Danish IT Banking Services Company Achieves Highly ...



|Overview | | |“To me, the Office Project Server solution means having a safety net during the course of the |

|Country or Region: Denmark | | |project. It keeps the project together and minimizes the risk of going over budget.” |

|Industry: Professional services | | |Kenneth Schorring, Project Manager for SDC and IPTeams Consultant |

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|Customer Profile | | | |

|Skandinavisk Data Center (SDC), headquartered| | | |

|in Copenhagen, manages IT operations and | | | |

|develops IT systems used in the financial | | | |

|sector. The business employs 280 employees. | | | |

| | | | |

|Business Situation | | | |

|SDC needed to move the IT operations and | | | |

|development of a customer to SDC, a process | | | |

|that was expected to take 18 months. Because | | | |

|the job was a fixed-price contract, adhering | | | |

|to the schedule was critical. | | | |

| | | | |

|Solution | | | |

|SDC is using a solution based on Microsoft® | | | |

|Office Project Server 2007 and Microsoft | | | |

|Office Project Professional 2007 to help it | | | |

|track the multiple sub-projects and | | | |

|deliverables assigned for the project. | | | |

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| | | | |

|Benefits | | | |

|Provides effective project management | | | |

|Simplifies communication and tracking | | | |

|Offers easy reporting | | | |

|Supports forecasting | | | |

| | | |Scandinavisk Data Center (SDC, formerly SDC Udvikling) is a Danish company that develops IT systems |

| | | |for financial services firms. In 2006, it committed to move the operations and development of a |

| | | |Swedish IT services company to SDC. The project was expected to take 270 employees up to 200,000 work|

| | | |hours to complete. The project was contracted at a fixed price, so it was essential for SDC to manage|

| | | |the processes, time, and expenditures at every phase and analyze its performance. SDC deployed a |

| | | |solution based on Microsoft® Office Project Server 2007, Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007, |

| | | |and Microsoft Office Project Web Access technology. With this software, SDC employees can smoothly |

| | | |track multiple sub-projects; provide easy Web-based access to project information for team |

| | | |communication, collaboration, and tracking; efficiently report to management; and plan for future |

| | | |resources. |

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| | | |[pic] |

| | | | |

Situation

Scandinavisk Data Center (SDC, formerly SDC Udvikling) is a system development company that develops IT systems for the financial sector. The company has a customer base consisting of more than 150 banks and savings institutions and employs 280 people. The group also includes SDC Drift, which is responsible for the operations of customer systems. SDC reported a turnover—revenue—of 657 million Danish kroner, approximately U.S.$118 million, in 2005.

In 2006, Swedish Cerdo Bankpartner, which offers administrative services and IT expertise for banks and other businesses, wanted to move its operations and development from its IT systems to SDC. Cerdo Bankpartner is a joint operation of two Swedish banks, Sparbanken Finn and Sparbanken Gripen, which together have 200,000 customers and 500 employees in 31 branches.

The project was expected to take 270 employees about 18 months to convert the Cerdo Bankpartner data. SDC accepted a fixed-price contract. “With a fixed price, it is extremely important to adhere to the schedule and see that the project proceeds according to plan,” says Kenneth Schorring, Project Manager for SDC and a consultant from the firm IPTeams. “We have to retain an overview of all estimates and make sure that our employees manage their time.”

To stay on track, SDC also needed to make forecasts to anticipate the end date for the project and continually evaluate the rate of progress.

Solution

Based on a previous successful project using Microsoft® Office Project Server to convert data from 80 Norwegian banks, SDC chose to manage the new project with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007. “The previous project was even bigger, at about 400,000 work hours, and we had a great experience managing it in Project Server,” says Schorring.

The project participants are in both Denmark and Sweden, and are assigned to different roles and numerous sub-projects. The project, which began in May 2006, is scheduled to be completed in November 2007.

The project-management solution includes not only Office Project Server 2007, but also Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 and the Microsoft Office Project Web Access technology. SDC uses the software to support various project roles, keep track of processes, and manage time, expenditures, and deliverables.

