Red Bridge Strategy

Client: A leading global provider of robotics systems and services.

Situation: Undefined IT processes and procedures combined with high IT staff turnover to thwart the delivery of appropriate, timely, professional IT services.  The need for structured IT management and service delivery were accentuated by the client’s requirements to physically move its office and data center and an imperative to implement Sarbanes-Oxley controls.  In addition to a California headquarters, the enterprise supported multiple international manufacturing and sales organizations.

Project: Our objective was to analyze and review our client’s strategic alternatives for the ongoing management of IT services and to provide interim management during its move to new facilities and during its transition to a new IT staff or outsourcer.

Our solution focused on two areas:

• A financial and operational analysis of rebuilding client’s IT department
• A financial and operational analysis of outsourcing alternatives

Work Overview:

• Defined and documented client’s SOX-related IT processes  & controls
• Provided continuous IT management 
• Developed financial & operational outsourcing budgets and models 
• Analyzed services and operations 
• Developed outsourcing RFP 
• Evaluated outsourcing RFP responses and vendors 
• Negotiated outsourcing agreement and transition services 
• Created and implemented IT facilities move plan 
• Evaluated, selected and integrated telephone switching and voicemail (VOIP) solution 
• Coordinated and supported transition to IT outsourcer

Results: The transition, implemented in close collaboration with the operations and finance functions, resulted in:

• Similar overall cost to previous internal IT team
• Dramatically improved service levels and responsiveness
• More direct user control of operational and finance functions
• Retirement of high risk legacy technology platforms
• Improved controls and compliance
• Improved reliability and performance through higher availability data centers
• Improved communications and reduced cost by integrating a flexible voice and data solution