Project Description

The client, a leading global provider of SaaS-based clinical development solutions, is continually incorporating new technologies in order to stay ahead of the curve.

The Challenge

As a very sophisticated and technologically advanced company, the client must continually incorporate new technologies in order to stay ahead of the competition. This led them to seek guidance and strategic support for their IT department during the migration from Business Objects XI R2 to SAP Business Objects BI Suite 4.0. The client sought to decrease their new product rollout time, as well as ensure that the IT team could focus on learning the new technology without getting dragged down by the cascade of errors common during migrations.

The client had prior experience working with Chateaux and was confident that we would provide them with the support they needed to execute the migration successfully. Two Chateaux Center of Excellence (COE) members and a third Senior Technologist collaborated to complete the project, each bringing expertise in their respective subject areas.

Chateaux met with the client to understand the problems they were experiencing, initially focusing on security and SSL. Chateaux’s COE members reviewed the project requirements, validated the target environments, and provided custom instructions for installing and implementing the production and development environments.

One of the reasons our mentoring approach has been so successful is that we use a “see one, do one, teach one” knowledge transfer process. In this case, information was captured by the client as they observed us installing the development environment; we then supported them as they installed their test environment; ultimately allowing them to teach others how to install a productive environment. Our COE members encouraged “systems thinking” to make sure everyone understood the value of different techniques for solving problems. These alternate approaches and tools for troubleshooting application-specific errors enabled the client to get to solutions faster.

Through this mentorship, the Chateaux team was able to significantly increase the confidence of the developers and administrators in the new platforms. We also strengthened their ability to handle changes in technology by recommending reliable sources of information and providing them with skills to better communicate with their software vendor, SAP, to more quickly resolve problems. At the completion of the engagement, the client recognized the value in the relationship with Chateaux and requested to continue the mentorship on an on-going basis.