Below is an example of a recent MPLS consulting and sourcing project we worked on with one of our valued clients. It’s a great example of how we can save our clients time, money, and headaches.
The Challenge
The client is a nationwide industry leader in providing medical management services and solutions to the workers’ compensation, auto/liability, group health and disability markets. They operate several offices and call centers throughout the continental US.
The client’s portal allows for a secure on-line interface for their users to upload records and download completed reports. Security is critical due to HIPAA and PCI compliance policies and regulations where data must be kept secure.
Their existing technology solution included an MPLS network to connect all locations throughout the US, as well as a premise-based phone system for their voice needs.
One of the pain points with the current voice system was the poor call flow design that caused quality problems with both internal and external customers. The company also utilized data center space in Eastern Washington solely to provide a secondary PBX for disaster recovery efforts, which added to the monthly cost of their existing solution.
The client employs a lean approach with a strategic IT team located in their Seattle office. They were paying several thousand dollars a month to a 3rd party vendor to manage their distributed phone system. The 3rd party vendor was charging lofty annual fees for limited support, and with a limited number of people internally to manage the entire network, they decided it was time to get out of the phone system management business and switch to a provider managed system.
The client engaged with StrataCore to help determine the optimal solution for their MPLS and VoIP needs. They also wanted to understand the service provider landscape and ensure their costs for a new solution were going to be competitive with current market rates and in-line with their corporate objectives.
The key objectives were to:
- Significantly reduce current IT spend.
- Eliminate the need for a redundant phone system architecture, which accounted for high monthly costs to the business.
- Determine the best solution for evolving needs – could one provider support their need for a secure and reliable MPLS network and quality VoIP solution?
- Eliminate the need for internal day to day management of their MPLS and voice systems.
The Solution
StrataCore understood the client needed a secure, scalable, reliable and easy to administer MPLS network in addition to cloud-based voice services. An immediate opportunity for material cost savings was identified due to StrataCore’s in-depth knowledge of the service provider landscape.
The client was also paying a 3rd party vendor for on-going support services for a solution that wasn’t functioning properly. The poor performance of the existing voice network’s call flow architecture was to be “remedied” by engaging a 3rd party vendor with a $12K professional services fee. Moving to a cloud-based voice provider would eliminate events like these by making call flow engineering changes and then a support call rather than a professional services engagement. Additionally, the often expensive transition from premise-based PBX to hosted VoIP was mitigated by the winning provider’s free and otherwise low-cost telephony handset and installation offer.
Throughout the discovery and vetting process, StrataCore determined that by consolidating their voice and data networks into a single, converged private port MPLS solution they could save the client approximately $17,000 on their monthly voice and network spend. The solution brought their monthly IT spend down to market rates as well as allowed them to eliminate an ineffective 3rd party vendor’s expense.
StrataCore worked closely with the client’s IT team to ensure the final solution was able to meet their performance, growth, security, and cost objectives.
The Result
StrataCore successfully consolidated the client’s voice and data vendor base into one national provider capable of supporting the company’s current and future business needs.
By taking the lead on the price and contract negotiations, StrataCore was able to obtain a very competitively priced solution saving the client more than $750,000 over the initial term of the contract.
StrataCore also negotiated a staggered site by site roll-out schedule and upfront large account credit with the new provider to avoid a three month period where the client would have paid for the incumbent as well as the new provider’s services.
To get more information on how StrataCore can help increase agility and throughput, while decreasing costs for cloud services, colocation, or connectivity, contact an expert here.