Each participant has his or her own personal task list and records time expenditures. Time is tracked through Office Project Professional 2007, and Office Project Web Access provides role-based access to project information. Teams can share information and collaborate with a centralized place online for project information. Office Project Server 2007 stores project information in a centralized database.

SDC used the tools in Office Project Professional 2007 and Office Project Server 2007 to create an earned value management (EVM) reporting solution, which helps SDC with resource planning. Work for the project is planned, budgeted, and scheduled in time increments to be tracked and assessed, which the reporting supports.

The EVM reporting provided by the solution can generate graphs, which instantly provide a visual overview of the entire project status. This enables the project managers to keep track of the status of their own projects.

Benefits

SDC is finding its solution based on Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 is helping it effectively manage the 200,000-hour project as well as to provide an easy means for project team members to keep in touch, to streamline reporting, and to forecast for future needs.

Provides Effective Project Management

“Without Office Project Server 2007, it would have been time-consuming to maintain an overview of all the different sub-projects,” says Schorring. “A number of sub-projects are complex, because some elements of them have been outsourced. With Office Project Server 2007, however, we remain in control of the entire project with specific milestones that all of the various parties have to respect."

But keeping track of sub-projects is only one of the advantages of the solution, according to Schorring. "To me, the Office Project Server solution means having a safety net during the course of the project. It keeps the project together and minimizes the risk of going over budget. It supports an overall course of action, because it provides project managers with the ability to focus on forward-looking visions and plans, while allowing them to retain close, operational control right down to a weekly level.”

Simplifies Communication and Tracking

Although participants are geographically scattered with multiple assignments and roles, the Office Project Server solution provides a means for collaboration and communication that delivers knowledge about the project and the work to date, which keeps everyone informed.

The system highlights delays in deliverables. “Next to each milestone [when viewed online], there is an icon which is red, yellow, or green depending on the progress," says Schorring.

An overview of all aspects of the project is essential for a top manager, such as Schorring, who needs to make sure that all the sub-projects and deliverables are completed within the allocated timeline. Office Project Server 2007 makes it possible for him to receive an overview of the entire project portfolio and also see the amount of resources that will be needed in the future.

Offers Easy Reporting

The Office Project Server–based solution makes reporting easier for everyone, from individual project managers to senior management. “The project managers have a tool that can help them manage their tasks and plan the shape of future resource needs,” says Schorring. “At the same time, they have much more control over reporting, and that makes a difference system-wide.”

For SDC, the solution helps considerably in reporting across all levels, since reports can be viewed in real time. “Management has no time for complex calculations,” Schorring says. “With EVM, a single graph reveals basically everything about the project, and the information can be comprehended quickly. It is quite easy to use, and for the project managers, the graph works as an indication of whether they are heading down a wrong track—or have simply not been good enough at recording time spent.”

Supports Forecasting

SDC also uses the new solution for forecasting. “It provides us with a fantastic overview, and we keep getting better at estimating future resource expenditures,” says Schorring.

With the solution, resource owners get an overview of the load and capacity and how the figures compare to scheduling, which will also help with future projects. The outcome is that as SDC gets closer to completing the project for Cerdo Bankpartner, it not only is getting the information it needs for that project, but has found the tools to help it tackle other large projects in the future.

Microsoft Office System

The Microsoft Office system is the business world’s chosen environment for information work, providing the programs, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to:

office

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“The project managers have a tool that can help them manage their tasks and plan the shape of future resources. At the same time, they have much more control over reporting.”

Kenneth Schorring, Project Manager for SDC and IP Teams Consultant

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“The solution provides us with a fantastic overview, and we keep getting better at estimating future resource expenditures.”

Kenneth Schorring, Project Manager for SDC and IPTeams Consultant

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| |Software and Services

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office Professional 2007

Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 |Technologies

Microsoft Office Project Web Access | |

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published August 2007 | | |

For More Information

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For more information about Scandinavisk Data Center products and services, visit the Web site at:

sdc.dk

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