By Emily Allender / 29 Nov 2018 / Topics: Procurement Software
Facts at a glance
Client industry:
Federal government
Size of company:
500,000 employees
Challenge:
The client was working with multiple technology vendors, making IT procurement cumbersome and inefficient, and needed a way to optimize its procurement process.
Solution:
- Vendor consolidation into a single contract
- Streamlined process for adding new vendors
- On-site IT assistance
- End-to-end software asset management
Results
- Simplified, automated IT procurement
- Dedicated Microsoft contract
- Prenegotiated pricing
Solution area:
Insight’s Supply Chain Optimization solutions simplify the process of procuring, maintaining and replacing the technology clients invest in to run their business.
Driving IT efficiency has been a major focus of the U.S. federal government’s efforts to fuel transformation, improve service delivery to citizens and ensure national security. When it comes to IT procurement, many agencies regularly source products from multiple technology vendors. Managing those relationships can quickly become too cumbersome and costly for staff to handle.
That became an especially pressing issue for a federal agency specializing in logistics. The organization relied on several vendors to procure the software it needed to support its 500,000 employees.
As a result, its staff was spending extraordinary amounts of time and overhead to obtain quotes, choose vendors, navigate and negotiate licensing agreements, and handle renewals.
The organization knew it needed to consolidate its software vendors to better manage its assets, and it knew it needed expert help to make that happen. So it sent several reputable companies, including Insight, a Request for Proposal (RFP).
Prior to receiving the RFP, Insight had an established relationship of several years with the client, and its leaders were already familiar with our high level of support. In our RFP bid, our breadth of services, financial stability and deep relationships with all major software and hardware publishers and manufacturers made Insight the obvious choice to help the client address vendor consolidation. The client agreed we were best positioned to tackle its IT challenges.
Insight’s Supply Chain Optimization team successfully consolidated the client’s numerous vendors into a single contract, effectively taking the burden of third-party provider management off the agency’s employees.
And, because the organization negotiated a pricing methodology with us directly, it didn’t have to set a price every time it needed to procure new technology or work with a new vendor. We also streamlined the process of purchasing solutions from new vendors.
Now, instead of the client having to engage in a laborious discovery process, we gather initial quotes, facilitate licensing agreements and manage software assets throughout their lifecycle.
Part of that procurement process involves license renewals. This can be a particularly complex aspect of the software asset lifecycle, as every piece of software has its own contract and unique set of terms and conditions. Since partnering with Insight, the government institution no longer has to worry about navigating renewal agreements alone — we successfully manage it all.
The client also wanted to simplify management of Microsoft product licensing to address another pain point. As the largest software vendor in the world, Microsoft publishes hundreds of products, each with its own licensing environment. Without in-house expertise, managing multiple Microsoft products can become difficult.
As Microsoft’s largest global partner and the first Microsoft Gold Partner certified in Software Asset Management (SAM), our team is well-versed in the Microsoft licensing environment and how to manage it. We took on lifecycle management of the client’s assets, employing our extensive knowledge and helping to maximize the organization’s Microsoft investment.
By streamlining and automating much of the IT procurement process and improving SAM, the client has experienced significant cost savings and freed its internal staff to focus on higher-priority tasks. And, in Insight, the client has gained a partner dedicated to helping solve its IT challenges — no matter what those challenges may be.
