“We believe that Mobility is the heart of a digitized business world.“ Our mobile products and services connect the business of multinational clients on a global scale – Under this motto, TC International, a division of T-Systems International GmbH, offers internationally operating companies a broad spectrum of services in the areas of mobile communications and mobility. Therefore, the company relies on the mobile network of the Deutsche Telekom Group in 13 European countries, the United Kingdom, the USA and cooperation with international partners: for example as part of the FreeMove Alliance, where T-Systems International, France Telecom Orange, Telia Company and Telecom Italia joined together.
Overall, TC International provides its customers, including major international companies such as tire manufacturer Continental, an Adidas sports equipment supplier, the law firm Clifford Chance and the software maker Microsoft, with mobile coverage to more than 130 regions worldwide. For SLA management, the company has been relying on a system based on the IT Business Management Suite (ITBM) from Apptio Digital Fuel since 2014. As a design and implementation partner, TC International selected the Munich-based system integrator amasol.
T-Systems International GmbH, TC International
SLA management, SLA reporting and provider control for multi-national mobile phone contracts
To a great extent monthly dispatch of manually composed SLA reports
Apptio Digital Fuel ITBM for SLA management and reporting with an interface for providers and services, automated dispatch of reports and deployment of dashboards for customers
The services that T-Systems TC International offers its customers go far beyond the mere use of mobile networks. Dr. Frank Seyl, an employee of Sales & Service TC International, explains: ”Our service portfolio ranges from pure mobile access through mobile business services such as mobile device management, SLA management and out tasking services to expert services.“ Along with his department, Dr. Seyl is responsible for ensuring that the products offered are supported by the relevant processes and standards and, moreover, that customers can regularly be provided with proof of the quality and availability of the services booked. He adds: ”T-Systems TC International is known for providing high quality services at a fair price, so it is of course of particular importance to be able to demonstrate this quality.“
T-Systems TC International even offers its customers a dedicated SLA management service under the brand name „International Service Level Agreements (ISLA)“. It defines customer-specific key performance indicators (KPIs) such as network quality, reaction and processing time, and also the percentage of successfully delivered SMS and e-mails as well as call acceptance and termination. These KPIs are measured and regularly documented. The importance of these KPIs becomes clear when you consider that mobile communications today mean much more than just talking on the phone or smartphone. Dr. Seyl explains this with the following practical example: ”Today, mobile networks are increasingly used in the machine-to-machine sector (M2M), the automated exchange of information between terminals such as machines, vending machines, vehicles or containers. A delay, or even a short-term failure in the network can lead to considerable losses within a very short time if, for example, M2M communication in the production or logistics of a TC International customer is impaired or even interrupted.“ So one of the most important requirements for a successful customer relationship at T-Systems TC International is the proof of performance and proof of compliance with the Service Level Agreements concluded with the customer.
For this reason, it has been one of the central tasks of Dr. Seyl and his team to provide all customers with regular, meaning quarterly, informative reports on the quality and Service Level Management – More than just „colorful pictures“ availability of the services provided and the achievement of agreed KPIs. In day-to-day practice, this has meant gathering a wealth of data and numbers from a variety of unrelated monitoring and reporting tools, which were then consolidated into a centralized Excel spreadsheet and transformed into a report. The company‘s international focus and cooperation with different providers in different countries, which in turn use different reporting techniques, made consolidation even more difficult. ”The work was more reminiscent of a Sisyphean task than of SLA management,“ Dr. Seyl describes the previous approach.
With the aim of making this important task more efficient and being able to provide customers with the results online via a web front-end, TC International looked for a suitable solution and decided at the beginning of 2013 for the launch of the Apptio Digital Fuel IT Business Management Suite (ITBM).
The SLA and Service Relationship Management solution enables both internal and external service providers to efficiently manage their business and contract obligations. It thus provides the necessary transparency to ensure the success of service relationships with customers as well as with suppliers. With the graphic development environment, it is possible to create so-called Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and individual reports quickly and intuitively. In addition, the specification of data sources and their mapping can be easily realized on the relevant contract information.
ITBM reporting takes place in different ways, based on user roles and permissions. Through various drill-down functions, more detailed information can then be retrieved. Aside from purely technical information on SLA compliance, the reports also provide information on the bonus/ malus system. Trend analyzes are also possible.
The results of the service fulfillment can be presented, customer oriented, in monthly verifications of the service levels, to enable a goal-oriented discussion with the customer based on cause and effect with the goal of a common service optimization.
Dr. Seyl explains the decision for ITBM: ”We looked intently at a variety of solutions but found that Apptio Digital Fuel‘s solution had a unique selling proposition compared to conventional business intelligence and data mining tools, as it currently is the only solution on the market which covers the complete process of SLA management. The respective contract situation with the customer is also taken into account.“ Another decisive criterion for the choice of ITBM was supplier management. “Due to our extensive partner network, we face the challenge that we obtain certain services from one or more partners with an appropriate SLA, which we then pass on to our customers while also concluding an SLA. However, the agreements in the two SLAs must be reconciled in such a way that there is no „breach“ in the contractual relationship of supplier – T-Systems TC International – customer,“ says Dr. Seyl.
Already at the beginning of the project it became evident how important it was to get amasol as a design and implementation partner. ”Anyone who thinks they receive a ‚finished‘ software similar to an office solution with Apptio Digital Fuel ITBM is wrong. The solution merely provides a kind of framework that has to be parametrized and tailored to the specific company and customer requirements,“ explains Dr. Seyl.
”Shortly after the project started, we realized that we had found the right partner with amasol. When working with the solution a lot of the logic and concepts of the solution became clear over time. The amasol team actively supported us with their expertise and practical experience, which included not only the implementation of the solution, but also the development and implementation of Business Service Management projects. All employees impressed with their high level of customer orientation and expertise, which meant that we were able to take the system into operative business as early as mid-September. The operational handover itself was also perfectly prepared and carried out by amasol.“ It then did not matter that the transfer took place on a Friday the 13th.
By now, the Apptio Digital Fuel ITBM Suite has proven itself in practical use. Dr. Frank Seyl draws a positive conclusion: ”We were able to fully achieve our goals of increasing efficiency and providing a web-based reporting portal for our customers with Apptio Digital Fuel ITBM. Not least, this is the merit of amasol as a competent and solution-oriented project partner. Thanks to amasol, we can now even offer our customers and employees the opportunity to access the reporting tool via mobile devices such as an iPad. We are happy to have a partner such as amasol that we can rely on for future adaptations to the solution.“
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