Application Management for a Leading European Business and Agri-business Bank

Original Solutions, now a Perot Systems company, was engaged by a leading European Business and Agri-Business bank in to provide an application management service for a large number of applications across a broad variety of hardware and software platforms.

These applications encompassed our client’s entire operational and informational structure, and varied from real-time branch systems to background batch systems updating large databases, through to management information systems.

As these systems varied in business area and age, there was also a highly varied technical architecture defined across the Bank's network. The majority of the operational systems ran on an MVS Mainframe, using a variety of programming languages and Database architectures, while the support applications varied from a PeopleSoft application on a Unix box to Management Information Systems on Oracle Express databases on NT. The challenge for Perot Systems was to provide a complete Application Management service across these disparate areas.

This application technology framework was deployed across our client’s user base as outlined in the following diagram. Perot Systems accessed the network directly from its Limerick facility, gaining access to all applications and platforms.

Despite the multiplicity in applications, technologies and user groups, all of the application management was provided by an offsite team located in , with the exception of an Account Manager, who remained onsite, in order to provide face-to-face interaction with our client’s management as required.

Perot Systems was selected to provide a remote around the clock service, whereby any batch jobs deemed critical by our client were supported by Perot Systems associates. Due to their ability to directly impact our client’s daily business operations, the urgency of meeting the service level objectives and avoiding downtime was of critical importance.

 Perot Systems was also charged with the day-to-day support of the real time branch systems and all other informational systems. This support included addressing any issues users encountered in their interaction with the systems, such as issues with creating customer accounts, balancing tills at end of day, setting up loan accounts, viewing online history for customers, getting information from the MIS systems etc. Perot Systems also supported the EFT system whereby financial transactions were passed to and received from a clearing house.

On a day-to-day basis, the largest part of our service to our client was maintenance and enhancement tasks on the existing systems both operational and informational. It involved both modifying existing code on any given application to enhance the existing system, and also creating entirely new programs and utilities to meet day-to-day customer requests.

One of the major areas of this service was analysis, design and program changes to incorporate new products being introduced to our client’s product suite into the existing systems in a seamless fashion. Another common task was to create, tailor, run and present data from ad-hoc reports to satisfy user requests for data that they were unable to gather from the online systems or from existing reports. Enhancements were also developed for SSIA handling and reporting, MIS expansion, TRS, etc. Another area where we were instrumental in meeting the needs of our client was in compliance to various Government Tribunals and Revenue directives. Perot Systems provided all data from across the various applications to allow our client comply with these statutory bodies.

This engagement between our client and us has been an unqualified success from both parties point of view. Due to the structured approach taken, Perot Systems was able to meet all goals in providing an application management service to our client. All production issues were dealt with professionally in a quality-controlled, expedient manner and our client’s daily operations were allowed to proceed unhindered.

Any and all requests for information, from bank users, customers or Government bodies were satisfied well within accepted timeframes, and all new products were successfully integrated into the existing product suite. The confidence gained by our client’s project managers in the remote delivery model and the provision of a capable off-site support team freed up our client’s resources to apply themselves to Business issues, in the knowledge that all operational needs were being satisfied fully by the Perot Systems team. Excellent communication lines from Perot Systems staff directly to our client’s project managers, and from the Perot Systems Account Manager to our client’s management ensured that all issues and informational needs were dealt with immediately.

As part of the Application management process, Perot Systems also deployed our own Issue, Defect and Change Request management utilities, as an aid to managing such a large volume of issues and requests across all applications and platforms. These utilities allowed for efficient communication between our client’s project managers and Perot Systems staff in the area of Urgent Defects, Ad-Hoc Requests (Issues) and new product introductions (Change Requests). These systems have a high degree of 'trackability' and also are highly automated in terms of notifying both Project Managers and Assignees of task requirements and/or responses. Reports are also generated from each of these utilities which help in assessing time spent on each application, and whether a fundamental problem exists leading to a high number of issues with a particular application.

"We have been delighted with the flexibility of the Perot Systems application management service. As well as knowing their technology, they also have substantial business expertise and processes in place which supported the enhancement and maintenance of our system applications in a predictable and transparent manner", said our client’s IT Director.