cut OpEx and improve agility—but the company had only six months to make significant headway toward its vision.

With the help of VMware Professional Services, the company undertook a phased approach to the implementation. Phase One implemented a running cloud platform and established the self-service portal with provisioning as the first available service—within six months.

Phase Two continues to increase the company’s ability to operate, manage, and expand its SDDC architecture. Future phases will follow, targeted to address new requests, such as network virtualization, and drive further adoption by more users. Net result: faster ROI, and the ability to cut provisioning requests from weeks to minutes.

Telecom provider discovered that a phased approach to SDDC implementation delivered both quick results and long-term success.

06LESSON

INDUSTRY

TelecomCHALLENGENeeded a more flexible architecture to meet growing business demands

SOLUTION Designed and implemented SDDC for maximum flexibility and growth

Modular approach to ensure short and long-term success

RESULTS50 percent reduction in project implementation time and operational on day one—resulting in faster ROI

Reduced automated provisioning requests from weeks to minutes

Significant OpEx reductions

Have a plan for eliminating pushback.

Overcome the objections through up-front planning. A major consulting firm wanted to provide showcase-quality, cost-efficient IT services, and wanted to start by creating a lab as a service (LaaS) offering. The problem was that the company lacked the internal experience with service-based costing, and there was general scepticism about IT as a service (ITaaS) initiatives among senior executives.

Understanding that a strong LaaS solution would create support for further ITaaS transformation initiatives among business stakeholders, the VMware team helped the company’s IT team build a strong foundation based on a three-step approach. They recommended service workshops to help the company establish the competence, repeatable processes, and cultural change required to transform service delivery through informed consumption.

By focusing the company’s IT team, the VMware team equipped the company to establish, manage, and socialize cost-based services. Today, the company is well positioned to respond proactively to business IT needs, improving client engagements.

Management consulting firm used a three-step process to garner business support for its IT transformation initiative.

07LESSON

INDUSTRY

Management ConsultingCHALLENGEFaced pushback on ITaaS initiatives from senior management

SOLUTION Defined lab-as-a-service (LaaS) processes and cost elements

Service Costing Process helped determine end-to-end costs of IT services

RESULTSCompany can now respond proactively to business IT needs

IT is now a showcase for client engagements

Start with some quick wins.

Support for the future requires proof points today.A Fortune 100 aerospace and defense manufacturer saw a pressing need for fundamental change in IT’s capabilities as a service provider. The company’s hosting services leader wanted to transform the organization into “a new source of business value and a source of pride.”

Winning over senior management, however, required more than a vision. They wanted short-term wins that helped prove the long-term value.

Working with VMware Professional Services, the group commissioned a pilot project to automate the provisioning of both Windows and Linux virtual machines. In just six months, the VMware team implemented the pilot project and succeeded in cutting virtual machines provisioning timeframes from 2-4 months to 24 hours or less. This and other quick successes helped convince management to commission the transformation initiative—and set the company on the path to saving more than $150 million.

Aerospace and defense manufacturer found that early successes with high-dollar returns cemented support among business stakeholders.

08LESSON

INDUSTRY

Aerospace & DefenseCHALLENGERe-invent and re-energize the hosting services organization as a true service provider

SOLUTION Benchmarking of current maturity levels

Pilot project to automate virtual machine provisioning

Formalized service definitions, SLAs, and detailed cost models

Detailed roadmap for the transition to ITaaS

RESULTSProvisioning timeframes reduced from 2-4 months to 24 hours or less

Cultural change to the mindset of a responsive, agile, high-quality service provider

Sustainable path to realize up to $150M in cost savings

Prove the concept with a pilot.

Don’t just project. Test.The IT department of a leading retailer wanted to support the CEO’s quest to triple the company’s revenues in five years. This required new IT infrastructure that would support automated provisioning and drive the business agility needed in the face of explosive growth. The question was how to prove the value of the long-term ITaaS initiative without excessive short-term risk.

The answer was an engagement with the VMware Professional Services to drive the end-to-end transformation—and a key first step was to create a pilot for phase one, automating provisioning by establishing an Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform. Working together, the VMware team would create the strategic framework while the technology consultants would validate the strategy through architecture design and delivery.

As a result of the engagement, the company was able to cut the automated provisioning process from 10 weeks to 20 minutes. IT was able to deliver new infrastructure on time, meeting established goals; and these new capabilities enabled the company’s team to successfully break through barriers and prove they could deliver tangible result.

Retailer worked with VMware Professional Services to keep IT operations humming in the face of rapid growth.

09LESSON

INDUSTRY

RetailCHALLENGENeeded to accelerate the move to automated provisioning and a service provider mentality

SOLUTION Strategy, design and development of IaaS infrastructure model

VMware-led phase one pilot: automated provisioning as part of an IaaS platform

RESULTSTransferred knowledge, demonstrating paths to keep IT projects from stalling

Cut the automated provisioning process from 10 weeks to 20 minutes

Learn More.Nine different customers, nine different objectives, nine unique approaches to IT transformation—and one consistent conclusion: Working with VMware Professional Services pays huge dividends on the journey to the software- defined data center and ITaaS.

How We Work with Our Customers The depth of our IT consulting team is unparalleled, with most spending decades in the data center cultivating deep expertise in core technologies, industry and market insights, extensive experience from thousands of customer engagements, and unrivaled access to VMware product and engineering teams.

Experienced VMware Operations Transformation Services consultants work with you to evaluate your current operations environment (people, process, and supporting management tools) to the level of detail needed to subsequently design, transform, and validate your operational processes as well as organizational structures and skillsets in a best practice-based VMware environment.

Learn more about specific offerings and capabilities by contacting your VMware representative. Get started on your journey today.

vmware.com/consulting

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