The Client
A leading Canadian utility serving nearly a million customers across electricity and natural gas, the client was committed to navigating the evolving energy landscape while ensuring reliable, clean energy at optimal costs. Recognizing the limitations of their on-premises, database-centric operating model, the utility sought a scalable, cloud-based solution to enhance transparency, streamline decision-making, and optimize IT costs.
The Challenge
The client grappled with a complex IT environment characterized by an on-premises, database-based system of records. This hindered strategic planning, obscured dependencies, and led to inefficiencies in shared services and IT systems. The need for a holistic view of its application and technology portfolio, coupled with the ability to prioritize critical data for migration to a cloud-based solution, emerged as, the client’s key challenges.
The Solution
Persistent collaborated with Software AG to implement Alfabet, its robust portfolio management and enterprise architecture solution. Leveraging the Alfabet Accelerator, the engagement spanned ten months, divided into two phases. Phase one focused on migrating data from the legacy database to the cloud-based Alfabet Accelerator instance, establishing a baseline configuration, and ensuring data accessibility. Phase two involved intensive knowledge transfer, best practice implementation, and tailoring the solution to the client’s specific needs.
Persistent provided hands-on guidance and coaching to empower the client to independently manage and optimize its IT portfolio.
The Outcomes
By partnering with Persistent and adopting Alfabet, the company is transforming its IT Operations for better business outcomes. Key quantifiable outcomes include:
- Application Optimization: With a target of reducing applications from 450+ to 400 within two years, the client is streamlining its IT landscape and improving efficiency.
- Accelerated Cloud Migration: By analyzing applications for cloud readiness, the utility aims to migrate 20% of its applications to the cloud within three years, enhancing agility and cost-effectiveness.
- Enhanced Technology Governance: Managing 600+ technologies and components through Alfabet enables the client to optimize vendor relationships and mitigate risks.
- Improved Decision Making: By centralizing and analyzing enterprise demands (50 high priority and 150 in total) within Alfabet, the utility can prioritize initiatives and allocate resources effectively.
- Cost Reduction: By consolidating and optimizing IT resources, the client is expected to significantly decrease IT maintenance costs.
- Increased Business Agility: A unified view of the IT landscape empowers faster decision-making, accelerated time-to-market for new initiatives, and improved responsiveness to changing business needs.
- Mitigated Risks: By identifying and addressing technology dependencies and vulnerabilities, the client can reduce the risk of system failures and data breaches.
