Transparency Instead of Flying Blind
In the outsourcing business, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) determine the quality of the services rendered. RR Donnelley, the leading competence centre for document management and process automation in invoice processing, opted in 2007 for neutral service testing by auditQ. The ongoing «end-to-end» monitoring enabled the company to promptly recognise system problems and to noticeably reduce response times.
RR Donnelley Document Solutions, the leading competence centre for document management and process automation, renders all services in invoice processing for companies. Through its work for companies, medical insurance funds and public agencies, the company scans, audits and archives approx. 50,000 invoices, pieces of reimbursement documentation and cash register receipts per day which are then delivered twice per day to the containers in the processing centre in Urdorf. In 2009, through its work for medical insurance funds, RR Donnelley processed approx. 16 million Tarmed billing statements and pieces of reimbursement documentation.
Constant Monitoring of the IT Operations
For RR Donnelley, the important requirement for a good cooperation with the customers is the ensuring of the highest level of operational security. The access to the archived data via a Web interface must be ensured at all times so that the specialised personnel in the Invoicing and Accounting Divisions can do their daily work. «The constant monitoring and ensuring of the greatest possible operational security of the networks and IT systems are of central importance for our business», declares Jean-Claude Ruppen, Director of Marketing & Business Development. However, in the past, the company was not able to document the availability of the systems in the desired scope. Measured values and facts about the adherence to the agreed Service Level Agreements were lacking. Consequently, this led again and again to discussions with customers.
In the spring of 2007, the management opted for the introduction of end-to-end monitoring. This was supposed to create clarity about the access speeds as well as the availability of the services. An internal solution or an external end-to-end measurement solution were being discussed. After extensive consideration, the team around Jean-Claude Ruppen opted for an external solution for two reasons. «Firstly, we didn’t want to develop the know-how internally which would have required extensive amounts of training. Secondly, we shied away from the costs for the development and maintenance of an internal solution. With an external solution, we can count on fixed costs. In addition, discussions with the customers about the credibility of the evaluations are no longer required,» the outsourcing expert says in justifying this decision.
Early Warning System Already for Minimal Deviations
The installation of auditQ’s solution into RR Donnelley’s IT environment required only two months’ time. «The experts from auditQ convinced us through their seniority and know-how. In addition, they were the only ones who could offer us a proven end-to-end solution.» The end-to-end measurement system monitors the length of the log-in sequences, the response times for the retrieval of documents of various sizes as well as the interfaces within the network from the user’s perspective. If the system determines that the SLA has been exceeded, the help desk will receive a notification as well as a print screen with the log file of the last ten work steps. Thus, the team can immediately localise and eliminate the technical problem even before the customer notices it. «The end-to-end monitoring simulates in 10-minute intervals what our customers are experiencing upon a daily basis. auditQ’s neutral monitoring service helps us to define realistic SLAs and to also adhere to them.»
For the quality of the service, it has proven particularly helpful to install a ScoreBoard that is linked to the help desk which constantly visualises the current status of the service on the large screen. «Thanks to the ScoreBoard, the attentiveness and sensitisation of the help desk and the IT team have substantially increased», also emphasises Tamaris Keller, Professional Services Project Manager. Before the introduction of auditQ, the help desk received approx. 100 telephone calls from customers upon a weekly basis. Today, that figure is down to approx. 20. «Thanks to the system monitoring provided by auditQ, we are always a step ahead of our customers. Before they detect a system disruption, we are already working on eliminating the error». Approx. thirty of RR Donnelley’s customers today use the end-to-end monitoring service provided by auditQ.
Introduction of System Monitoring
After the installation of the end-to-end measuring system from auditQ, the request was made for system monitoring to test the services and networks. Both services were supposed to complement each other and provide comprehensive information about the tested components in the system via the ScoreBoard. While advising on and introducing the «WhatsUp» solution, RR Donnelley was supported by auditQ’s team. «Through system monitoring, each disruption can be quickly discovered and localised to find out where it was created», explains Tamaris Keller. Already shortly after the introduction was made, weak points in the system were recognised; among others, hardware defects or elements with unsatisfactory performance. The system monitoring supplies clear measured values in real time about the status of the internal networks, DB’s and applications which are used to render our services. «Thanks to auditQ’s expertise, we were able to develop the system to be able to be run efficiently, cheaply and with a lean structure.»
Convincing Sales Argument
The introduction of auditQ’s end-to-end measuring system also had a very positive effect upon the new customer business. «The neutral and independent end-to-end measuring system provides an ingenious sales argument to use with customers whereby we can demonstrate our services to the customers», continues Jean-Claude Ruppen. He particularly values the option of being able to monitor the performance of the IT services as well as the adherence to the SLAs via his mobile PDA-at any time and from anywhere. «Thus, we can keep a decisive step ahead of our competitors.»
Investment Has Paid Off
Jean-Claude Ruppen can no longer do without auditQ’s end-to-end solution. «The professionalism of our services has noticeably improved externally.» Substantial improvement has already been attained in dealing with customers: «Today, we can document the performance of our systems with well-founded data.» The system shows at all times what the status is regarding the adherence to the SLAs and where intervention must be undertaken if a process or component is not functioning flawlessly. Thanks to the visualisation of the SLA, the systems engineering has become more active. One doesn’t have to wait until the customer makes a telephone call, but rather the problem can already be handled even before the customer can respond. This development is also reflected in the customers’ satisfaction. As a survey has shown, RR Donnelley is receiving substantially better evaluations from its customers in the areas of «quality of service» as well as «customer satisfaction» than before the introduction of the end-to-end monitoring system by auditQ.