BAE Upgrades IT Infrastructure, Saves Millions

Aerospace and defense giant BAE Systems had a piecemeal IT infrastructure that was costly to maintain and hampered productivity. By outsourcing with CSC, BAE improved end-user services and saved at least $55 million.

“We now have an enterprisewide platform that enables us to deliver innovative business services that support employee productivity and cut costs,” says Allan Leggetter, IT shared services director for BAE Systems. “We have transformed our desktop environment to address a vast array of end-user needs with a flexible set of services that clearly acknowledge that one size does not fit all.”

Diverse systems and users

BAE Systems has a UK workforce of 40,000 that operates across 72 locations in 15 businesses. Many of its employees and contractors regularly transition between sites and need a flexible IT infrastructure that supports this mobility. They didn’t always have one.

Not long ago, BAE Systems’ IT base consisted of fragmented networks, a plethora of desktop technologies and a huge portfolio of applications. It was impossible to ensure uniformity of software and service delivery. Inconsistent technology updates left some business units working with outdated hardware or software. This made collaboration among customers, suppliers and internal groups difficult. It also increased vulnerability to disruptive virus and spam attacks.

To work more effectively, users needed regular technology updates and secure access to email and files at any company location. To accomplish this, BAE Systems decided to transform end-user services and centralize delivery and support, making deployment simpler. BAE Systems also wanted to minimize the risk of business disruption and create a platform for continuous service improvement.

Bringing the business together

BAE Systems opted for CSC’s unique, role-based service, myWorkStyle, to standardize its desktop operating system. CSC tailored services for two primary profiles, meeting the needs of BAE’s employee and business communities. CSC migrated 40,000 end users to the latest desktop technologies over an 18-month period, introducing a standardized operating system across the enterprise. CSC also rationalized the desktop environment to enable proactive asset management, and introduced rolling refresh cycles for all PCs and laptops to counter obsolescence.

This consolidation lowered the overall cost of hardware ownership, while greatly simplifying the delivery of support services to end users. Users can now connect to key services and email from any location. They can access a variety of new collaborative working services, including an online meeting service. Enterprisewide file management makes it easier to share information across the business. A new automated self-service file restoration facility ensures users can get back to work with minimal delay. By managing, updating and delivering services centrally, BAE Systems’ end users are released to work more productively.

Less costly, more capable

According to Leggetter, CSC’s myWorkStyle helped BAE Systems reduce the cost of desktop ownership to 60 percent of the industry standard and cut service costs by 15 percent. On-demand delivery of software and services increased workforce productivity and enhanced end-user customer satisfaction ratings by 10 percent. Hardware and software consolidation has delivered estimated cost savings of $55 million over the first four years.

“On-demand delivery of software and services means we are now superbly positioned to deliver whatever our business and end-user communities need, aligning new services quickly through simple and routine processes,” says Leggetter. “We now have a companywide platform that enables us to host up-to-date IT services, and deliver these across the network to everyone, faster than ever before.”

Related Information

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