Case Studies
CIGNA
Smith Barney - Citigroup
J.P. Morgan Chase
PR Newswire
CIGNA
Background
Founded back in 1792, CIGNA Corporation is the nation’s oldest
stockholder-owned insurance company. It provides various medical and
health insurance plans to over nine million people in the United
States. Cigna has 27,000 employees in 28 countries, and operates
through 134 offices in 98 U.S. cities. In 2006, net income was $1.2
billion. The company claimed number 139 on the Fortune 500 list of
largest U.S. companies, and number 399 on the Fortune 500 Global
list.
The Challenge
Cigna was experiencing fax problems. Its decentralized
organizational structure had caused IT to lose control of the fax
messaging infrastructure. There were more than half a dozen
disparate systems being used throughout the company, which meant
that IT staff needed to be trained in all of them. Cigna lacked a
centralized management system to oversee fax activity on the
systems, so ultimately some were utilized beyond operational
thresholds while others were underused. Cigna was also involved in
several acquisitions at the time, all of which required further
strategic integration. Lastly, existing systems were no longer
compliant with the latest legislation and internal policies on
security, archiving, and disaster recovery. Cigna sought to
consolidate and update their faxing systems, as the company
desperately needed a unified messaging system to control all
messaging.
The Solution
Cigna and Graphnet began working in 2003 to connect the company's
various systems. Prior to that, Cigna users had been sending
messages from several in-house servers. Employees were using a
desktop fax system on a Microsoft Exchange platform to send and
receive faxes. Cigna also relied on numerous automated fax systems
to send insurance claims, patient history records, eligibility
requirements, and other documents, while using various applications.
In order to unify Cigna’s messaging into a single platform, Graphnet
developed interface emulation for the unique systems, based on
sample documents and information received from the company.
Application engineers wrote functional specifications for each
project and then submitted those to developers who created a unified
interface for all of the disparate applications. To ensure a
faultless changeover, users were first introduced to the new
interface through a test environment.
In addition, Cigna was concerned about the portability of their
local inbound fax numbers and requested that Graphnet transfer those
numbers over to its new system. In response, Graphnet contacted
Cigna’s local telephone provider to arrange an agreement in which
all of Cigna’s fax numbers would be ported to Graphnet’s telco
facilities. In the process of outsourcing Cigna’s fax systems,
Graphnet ported over 5,000 existing telephone numbers.
Cigna’s users were able to seamlessly transition to the new service,
and 90% of its applications were switched over within six months.
Graphnet system architects and programmers were able to phase out
all of Cigna’s existing systems with no disruption of service to end
users. The centralization of Cigna’s messaging platforms enabled
simplified backup and archiving strategies to ensure corporate and
regulatory compliance. In the final step, Graphnet added disaster
recovery to the new system by providing Cigna customers with
connectivity to Graphnet’s redundant sites in US & Europe.
Outcome and Benefits
IT now has a tight grip over the organization’s messaging
applications as all traffic is submitted to a centralized location.
Cigna was able to dismantle all existing in-house systems, eliminate
fax servers and lines, and reassign personnel to core business
projects instead of fax support. Cost savings were further realized
with Graphnet’s lower outbound traffic rates. New standard features
of Graphnet’s core messaging platform won over new users and ensured
that Cigna’s messaging system was in compliance with all current
regulations.
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Smith Barney -
Citigroup
Company Information:
Smith Barney, part of Citigroup Global Capital Markets Inc., is a
global, all-inclusive financial firm. Specializing in providing
brokerage, investment banking, and asset management services, the
company serves a full range of diverse clients. Operating in 638
offices around the world, Smith Barney has 13,008 Financial Advisors
servicing 8.9 million domestic clients. These accounts represent
$1.227 trillion in client assets for the firm worldwide.
Citigroup Inc., formed in 1998, is today’s leading financial
services company. With over 200 million customer accounts in more
than 100 countries, it is the largest company in the world.
According to Forbes Global 2000, in March 2007, Citigroup had total
assets of $2.02 trillion USD and employed some 327,000 staff
worldwide. The company’s history dates back to the founding of its
major business subsidiaries, including Citigroup in 1812, Bank
Handlowy in 1870, Smith Barney in 1873, Banamex in 1884, and Salomon
Brothers in 1910.
The Challenge:
Smith Barney was in dire need of a new messaging solution. Their IT
department had decided to outsource all messaging technologies, but
the company was dissatisfied since each department within the
company was using a different vendor. The combined costs of multiple
solutions actually made it harder for Smith Barney to realize the
benefits of outsourcing, decreasing company ROI. In addition, the
decentralization made it harder to access technical support, since
each department had to contact multiple vendors if issues arose with
the system.
