Description of client’s business
The client was a global company made up of several disparate financial businesses, some recently acquired and others slated to be sold in the short term. Headquarters locations were maintained on two continents.
The client’s challenge
A new CIO (selected from within the company) believed there were opportunities for synergies and cost reductions associated with the recent acquisitions, but lacked the tools to get a handle on IT costs, which were spread across multiple business units in multiple locations. To make progress in achieving any cost reductions, he needed to understand the current IT asset base and where money was being spent.
Ultimately, the CIO sought assistance from PricewaterhouseCoopers focusing on
the current desktop environment supporting multiple thousands
of users in the corporate headquarters and North American
business unit locations.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers' solution
PricewaterhouseCoopers collected data about the current desktop environment, focusing on current support and service costs (labour), as well as procurement and maintenance costs for hardware and software, including PCs, related server and network components. The Firm evaluated the data in the context of the client's Corporate and North American business units and industry norms.
