Debenhams

PTS was engaged to support the Client with the development of a new strategy including a Financial Model that would enable the Client to successfully migrate from its current, primary Data Centre and ensure continued support of its legacy systems and platforms. The new Data Centre would also need to provide increased capacity for new business systems, which would run in sync with the transformation of the Client’s business services, enhance service performance and swiftly move towards 24-hour operations. As the Client would be making a significant investment with regards its Data Centre operations and therefore, it was imperative that the Client made the right decision.

• Design and operation of a project structure collaborating with the Client’s Technology team ad stakeholders
• A current state analysis of the Client’s current data centre
• Development of a business case with an overview of service costs
• Comprehensive cost analysis of options available

Project Design and Structure

PTS designed and operated a project structure collaborating with the Client’s Technology team and stakeholders. PTS deployed a cross-discipline team of three practitioners from PTS’ Technology Innovation, Data Centre and Enterprise Programme Management practices. The PTS team worked alongside the Client’s Transformation Programme Project Manager and a mix of Technical Specialists to achieve the end goal.

Data Centre Service Options

PTS performed a current state analysis of the Client’s current Data Centre, reviewing all aspects of the facility including power, space, cooling. The analysis identified opportunities for improvement regarding the Client’s IT operations and business agility, the Data Centre roadmap defining key decisions and activities required to deliver the necessary change. The document addressed the risks and constraints that could potentially prevent the Client from reaching its desired state and outlined how these risks could be mitigated.

The Business Case

PTS supported the Client with the development of a business case to be presented to the Client’s Board. The business case provided a detailed overview of all Data Centre service costs from space to compute operating systems. The document also included costs associated with the Client’s specific requirements regarding a range of Data Centre options. Leveraging the expertise of the Data Centre market, PTS identified the suppliers most capable of meeting the Client’s specific Data Centre requirements to deliver the detail required for the financial model.

PTS acted as independent advisors to the Client providing objective advice supported by detailed financial models to accelerate and support decision-making. The client’s Board was suitably informed to make a confident decision regarding the next steps. The Client confirmed that PTS had ‘bought time’, and was able to clearly and confidently make large-scale and critical business decisions within the cost and time constraints and plan for the next stage of the programme as a result of the work PTS had undertaken.