Experience and Commitment: Resolve Your Outsourcer’s Performance Problems

Experience and Commitment: Resolve Your Outsourcer’s Performance Problems

The Challenge

Our client provides a complete portfolio of insurance products.  Operating in two data centers, nearly all of their business applications either run on a zSeries or rely on the zSeries in some fashion.

For several years, they have relied on external service providers for support of the “Core” zSeries infrastructure, defined as z/OS based products and related ISV products and have supported related mainframe infrastructure – DB2, CICS, etc. – using their own resources.

A combination of service delivery concerns with the external providers, as well as, and current and expected attrition among their own employees, led to an RFP for mainframe managed services.  GTSG was awarded the RFP and has been providing services since mid-2017.

The Solution

GTSG developed a Hybrid Managed Services model to provide a service-level based support for the “Core” mainframe environment.  This client defines “Core” as the base z/OS operating system and associated IBM and ISV products.  After a discovery and transition period with little participation from the incumbent provider, GTSG assumed support immediately.

As part of the Hybrid Managed Services solution, GTSG committed to fixed monthly charges for the duration of the project that will be applied as client experiences further attrition and GTSG assumes ownership of additional technical towers such as CICS, DB2, security, etc.

To date, the client has expanded the scope to include several of these towers and both companies expect the agreement to evolve into a fully managed service.  Our support includes the following activities:

  1. Provide for the installation of new IBM z/OS and ISV software components
  2. Provide Capacity Planning and Performance Tuning services as required
  3. Provide routine configuration and customization based upon previous client standards
  4. Provide 7x24x365 technical support of the mainframe infrastructure environment, maintaining the current performance and quality of service.
  5. Provide support for Disaster Recovery testing exercises, actual Disaster Recovery Declarations, and ongoing maintenance of related Disaster Recovery documentation and recovery plans
  6. Coordination of all software installation, maintenance, break-fix, etc. activities with client business and technology leaders to ensure critical business cycles are not disrupted
  7. Provide dedicated resources who have become trusted advisors, valued for their skills and experience diversity

Client Benefits

As a result of these services, our client realized the following benefits:

  1. Immediate relief of client service delivery issues caused by their mainframe skill challenges
  2. Immediate improvement in IT service by applying GTSG service management and infrastructure support methodologies
  3. A competitive financial solution through remote delivery and constantly “right-sizing” the team

The client’s benefit is best summarized by an email received from the Mainframe Infrastructure Manager several months into the engagement.

“Thank you for continuing to make the GTSG decision the correct decision.  We appreciate your commitment and your staff truly acts like our employees – which is what we were looking for.  They really care!”