How we helped SunGard recoup thousands in lost billing
“Wallchart® gives us an exceptionally clear view of personnel and days
available. We can also monitor the number of hours of testing completed,
something we’d previously had no way of tracking.”
– Paul Davey, Customer Services Support
Consultant, SunGard.
When disaster strikes, businesses need reliable recovery
plans and back-up equipment within hours, even seconds. It’s SunGard’s job to
provide this kind of business continuity to a global network of clients from
recovery centres around the world.
But to ensure their clients can operate uninterrupted in
any eventuality, there must be no doubt of the efficacy of the disaster recovery
systems in place. Regular testing is a must. For some clients, that might mean
an annual test: for others, it could mean as many as 20 tests a year. These are
often scheduled years in advance and built into a company’s overall business
strategy.
For SunGard, this means allocating technical equipment,
test sites and specialist staff to meet these long-term demands. As the
company’s reputation and client base grew, its system of wall planners and
computer-based calendars became impractical and unsustainable.
Customer Services Support Consultant Paul Davey was on hand
when the company implemented Wallchart® in a limited way in 1997. He notes: “Life
was suddenly much easier; we had a clearer view of all our operations”. But the
real test came in late 2001 after concern about terrorism left the company with
a backlog of scheduled testing. “Upgrading to a customised solution enabled us
to focus on our specific business needs,” comments Paul. “Within three months of
implementation, we’d reduced that backlog to zero.”
And Wallchart® has provided financial benefits too. The new
system allows SunGard to better manage its customer billing by catching last
minute cancellations that often used to slip through the net. This has enabled
Wallchart® to recoup £100,000 of missed billing in the first year alone.
