Situation:
Bill Jacobs Joliet & Bill Jacobs Plainfield felt that they had outgrown their current IT provider and needed to find ways to better manage their overall computing environment. Operational costs were consistently growing while the overall function and reliability of the computing environment was diminishing. The dealership also sought to better understand their current environment and costs associated with the long term administration of the environment.
Strategic Approach:
- Equilibrium’s IT Consulting Methodology was utilized to transition management of the environment to Equilibrium.
- An IT Business Plan was conducted that produced a 5 year strategic IT Business Plan for the dealership which included several brands and geographic locations. The IT Business Plan helped to prioritize infrastructure needs and emphasized ways to reduce ongoing support related costs while improving reliability and functionality. The IT Business Plan produced valuable systems documentation and a technology roadmap for the business. The completion of the IT Business Plan has helped management to better understand and prioritize needs related to the overall computing environment.
- The IT Services Program is used to develop and support the dealership’s environment. Significant progress has been made in a short time to reduce repetitive support related issues and proceduralize common tasks that are now handled by internal Bill Jacobs’ staff. The Best Practice Administration (BPA) ensures systems are maintained properly by ensuring that routine maintenance is completed on a regular and timely basis.
Results:
Bill Jacobs Joliet & Plainfield have seamlessly transitioned management of the overall computing environment to Equilibrium. Equilibrium has helped the business to get a handle on IT service related expenditures, plan for future investments, and select business appropriate solutions that benefit the business. Equilibrium has helped to identify several long term strategies that will help the collective dealerships share more backend systems while maintaining an appropriate level of separation. In short term, this approach has lead to some immediate cost savings and functional improvements. In long term, this approach will help Bill Jacobs Joliet & Plainfield maintain their leadership among other area dealerships.
