Arrk Group drives application support and management success for RAC
The Royal Automobile Club (RAC) were in desperate need of a cost effective, scalable application support and management (ASM) capability with the added ability to successfully shape and deliver future IT project across the full set of RAC services and supporting applications.
Customer
The Royal Automobile Club (RAC) is one of the UK’s most progressive motoring organisations, providing services for both private and business motorists. Ever since its foundation in 1897, the RAC has been consistently at the forefront of developing motoring services – from introducing uniformed patrols in 1901 and roadside emergency telephone boxes in 1912 right through to the present day when they boast what they believe to be the world’s most advanced computer systems to deal with calls for roadside assistance.
One of UK's most progressive motoring organisations
Founded in 1897
One of the world's most advanced computer systems dealing with roadside assistance
Situation
The drive for increased customer satisfaction and cross-selling throughout RAC’s services led to a major transformation project that included the implementation of Siebel (CRM), Agresso (Finance) and an Oracle data warehouse. Due to limited capability within the internal IT team, RAC approached Arrk Group to support and manage their core application.
A drive to increase customer satisfaction and cross-selling
Desire to introduce a CRM and a Finance system, as well as, an Oracle data warehouse
In need of a major transformation project
Limited capacity within the internal IT team
“Above all, Arrk’s commitment to RAC’s success via open, responsive and sensitive handling of the transaction confirmed our correct choice of IT partner. Transition went to plan and our RAC team expanded to include some outstanding and technically excellent Arrk colleagues and a best practice set of ASM processes that together set a new benchmark for quality of IT service at RAC and even taught me a thing or two”
RAC Business Systems Director
Solution
RAC implemented a joint RAC-Arrk IT team, with ASM being performed by Arrk Group’s off-shore development centre in Mumbai.
The radical transformation required a significant number of RAC IT staff redundancies, removal of IT contractors, and needed a sensitive and carefully orchestrated knowledge transfer activity to Arrk Indian staff brought on-shore and then transferred bank to Mumbai in waves.
The newly implemented ASM services followed Arrk Group’s best practice, ITIL aligned processes were put into effect to ensure a proactive, professional, responsive service was delivered in-line with agreed Service Level Agreements, demonstrated through regular reports and service reviews.
A joint RAC-Arrk IT team was implemented
Arrk's off-shore development centre in Mumbai performed ASM
ITIL aligned processes ensure proactive, professional and responsive service
Project was delivered in-line with agreed SLAs
Outcomes
The RAC-Arrk Group partnership successfully reduced IT costs by 30%, enabling redirection into value-adding enhancements and business projects that brought additional benefits to RAC quicker than ever before. Arrk Group’s ASM service drove up RAC user satisfaction due to faster, quality issue resolution and a higher throughput of critical enhancements. Arrk’s rapid knowledge take-on enabled removal of risk and cost associated with the previous contract staff.
All-in-all this led to a vastly improved RAC IT and business department relationship which encouraged RAC to extend Arrk Group into project delivery.
IT cost reductions of 30%
RAC system user satisfaction increase
Business and IT risk reduction
Vastly improved RAC IT and business department relationship
