VIS.Align Cashing In On Managed Services Growth

Coming from that strategy is a 12-month fixed-price offering, dubbed Transitional Sourcing, which is aimed at offering a more flexible, short-term alternative to midmarket companies leery of expensive, long-term contracts with larger managed services providers, said Samantha Howland, practice leader for managed services at Vis.align.

"The offering really shows [the providers how to deliver high-level services by working alongside [the customers," Howland said. "We then offer them the choice of taking it back in-house, with help, or fully moving to an outsourcing relationship at a highly competitive price."

A key part of the offering is a focus on organizational effectiveness, she said. Typically, a team of about 25 Vis.align consultants would work alongside customers to develop competencies such as leadership in service areas and collaboration techniques with customer teams. "Instead of just doing it for customers, we collaborate with them, and that's how we build deeper relationships and grow the partnerships," Howland said. "People are the ones delivering these services, so we focused intensely on developing the human capital."

Vis.align's midmarket play has begun to show some return on investment, Howland said. In the past year, managed services accounted for about 65 percent of the company's annual revenue.

Connectiv, a Wilmington, Del.-based regional energy provider, is a good example of how Vis.align has worked with customers in refining its managed services offerings.

Barbara Graham, vice president of corporate services at Connectiv, said the company outsourced help-desk services to Vis.align because it wasn't cost-effective to internally manage those services given Connectiv's dispersed facilities.

Customers were much happier with the outsourced service but unhappy with the price that accompanied a one-size-fits-all service offering. Vis.align stepped in to customize the offerings so only those customers requiring higher levels of service paid a higher price, Graham said.

The fixed price for Transitional Sourcing varies but can be flexed down to a particular business unit and depends on the size of a business and its particular needs. The average contract size, however, ranges from $2 million to $3 million, Howland said.

"Vis.align worked closely with us to restructure the service," Graham said. "We were able not only to keep the customers happy, but to significantly reduce our overall cost, too."

Vis.align has also looked to other technology partners, such as BindView, Everdream, Microsoft and SunGard, to develop remote solutions and self-learning tools that can help Vis.align reduce capital investments and cut costs while maintaining service levels.

Howland said Vis.align works to maintain and grow relationships with its customers and to attract new customers by closely monitoring client satisfaction and making sure its own company is running effectively.

"It's not just a message and approach we take out to our customers. It's how we run our own company," Howland said. "Interim reviews, episodic reviews, and everyone's annual bonus,including the management team's,

is based on some component of that."