Case Study
Reducing Unnecessary IT Spending to Shift Investments to Strategic Initiatives
Introduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD), is pivotal in the national effort to protect human health and the environment. The EPA relies heavily on robust IT support to facilitate its expansive research and policy initiatives. However, the efficiency of ORD’s IT services is crucial, given the agency’s broad mandate and the complex, data-intensive nature of its work. Maintaining high service levels while managing costs is an ongoing challenge that ORD needed to address through strategic IT improvements.
The Challenge
ORD faced several substantial challenges with its IT infrastructure that necessitated a comprehensive review and restructuring:
Decentralized IT Operations: ORD’s IT operations were highly decentralized across various locations, each with its own IT management protocols and systems. This fragmentation led to inconsistencies in IT service quality and difficulties in managing operations efficiently.
High IT Costs: The diverse and uncoordinated IT landscape resulted in inflated costs due to duplicated efforts, underutilized resources, and inefficient IT procurement practices.
Service Level Inconsistencies: With different IT systems and standards across locations, ORD struggled to maintain consistent service levels, impacting the overall effectiveness of its research and administrative functions.
Inadequate IT Governance: The existing IT governance structure was not equipped to oversee the dispersed IT assets effectively, leading to a lack of clear accountability and suboptimal allocation of IT investments.
To address these challenges, ORD required a savings approach that not only streamlined IT operations and reduced costs but also aligned IT services more closely with its strategic objectives. This involved redefining IT governance, consolidating IT services, and enhancing IT infrastructure to support more efficient research and development activities.
The Solution
To address ORD’s requirements, Northramp personnel engaged in a systematic review of ORD’s IT operations and spending, focusing on several key areas to drive efficiency and cost savings:
Comprehensive IT Audit and Analysis
Northramp began by conducting an exhaustive evaluation of the existing IT infrastructure, identifying all assets, services, and spending patterns. This assessment highlighted areas of redundancy, underutilization, and opportunities for cost savings. Additionally, Northramp engaged with IT staff and key stakeholders across various departments helped gather insights into the challenges and expectations from its IT services.
Strategic Planning and Roadmap Development
Northramp developed a strategy for consolidating IT operations across multiple locations into a centralized management structure. This included datacenter consolidation, unified communications platforms, and centralized data management systems. Northramp also created detailed plans to reduce IT spending through better procurement practices, renegotiation of existing contracts, and leveraging economies of scale.
Implementation of Best Practices and Technology Upgrades
Northramp recommended standardized platforms and tools to ensure consistency across all ORD locations, reducing training costs and improving interoperability. Northramp also defined a new governance framework to improve decision-making, enhance transparency, and align IT initiatives with ORD’s strategic goals.
Change Management and Staff Training
Northramp provided support to manage the transition, addressing cultural resistance to change through comprehensive communication and engagement strategies. Northramp also developed and conducted training sessions to familiarize the staff with new approaches and processes, helping deliver a smoother transition and more immediate adoption of new practices.
Ongoing Support and Evaluation
Post-implementation support structures were also established by Northramp to ensure the continued effectiveness of IT services. Additionally, regular reviews and audits were scheduled to monitor the performance of the new approaches, allowing for ongoing adjustments and improvements.
Outcomes
Northramp’s strategic evaluation of ORD’s IT operations and its implementation of cost savings opportunities delivered significant benefits to the agency including:
Cost Efficiency: The consolidation and standardization of IT services led to significant reductions in IT spending, estimated at 10%-20% of total IT costs.
Improved Service Quality: Centralization improved the consistency and reliability of IT services across all ORD locations, enhancing the overall productivity of the staff.
Strategic Alignment: The new IT framework better supported ORD’s mission, enabling more effective research and faster response to environmental issues.
Enhanced IT Governance: The establishment of a robust IT governance model ensured that IT strategies were closely aligned with business goals and adaptable to future changes.
The collaboration with Northramp allowed ORD to achieve a transformative upgrade in its IT operations, aligning technology services with strategic objectives, reducing costs, and improving service delivery.