AIB Bank

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AIB Bank

Customer’s Challenge

AIB Group, founded in 1966, is Ireland’s leading banking and financial services organisation and operates principally in Ireland, Britain, the USA and Poland. During the four decades since its formation, AIB has become a dynamic and successful organisation.

In 2006, AIB’s approved a significant investment programme to migrate over 8,000 desktops and laptops to the new Microsoft XP platform covering all Head Office locations in the Republic of Ireland, Britain and Northern Ireland divisions. The scope of the programme was later extended to include the consolidation of email clients to Lotus Notes.

AIB engaged Fujitsu to manage the overall programme and to develop and implement an effective change management strategy and plan to minimise the impact of this programme on the operation of the business. The migration and consolidation project was one of the largest such initiatives in AIB’s history and was successfully delivered within an aggressive 17 month timeframe.

Fujitsu’s Solution

Fujitsu worked initially with AIB to put in place the programme and change management structures necessary to ensure the effective management and delivery of the XP Migration project. This included setting up of a robust governance structure incorporating representatives from each of the Bank’s stakeholder groups with the decision making authority required to drive the project to completion. During the initiation stage a programme office was setup which incorporated the processes and tools necessary to manage key elements of the project including finances, risks, actions, issues and reports. These structures provided the foundations necessary to effectively manage and deliver a programme of this size and complexity.

A critical success factor for AIB in the delivery of this programme was the requirement to deliver the project with minimum impact to the business. Fujitsu worked with AIB to develop an effective change management strategy to meet this requirement. The change management strategy specifically addressed the three core elements of change including:

• Managing the overall engagement with the business
• Developing and implementing a comprehensive communications strategy and plan to meet the needs of key stakeholders
• Implementing an effective training strategy and plan

The Benefits to our customer

The key benefits resulting from this project for AIB included:

• Reduced Risk: The new XP platform reduced operational risk for AIB and delivers benefits of faster response, improved performance and support for the latest versions of applications.
• Increased efficiency: The project successfully streamlined the email environment by consolidating multiple email clients to Lotus Notes. This consolidation has delivered efficiencies in the management and support of the email environment, as well as bringing significant benefits to all users in terms of mobility, quota and functionality.
• Reduced Cost: The rationalisation of the desktop operating system platform and the consolidation of disparate email clients have also facilitated a reduction in operating costs in the management and maintenance of the desktop environment within the Bank.
• Minimum business impact: The change management approach adopted for the programme enabled this significant change initiative to achieve it’s objectives within an aggressive 17 month timeframe, while at the same time minimising the impact to the business. This also served to enhance the reputation of IT within the business community; positive end user satisfaction was reflected in a survey carried out during the period of implementation.

Our Approach

The implementation of this project affected over fifty different business units, spread across 30+ locations and touched on over 8,000 users. In order to minimise the impact of the change on the business, Fujitsu devised & delivered a customised change management solution that would meet the specific needs of the Bank incorporating a clearly defined and re-useable business engagement model, a comprehensive communications strategy and plan and a training plan.

• Business Engagement Model: Fujitsu defined a business engagement model which enabled the project to engage with each business unit within the Bank in a consistent and efficient manner.
• A ‘Business Readiness Forum’ was established which provided a single point of contact for the proactive management of any business concerns or issues. Business co-ordinators were then updated on a regular basis throughout the migration process and acted as change agents within their respective business units. The business engagement model adopted enabled the rapid mobilisation of the project team across multiple business units while maintaining a consistent quality of business engagement
• Communications Strategy and Plan: Another key component of the change management strategy adopted was the development and implementation of a comprehensive communications strategy and plan. The plan was developed to specifically meet the needs and concerns of key stakeholders within the Bank, informing them, motivating them and sustaining the enthusiasm required to deliver the change. After stakeholders were identified and a communication plan devised for them, the next step was a change management effectiveness review which incorporated the completion of a survey across some of the early business units impacted by the change. This survey allowed the project to determine the success of the migration for those business units and the effectiveness of the change management processes put in place to support the migration.
• Training: In order to ensure maximum acceptance of the new systems, in particular the consolidated email platform, a training strategy and plan and corresponding training schedule was defined and implemented. The training plan included development of training materials, e-learning support, end user sessions & training of support staff.

Our Expertise

Fujitsu has a proven track record in managing complex programmes of change and in providing innovative change management solutions to support the successful implementation of IT projects.

In particular Fujitsu has built a reputation for working with our clients to deliver customised change management solutions to maximise the value of our clients IT investments.