Situation

• Timberlands Investment Management Organization (TIMO) purchased a portion of the assets of a timberlands company at public auction
• This company previously outsourced its voice and data technology and infrastructure to another company
• An 18-month transition services agreement gave TIMO the ability to access the outsourced business applications the company had been using
• TIMO made the decision to form two separate companies
• To operate the two new companies, TIMO needed a full IT department complete with employees, file servers, desktop computers, network connectivity, PBX/voice mail systems and more

Approach

• TIMO decided to continue outsourcing not only the infrastructure, but its management as well
• TIMO invited bids from the existing outsourcer and from TELUS
• The TELUS bid provided a compelling advantage and was significantly more competitive
• The transition from the previous owner and their outsourcer was completed on time
• TIMO had two brand-new companies fully operational within a very short period of time

Business Benefits

• Thanks to the TELUS bid, TIMO reduced infrastructure costs by 60%
• TIMO has access to an entire IT department for both companies, yet employs only two IT specialists of its own
• TIMO has no concerns about hiring, managing or retaining any further IT resources
• Availability of all infrastructure and connectivity is guaranteed, thanks to 24x7 monitoring and management at TELUS
• The two new companies can grow at any pace, knowing that their technology infrastructure will grow with them

Solution

“Early on in our relationship, one of the senior people at TELUS asked ‘Will we be your IT department?’” says Brian Banfill, VP,
Timberlands Investment Management Organization (TIMO). “I thought about that for a while and said ‘Yes’. TELUS has behaved that way in every regard.”

It all began in February, 2005, when TIMO purchased the assets of a timberlands company at public auction. The original parent company had been using an outsourcer to support its technology, which meant TIMO would have to purchase the file servers it needed to continue doing business. However, TIMO did negotiate an 18-month transition services agreement that would give it continued access to the day-to-day business applications the company had been using.

TIMO split the assets into two separate companies and began setting them up. “We knew from the start that we didn’t want to
employ IT resources,” says Banfill. “I don’t want to be hiring and firing. I like the idea of having people working for me when I need them and for somebody else when I don’t. We’re just not in the business of worrying about who’s in the IT department and who’s available to fix a desktop that’s down.”

Banfill invited bids from the previous outsourcer and from TELUS.  “The price difference was so compelling, we couldn’t turn it down,” Banfill says of the TELUS bid. “It showed we could save a significant amount of money as opposed to the way these entities were operating before. In fact, the move reduced infrastructure costs by 60% a year.”

Despite considerable roadblocks, TIMO’s two companies were switched over to TELUS on the due date. Two server farms at the TELUS Internet Data Centre in Burnaby, British Columbia, house their servers and network. TELUS provides Internet connectivity and fully manages 700 desktop and laptop computers. A help desk in Victoria is available to end users 24x7, giving them access to expert technical support via e-mail or a toll-free phone number. TELUS also manages all voice needs for the two companies. It all means that the two companies are able to operate with just one IT staff member each. TELUS takes care of everything else.

TELUS has even been able to provide what Banfill calls “hands and feet” offshore. One of the new companies has sales offices in Japan, which had to be set up independently of the previous parent company. “TELUS fully stepped up and sent three people to Japan.  What's more, one of the people who works for TELUS has a brother in Japan, so whenever he's there, he stops into the office just to see how things are going. You just can't get that level of support internally.”

Banfill and his own IT managers believe strongly in the outsourced model. “People may argue that you can do it cheaper in-house,” he says. “But I don’t believe you can provide the same level of service. You won’t have the range of skills TELUS offers us and you won’t get the 24x7 support access we have. TELUS can also scale up and down whenever we need them to. Quite simply, we don’t have to worry.”