Operating in locations worldwide, Smith Barney also needed a
transport system that could offer many local numbers in Asian
countries and that could support double-byte characters (Asian
language characters) for outbound messaging. Since their existing
vendors could not provide such services, Smith Barney began
searching for vendors that could offer a redundant and comprehensive
solution.
The Solution
Graphnet was able to provide Smith Barney with the ideal solution.
Our consultation team worked with our application developers to
design a custom service package called Global Desktop Fax (GDF).
This platform integrated methods of sending local and international
data on a single user’s PC. Graphnet met the client’s specific
requirements by offering support for double-byte characters, as well
as local numbers in worldwide locations. Exceeding expectations,
Graphnet then developed a custom billing interface for processing
chargebacks, along with integrated Web Services that allowed for
easier use of the client’s user management system.
The Outcome & Benefits
Smith Barney centralized their messaging platforms with the help of
Graphnet’s custom solutions. Using GDF, the company phased out some
of its existing vendors and began saving. The centralization made it
easier for intra-department communication and information transfer.
GDF allowed for high levels of customization, offering Smith Barney
unified submission formats, cover pages, branded notifications, and
other value-added features.
Using Graphnet’s enhanced billing interface, Smith Barney’s IT
department gained a valuable asset that allowed for a unified and
simplified pricing model system. The services integrated with the
client’s user management system increased automation. User accounts
are now easily created, deleted, updated, and synchronized everyday
without manual input. With comprehensive web enabled features, a
24/7 support center, and high-quality services, Graphnet empowered
Smith Barney to finally realize their desired ROI.
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J.P. Morgan Chase
Background
J.P. Morgan Chase is a global leader in the financial sector, as
well as one of the oldest financial service firms in the world. The
company specializes in investment banking, small business and
commercial banking, financial services, asset management and private
equity. As of March 2007, J.P. Morgan Chase falls third on the list
of the nation’s largest banking institutions, with assets of $1.4
trillion. The company also boasts the largest hedge fund in the
United States, with its $34 billion in assets. Although its
corporate headquarters are in New York, the firm has operations in
over 50 countries and employs over 170,000 people. JP Morgan serves
some of the most prominent corporate, government and institutional
clients, as well as millions of other consumers worldwide.
The Challenge
JP Morgan Chase was experiencing problems with their existing fax
system. The company had been encountering technical issues,
including system downtimes that were interfering with critical
business transactions. Furthermore, their existing fax vendor was
becoming unreliable, and the company wanted to switch to a stable
market leader. They were looking to Graphnet to replace their
existing undependable fax solution, but they also wanted to update
their messaging system with enhanced fax features such as real time
web-based tracking and reporting.
The Solution
Graphnet dedicated a total of five personnel for a three month
period to develop a custom interface based on JP Morgan Chase’s
legacy applications. Their case was especially complicated because
no documentation, source code, or development personnel existed for
the present system. In addition, JP Morgan Chase wanted to create an
interface to link to their legacy system without requiring the
company to disrupt their business by making any changes on their
system. To accomplish this, Graphnet “scoped” the lines of JP
Morgan’s infrastructure, capturing the raw data from their systems.
Graphnet’s application engineers then formalized a submission
interface format upon analysis of the data from JP Morgan’s legacy
applications. To ensure normal system operations throughout
development, a test bed system was deployed, which interfaced with
one of JP Morgan’s backup systems. Only after successful user
acceptance was the solution deployed to production.
Outcome and Benefits
JP Morgan now sends and receives faxes through Graphnet’s stable
environment. With a Unicom solution they also have a superior,
centralized help services portal that was previously unavailable
with the legacy system. For the first time since switching to
Graphnet’s faxing services, JP Morgan has experienced three stable
consecutive end-of-quarter periods. JP Morgan is so satisfied with
Graphnet’s services that they are now in discussions to switch over
to Graphnet’s email services.
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PR Newswire
Company Profile
PR Newswire is the global leader in news and information
distribution services for corporate communicators. The company
provides various services to tens of thousands of corporate,
government, association, labor, and non-profit customers worldwide.
Using PR Newswire, these organizations can reach critical audiences
(including the news media, the investment community, government
decision-makers, and the general public) with their
up-to-the-minute, full-text news developments.
Established in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in 11 countries and
routinely sends its customers' news to outlets in 135 countries and
in 40 languages. Utilizing the latest in communications technology,
PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters,
investors and individuals who seek breaking news from the source.
