Case Study: Analytics

Transcription

1 Case Study: Analytics By partnering with Arrk we help our Customers develop e- service and e-sales channels to be a source of significant competitive advantage, increased margin and market share. Arrk is an IT Services Consultancy that specialises in helping customers improve their bottom line through innovative use of enterprise web technologies. Arrk provides outsourced application development and support services from its UK and India delivery centres. Barbour ABI is the leading provider of construction intelligence products, serving UK companies with sales leads, contact data, CRM software and marketing intelligence. Barbour ABI is a member of CMP Information group which is the business to business communications division of United Business Media plc, the leading global business information company. Arrk has partnered with Barbour ABI in the provision of outsourced IT Services for over five years. In 2006 the relationship entered a new phase and moved to a fully outsourced model where all application development and support services were managed by Arrk. Analytics was delivered within this outsourced service. Barbour ABI gathers information on every significant construction project in the UK. Strategists of large construction companies look to Barbour ABI for tailored trend reports based on this data. Prior to Analytics these invaluable reports had to be compiled manually by Barbour ABI data analysts, a time consuming, labour intensive and costly activity. The concept of Analytics is to allow customers to build their own live customised reports based on a wide range of search criteria using information that is continually updated by the fifty strong team of Barbour ABI researchers. Three screen shots are provided in the appendix to provide a feel for the system. The Objectives Example Competitor Analysis Key objectives set by Barbour ABI were: Conform to agreed requirements defining the Analytics functionality Display a three trend line graph within ten seconds using two years of data Build a versatile data model for future services Ensure the system can quickly be adapted for new sectors (branding, search criteria, etc.) Deliver product on schedule and within budget Arrk Group Page 1 of 7

2 Implementation A blended team of Arrk UK and Arrk India people working onshore and offshore developed and deployed the Analytics product. As this software is a ground breaking concept for the construction industry, the requirements were developed in close collaboration with Barbour ABI product architects and sales teams. Analytics Timing and Team Began September 2006 Completed June 2007 This ten month project was ambitious and stretching, with only two weeks contingency in the schedule. However Arrk s high maturity, software development processes - assessed to CMMi Level 3 in both UK and India - ensured the project was effectively planned and tracked. 100% outsourced 90% developed offshore 14 staff (6 full-time) Evaluation All the objectives for the project were met we certainly exceeded our customer s expectations. Analytics went live with five years of data, exceeding the customer requirement of 2 years data. Three trend line graphs are generated in five seconds using five years of data (ten seconds for two years of Technology data was expected) Rapid configuration changes are possible and have Oracle 10g RDBMS subsequently been made. Oracle 10g App Server Search engines build dynamic queries and execute Solaris 10 (zoned) against the most suitable partitioned data set. No code zone 1 Development changes are required to add or modify search domains zone 2 - UAT or criteria. Java (Struts-Spring-iBATIS) Following the success of the Analytics launch, Arrk has secured the development of future Barbour ABI web services featuring more innovations! Best Practice Relationship Management Arrk s relationship with Barbour ABI exhibits many examples of best practice and innovation in managing successful outsourcing relationships. These include: A commitment by both parties to partnership principles which emphasise win-win outcomes, open communication and co-operative team working A willingness to operate in a open and transparent manner where opportunities and problems are shared in a positive, co-operative team-working manner A constant striving for new innovative approaches and solutions where creativity is highly valued and continuous improvement built-in Arrk Group Page 2 of 7

3 These partnership principles were underpinned by governance framework that is collectively used to manage and measure the health of the relationship. This features: Multi-level governance that enables different groups with different interests to exercise local control and management as appropriate. As well as weekly and monthly reviews a quarterly partnership steering group was established involving representation by relationship sponsors and stakeholder from Barbour ABI & Arrk Emphasis on a fact based performance evaluation with monthly service reviews of quantitative and qualitative performance. These reviews are focused on continual service optimisation in response to issues and opportunities, including the ongoing development of a rich set of Key Performance Indicators Transparent budget and billing processes involving the monthly review of forecast and actual costs, focusing on understanding any variances and ensuring both parties have a mutual understanding of resource requirements and constraints A degree of flexibility in governance mechanisms that allowed us to adapt and adjust as the partnership evolved Conformance with best practice governance policy across a spectrum of governance arenas including partnering management, project/service management, risk management, business stakeholder management, corporate governance and financial management. This outsourcing governance framework provided an environment in which the project could flourish, and is continuing to underpin a relationship between Barbour ABI and Arrk which goes from strength to strength. In addition to formal procedures, the Arrk company culture encourages individuals to excel and project teams are naturally competing with others for the greatest results. A Good Investment? Barbour ABI is confident that the ROI for the project will be met within a year of the service going live, and will also generate very attractive ongoing subscription revenues in the future. It also creates a great USP for Barbour ABI in the construction intelligence marketplace. Analytics has another, less tangible benefit based on customer retention. Traditionally Barbour ABI sold information as sales and marketing leads. Over the past few years they developed reporting and tracking services which were adopted by sales and marketing managers. More recently Barbour ABI aspires to encourage and support the top decision makers with customised reports. Analytics targets this demanding audience giving them control to run bespoke reports in real time. The Barbour ABI key accounts are customers that monitor competitors and study market trends when defining their company strategies. Now Analytics is in the market place the customer retention for these customers will be increased and further key accounts attracted. Customer Testimonial We have demonstrated this release to all of our key sales people, and every one who has seen it, is very excited about it. In terms of Look n Feel, Performance and Presentation, this product is substantially ahead of our competition and illustrates the potential for all our other existing products. Great Work! David Andrew Product Development Director Barbour ABI Arrk Group Page 3 of 7

4 The database model behind this project is now to be adopted as the platform for future Barbour ABI online services. If this model was not developed Barbour ABI would require major investment year on year for additional hardware and Enterprise Oracle database licenses to meet increasing demand for its web services. To Conclude The Analytics project is a tremendous success. Every objective has been met and many exceeded which goes to prove that with Arrk s pioneering Integrated Engagement & Delivery Model, outsourced geographically disparate teams can work successfully to deliver complex and innovative solutions, on time and within budget. For further information on how our we can help you visit or call us on Arrk Group Page 4 of 7

5 Appendix: Screen shots User administration The system allowed subscribers to purchase a number of licenses for the Analytics services. The subscriber can set up their own users and assign licenses / privileges to these users. The user configuration module is shown below. Assigning licenses to users Arrk Group Page 5 of 7

6 Defining trend line criteria The tabs and criteria available for defining a profile is dynamically build allowing the service to be improved with ease in the future. The current criteria include project location (illustrated below), sector, type of development, the project stage, the value of the project, measurements (number of units, number of stories etc) and the materials used in the project Arrk Group Page 6 of 7

7 Plotting a graph Three profiles are selected and the definition of parameters for the graph defined below Arrk Group Page 7 of 7