EDS' proposal could cut Metro's existing expenses in half and provides the model for how helpdesks should be done.
EDS' Managed WorkSpace Services is the winning response to Metro's helpdesk services. Its WorkSpace Services satisfies and even exceeds Metro's proposed SLA and reporting requirements while providing the lowest bid, estimated at $15 to $25 per incident. This is a 30 percent to 50 percent saving over Metro's current helpdesk costs and seemed too good to be true until we scrutinized the offering. It was true.
EDS personalizes WorkSpace for customers, and develops profiles for office workers, telecommuters, road warriors and production workers to tailor its services to individual users. WorkSpace provides a SPOC (single point of contact) for problem reporting and service requests. Although all our respondents could boast of a SPOC that satisfies the conditions of Metro's SLA, EDS took the next step, by using RMCs (request-management centers) to provide the SPOC for the helpdesk.
RMCs handle problem management, change management, work orders, inventory and asset management, security, procurement, and general how-to and information inquiries. EDS' RMCs satisfy Metro's Tiers 1 and 2 services. EDS provides a one-stop shop that exceeds Metro's SLA, agreeing to answer calls, on average, in 60 seconds, with a 10 percent or lower abandon rate and with an 80 percent first-call resolution rate. WorkSpace Services further agrees to answer voicemail and e-mail within 60 minutes.
Finally, WorkSpace surveys client satisfaction for 10 percent of closed calls per month. Seneca is the only other respondent making use of client surveys with a similar 10 percent solution. Here, one number can represent a measure of support-service success provided to Metro's users.
Metro does not take the concept of ownership in outsourced services lightly. EDS and Seneca are the only respondents to use the term to mean accountability in their responses. EDS details the operation of RMCs and outlines their tiers of support. RMCs field problem calls by phone or e-mail, and record the calls into a problem-management database as a service request or trouble ticket. At that time, the RMC "assume[s] ownership of the issue," according to EDS. Initially, RMCs would resolve up to 80 percent of calls without referring the calls to second-level support groups, third-party maintainers or Metro's in-house support for resolution.
RMCs act as a triumvirate of support for business, applications and technical support. As a business support center, the RMC acts on project and procurement requests, providing management with a point of entry. The business support center handles requests to install, move, add or change support for hardware, software, and voice products and services. As an applications support center, the RMC fields questions about shrinkwrapped desktop applications, custom applications and PC operating systems. Last, the RMC acts as a technical support center; as such, it dispatches tickets to appropriate levels of support and provides technical troubleshooting for groupware, password resets and connectivity problems.
Like Mission Critical and SafeHarbor, EDS supports all Metro's software applications. EDS considers Metro's shrinkwrapped software standard fare, in which a subject-matter expert or a professionally certified agent with in-depth knowledge of the application is on staff. For nonstandard shrinkwrapped software outside the likes of Corel WordPerfect Office, Lotus SmartSuite, Microsoft Office, e-mail clients and antivirus software, EDS says it applies its "best efforts" to resolve problems.
Support for corporate-developed or industry-specific applications not considered shrinkwrapped, such as PeopleSoft's, would fall under the care of subject-matter specialists who handle applications in a range of industries, including energy, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, and finance. RMCs are also equipped to handle user-account management. EDS would also fully support Metro's reliance on NT domains and future prospects for Microsoft Active Directory or Novell Directory Services.
Strict Personnel Requirements
In analyzing the vendors' responses, we reviewed the minimum qualifications each respondent has for its helpdesk personnel. Answers range from one year of experience in the field (InTek) to bachelor's degrees. Mission Critical even requires MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) status for all its personnel. But EDS raises the ante. Besides requiring a college degree or equivalent work experience, EDS screens employees on problem-solving skills and decision-making abilities. The service provider also looks for strong communications and customer-relations skills, business maturity, and strong technical skills. EDS also has a continuing education program to guide employees along career paths. An intranet makes available more than 600 Web-based training courses at no cost to employees; employees have access to virtual communities and "best practice" repositories as well.
WorkSpace Services would come on-site to support Metro's technical needs and meet SLA requirements. EDS recommends the point of desktop manufacture for system setup, configuration, and loading of OS and application software where images can be preset to load on systems before delivery. This "gold" image would also be available for remote-load system maintenance and other support. Like EDS, Mission Critical has a full-service solution that provides on-site support. Fused Solutions and Seneca, however, provide on-site services through partners. We believe that relying on outside partners would dilute the solution, thereby creating ownership problems.
