E-Business the MRC approach

Stuart AitkenC.I.O

The Organisation

• Head Office

• 30 Research Units

• 3 Research Institutes

• Just over 3000 staff

The Status Quo

• Corporate Client Server CFACS Finance System

• Three implementations of Client Server Oracle Financials

• Numerous PC Hyperdata systems in Units

• Accounts take an age to consolidate

The Status Quo 2

• Single Client Server HR system

• But some local varieties

• Central Grants and Research Management Systems (Office only)

• Web based Grant submission and Peer Review

• Head Office owned Corporate web site

• Numerous Local web sites

The Status Quo 3

• Corporate Administration at Head Office• Local Administration at Regional Centres and some

Units

The Ambition

• Corporate MRC Portal (Plumtree) available to all.

• Web based Finance and HR services (SAP) delivered through Portal

• Single sign on to all services

• Web site content transferred to Portal

• Local Websites accessible via Portal or integrated

• Intranets transferred to Portal as local communities

• Browser based solution to all services

• All achieved over JANET

How will it be achieved

• An Outsourced arrangement

• But one that is unlike anything done previously

The old way

• What normally happens?

• You decide hardware and software infrastructure

• What do they do?

• Box minding…24x7

• Take calls and do fixes

• Apps support and enhance the systems

• Usually based on an SLA

Key point

You pay them based on their performance against the SLA

You hope the business benefits from YOUR IS/IT decisions

Key point

What we have done

• Worked out with the business the specific benefits required from the new systems /services

• Spelt out the outcomes

• Defined the milestones

• In other words we have worked out the WHAT

Key point

Left the HOW entirely to the Outsourcer

Buy a Service not a System

Examples from MRC’s Contract

• Milestone. HR strategic study to develop OBS. Only 50% of cost payable unless study leads to an accepted business proposition

• Business Benefit. Finance system 13% of service charge only paid if MRC accounts ready within 1 month of end of financial year

• KPI. 25% of portal service charge only payable if 80% of all staff use 3 kinds of portal services monthly

• Outcome. ERMS. Absolute number of paper documents for filing reduced by 95% three months after go live. 5% of charge at risk

• Support. We pay MORE when the number of Help Desk calls go down. We want Help Desk staff to be bored!

Examples from MRC’s Contract

A Real Partnership

• Partnership Charter

• Defines actions and behaviours of all parties

• Partner Director sits on the Board

• Even the partnership has a KPI

• £100k payable only if MRC CEO and outsourcers MD agree annually partnership has improved

Key point

Achievements to date

• Portal goes live this week• Finance Service on 2 June• ERMS in early September• HR Business propositions being developed• Knowledge Management propositions being developed• Partnership undertaking projects at MRC Units