Healthcare Organization #4

A leading healthcare insurance company needed to upgrade a timeworn information system. This system had largely been replaced throughout the business community by a more robust application. Our client chose not to replace its system owing to much higher costs and the major operational disruptions that such a migration would create for both its staff and its clients. Since the enterprise-wide system had long since waned in popular use, there was a shrinking pool of specialists with the requisite expertise to take on this type of upgrade.

Our client called on a number of IT outsourcing partners to retain three project leaders to install the upgrade within a tightly defined timeframe. Gardner responded promptly, dispatching a number of local, qualified consultants, one of whom was retained. The other two individuals were selected from other consulting firms.

On the day of the project kickoff, only the Gardner consultant walked in the door. The other two had backed out at the final hour, leaving our client with a likely three-week delay of a four-month project. 

THE SOLUTION

We quickly located two experienced consultants who could ramp up fast enough to recover the lost time and avoid the steep expense associated with the anticipated project delay. This initiative is now projected to wrap up well within the prescribed budget and schedule.

THE IMPACT

Once complete, this project will serve as the essential foundation for a yearlong series of other technical upgrade efforts.

The successful and timely completion of this first initiative will set in motion multiple IT enterprise ventures slated for 2009. This includes the development of an Enterprise Data Warehouse and several proprietary application upgrades that will provide our client with deeper access to vital intelligence about their customers that should result in far better business decisions.

”Given the potentially disastrous fallout from the other consulting firms that didn’t come through for us, I will only use Gardner for my IT contracting needs from here on in. They are not only experts, reliable, and responsive, but their consultants continue to outperform on their promise.” – Applications Manager

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