A landmark, multi-faceted outsourcing agreement has freed one of South Africa`s largest retailers to focus on its core business, confident that the management of its network lies in skilled hands.
Woolworths has entered into a co-sourcing contract with Dimension Data. Subsidiaries Dimension Data Networking and DNS Networking will operate, manage and support the Woolworths network, which links more than 180 stores in South Africa and Namibia with the Cape Town head office.
The company`s networking infrastructure is complex. A number of different gateways have to be maintained and managed, requiring a number of specific skill sets. This complexity is compounded by disparate management systems which are almost impossible to integrate.
In addition, the company was dependent on multiple vendors, and had no cohesive approach to the maintenance of service levels.
"We needed strategic short term and long term solutions to these problems, and concluded that our concerns would be best addressed via some form of meaningful partnership with a technology partner," says Richard Inskip, IT director of Woolworths.
The deal that Woolworths accepted was structured by Dimension Data Networking Western Cape on behalf of Dimension Data Communications.
"We chose to partner with Dimension Data because its proposal went far beyond a mere management and upgrade approach, and incorporated the evolution of our network as a key business enabler," says Inskip. "The companies have a vast array of skilled resources to design, implement and manage complex networks."
The benefits of the agreement to Woolworths are many. Staff retention is now the responsibility of Dimension Data, and Woolworths has a single point of contact for network problem management and escalation.
All Woolworths` networking contracts with other IT vendors will be maintained through Dimension Data, who will provide first-line support and will also be responsible for liaising with Telkom, and co-ordinating and supplying all inter-networking equipment at Woolworths` stores. Woolworths` LAN, WAN and core environments will be monitored around the clock, and all equipment maintained.
As part of the short-term solution, Woolworths` former network operations staff have moved into the Dimension Data organisation, and a Dimension Data/Woolworths on-site co-sourced operations team has been formed. The network is managed from Dimension Data Western Cape`s Managed Online Networks (MON) Operations Centre, working in tandem with the DNS Sandton-based Remote Management Centre.
"The staff have shown a dynamic new approach to their work, and this enthusiasm is evident in service levels that have increased to 98 percent," says Victor Govinden, Dimension Data contract manager at Woolworths. "Dimension Data has benefited not only from the contract, but from the opportunity it creates for new staff to develop in a real network operations environment."
The agreement covers a number of networking areas, including software, management and operations.
The software area includes services such as pre-configuration, on-site configuration and optimisation of all new inter-networking equipment. All software on routers, core switches and LAN switches will be maintained and supported, and inventories and release levels will be maintained. Bugs and support issues will be addressed and escalated to the necessary vendors. Planning, testing and implementation of new versions of software will be performed regularly, or on an as-needed basis. Software support also includes some host operational support.
In the management area, links will be established between Dimension Data`s MON operation, the DNS RMC Centre and Woolworths. There will be a migration of onsite management software to Dimension Data and DNS management centres. The Woolworths WAN and Campus networks will then be monitored and managed remotely on a 24x7x365 basis. On-site personnel will perform basic first line support functions. In addition, full audits and reporting systems will be available.
To ensure all the required operational functions, including resource planning and deployment, are provided, operations will be handled by a manager and network operations team with the necessary skills.
Other highly skilled resources will be available on an as-needed basis in an advisory capacity to the on-site staff and Woolworths project teams for strategic input in terms of network design and architecture. Additional Dimension Data and DNS on-site engineers will be deployed as the workload warrants.
According to Alan Cawood, group managing director of Dimension Data`s South African networking operations, in the longer term the strategic partnership will enable Woolworths to work with Dimension Data Networking and DNS Networking to explore new innovative technologies to meet the organisation`s business-driven requirements.
"Effective network management can no longer rely on a `repair when broken` approach," he says. "It is about applying process and technology to dynamically leverage high-level resources within an organisation.
"Our objective is to go well beyond basic functionality to address key issues such as operating cost containment and the enhancement of service levels to application users. Working in partnership with Woolworths, we will be looking to extend the company`s functional infrastructure to focus on `strategic intent` and in so doing, become an integral part of Woolworths` revenue generating stream."
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