Metro takes inventory and asset management seriously for configuration information, to track equipment and reconcile inventories, and for use as a troubleshooting tool. EDS and Metro are on the same page here. EDS uses Peregrine Systems for call tracking and management, and to report on asset information to make timely decisions in deploying new products.
Fused Solutions, Mission Critical and Seneca use proprietary software for direct support. Mission Critical applies its tool to inventories and asset tracking. Seneca and Fused Solutions leave this to partners. Choosing EDS and Peregrine would provide continuity in helpdesk services if Metro and EDS part company. Other service providers, such as Hewlett-Packard and IBM, use Peregrine's services, which would be available to Metro for direct purchase.
EDS and InTek offer Metro on-site training, though it's not included in the cost estimate for helpdesk services. Other service providers leave training to online resources or third parties. EDS rises to the high ground by including its "human performance processes" as part of its IT support solutions. EDS dedicates more than 900 trainers to technical and professional development and user training; this system enables Web-based training, electronic mentors, computer-based training, distance learning, and customized training and documentation that includes manuals, instructor-led training and training-the-trainer programs. EDS conducts classroom training, engages in one-on-one executive coaching, and holds workshops and seminars.
Similar to Web ASP offerings, EDS can provide Metro with "zero-level helpdesk" functions through an Internet portal. Portal services provide users self-help materials, knowledge bases and access to helpdesk personnel, similar to SafeHarbor's Web-based support solutions. EDS, however, goes further by providing diagnostic tools and self-healing technology for installed applications through its Quick2Know service. A browser-based plug-in component enables diagnostics, local self-repair and assisted service through the portal.
Furthermore, unlike our other providers, EDS would work to build a knowledge base specific to Metro's needs. This would help EDS meet Metro's standard of 80 percent resolution on first-time calls. Metro would negotiate the ownership of the knowledge base in the event it recalls its helpdesk service or contracts for services from another provider.
To assure Metro of quality, EDS satisfies Metro's demand for reports on total calls, response times, call duration, open-call queue status, hold-queue status, and average mean time to resolution for all incidents. Peregrine, Remedy or Vantive Corp. (now owned by PeopleSoft) is used for systematic quality-assurance reports. And like the other respondents, EDS makes these reports available on the Web. Although the reports are not in real time, like those offered by Mission Critical's management and reporting system, EDS will discuss these reports with Metro's management team on a regular basis.
EDS has been outsourcing helpdesks and providing IT support for 36 years. The closest competitor in this category is Seneca (eight years); the other respondents each has three years of experience. EDS supplied a list of some of its 1 million clients, which include the Bechtel Group, BellSouth Corp., General Motors Corp., United States Postal Service and Xerox Corp.
EDS also included several success stories in its supporting documents, including that of Saturn, a subsidiary of GM with 9,000 employees. EDS served Saturn's six sites in two states and, among other things, supported 2,600 workstations, implemented and managed infrastructure to increase productivity, integrated business systems as EDIs (electronic data interchanges), and fully integrated Saturn's dealer systems with plant systems.
Metro took this story home, looking forward to EDS' work with its own business processes among the Health Center, community hospital and clinics, as well as suppliers and customers. EDS also provides specific services to the health-care industry, including business-process management, decision support, and fraud and abuse detection, as well as procedures to achieve HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance.
EDS also makes itself available for Metro's future growth in the pediatric market. EDS provides consulting services and other added value, such as business-process management to help manage customer relationships; data warehousing and decision support services to design, install and manage information-management opportunities; expanded IT support services that include LAN and client/server systems; and imaging and electronic document management. Last, EDS' consulting firm, A.T. Kearney, can provide Metro with strategic consulting in systems development, integration, systems management and process management.
EDS can build different pricing structures, depending on what works best. Typically, it charges a fixed cost per user, but, to meet Metro's needs, EDS estimates its helpdesk services to be from $15 to $25 per incident at an annual rate ranging from $362,000 to $603,000 based on Metro's 1999 call volume of 24,127 incidents. Metro also notes that EDS is positioned to take over maintenance services with the potential to reduce hardware support costs by 5 percent over Metro's existing costs, annual at $100 per CPU and $75 per printer.
Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS), (972) 604-6000. www.eds.com or info@eds.com.
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