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Background
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) undertook an effectiveness review of its Information Systems (IS) organisation that identified a need for service transformation. The review assessed the structure, activity levels, costs and quality of service measured against market best practice. It also assessed the FCA’s existing use of third party IT suppliers for the provision of IS/IT services.
The challenge
In addition to identifying a need to transform delivery of the IS Division’s technical services and applications projects, the review findings suggested that outsourcing would offer a practical route to transforming the division’s capabilities. It indicated that outsourcing could support the FCA’s objective of delivering a large portfolio of business applications as part of a programme to rationalise its legacy application estate.
The FCA believed that this rationalisation would be too big a task for the IS Division to carry out on its own and that the acceleration of business benefits could best be achieved by engaging world-class service delivery outsourcers.
The solution
The FCA sought a solution and delivery partner in line with its objectives for Application Management. These were to build a cost effective, flexible and robust delivery capability; ensure a smooth transition with uninterrupted service provision; progress quickly to industry leading-service; engage a delivery partner with a high quality service leadership team.
As world-class experts in the processes and standards used to supply and service applications, we were selected as the FCA’s Application Management partner.
Our solution sees us managing a variety of applications from Oracle E-Business Suite to bespoke systems with a mixture of technologies. While our Application Management service is not sector specific, the nature of the FCA requires some highly specific technologies, such as market monitoring technology, which we’re able to provide as bespoke offerings. We successfully carried out a smooth transition from the FCA’s previous in-house Application Management service to the offshore delivery model. This involved knowledge transfer for over 100 systems and was met with all transition SLA targets achieved in full.
The results
The FCA is receiving value for money Application Management, with reduced costs and improved availability of systems:
- We’ve established a robust delivery capability that is evidenced by four and a half years’ delivery without a single missed or failed service level agreement
- The model is cost effective for the FCA and has productivity built into the price
- After four years, we delivered a 43% reduction in the cost of the service, along with a 30% increase in the number of software enhances applied to legacy systems at no extra cost
- Service flexibility ensures that we can meet the FCA’s needs for any emergency legislative changes