The Challenge
PR Newswire was facing multiple issues with its business processes.
All of its data, including files, distribution lists, images, and
the like, were hosted on separate systems. PRN’s in-house fax
architecture was antiquated and could not handle high volumes of
traffic. Many of the original system developers had left the company
and this infrastructure had become unstable, leading to the loss of
several customers.
The company functioned through two main processes: editing and
transmitting news and information to various outlets. This required
PR Newswire to employ editors and operators alike. Editors wrote and
proofread articles from clients; while operators created the
layouts, finalized press releases, and launched the jobs. The lack
of information centralization within PRN generated a huge overhead
of manual work for the operators. Because images, lists, and files
were all located on different systems, operators had to logon to
multiple computers in order to create one layout. Increased input of
work put pressure on the company to hire more operators.
Additionally, the legacy fax system created problems for
transmitting the documents in a timely manner once they had been
finalized. Unable to handle high traffic, the system would
malfunction during peak volume times, making it impossible for PR
Newswire to send time-sensitive documents properly.
PR Newswire began looking for an out-sourced solution in 2003. They
needed a vendor that could provide system integration so that
operators would not have to access multiple systems. In addition,
the solution would have to guarantee constant system availability
and continuity, to ensure that critical, time-sensitive documents
would always be delivered on time. The solution would have to be
able to handle high traffic volumes, while remaining functional and
secure. Additionally, PR Newswire wanted to decrease manual labor by
introducing automation of technical processes.
Lastly, the company needed a vendor that could offer a competitive
edge with a solution that would be able to support a new billing
system and add new feature enhancements.
The Solution
PR Newswire chose Graphnet over other competitor vendors to
implement a comprehensive, effective solution. The solution
incorporated two aspects.
The first aspect was a migration of all PRN data. Graphnet developed
a unified platform called GMS (Global Messaging Service) to
integrate seamlessly with all of PRN’s multiple systems. All
important data files, images, distribution lists, and client
information was moved from PRN’s legacy systems to Graphnet’s GMS
platform. Secure, yet accessible through a web interface, GMS helped
stabilize the company’s business processes. Using one platform to
access everything helped decrease manual labor.
In addition, using Graphnet’s GMS system, PRN was able to send high
volumes of traffic without delays or interruptions. Graphnet’s
services came bundled with transport, ensuring that earnings
releases and other time-sensitive documents were always delivered on
time. PR Newswire could now focus on its core business, given
Graphnet’s guarantee on system availability and business continuity.
Since, Graphnet’s GMS solution was able to integrate with multiple
systems, it was also able to support PRN’s new billing system and
allow for constantly updated new features – furthering PRN’s goals.
The second aspect of Graphnet’s solution was the introduction of
automation for fax and email news releases. Graphnet worked to
develop an Auto-Launch system, specifically tailored to the needs of
PR Newswire. This helped to remove a lot of the technical tasks
originally performed by operators. With the Auto-Launch system,
about 80% of the jobs that were originally done manually became
automated. The remaining 20% of the labor was still performed by
operators through the GMS system. This combined solution helped
decrease the manual labor operators had to input, and helped
eliminate the need for more operators.
Graphnet’s Benefits
By providing a comprehensive solution, Graphnet enabled PR Newswire
to realize some much sought after benefits. The improvements in
business processes were immediate and clear. Shortly after the
solution went live, PR Newswire dismantled its entire fax
infrastructure. The company was able to remove the burden of an
outdated, unstable system and in doing so, removed the costs of
maintaining an in-house fax solution. They were also able to
downsize their staff of operators by over 60%, reallocating some of
them to different sectors within the company where they could focus
on more important business tasks. PRN was now able to send more
messages with virtually no interruptions, improving information
distribution processes and stabilizing their services.
Time-sensitive documents were no longer problematic, as the new
solution ensured guaranteed, prompt delivery. Graphnet’s
applications, due to their intuitive and easy-to-use nature,
empowered PR Newswire to advance technologically and economically.
PRN was able to save over $1.5 million USD in the first year alone!
The Outcome
A clear picture of the long-term outcome has emerged through several
years of using Graphnet’s services. PR Newswire is now winning new
business in various sectors, as system uptimes and constantly added
features help the company excel in today’s competitive markets. The
company is saving an estimated $1.1 million USD annually, in terms
of personnel and hardware costs. Graphnet projects that it will be
able to further cost savings by an additional 50% in the near future
with new automation enhancements. Further, Graphnet has currently
started to work with PRN branches in the U.K. and Canada to
integrate their systems with the main U.S. branches.
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