Case Study – Bluewolf, Inc.

Software Solutions in the cloudBusinesscontextBluewolf, Inc. was founded in 2000 by Eric Berridge and Michael Kirven. The company providescloud-based software development and consulting services to clients across multiple industriesand countries. Bluewolf offers services across the systems product lifecycle – assisting clients withdesign, deployment, support, and ongoing maintenance of software-related solutions. Bluewolfoffers different levels of engagement: contract-for-hire, time-bound projects, and permanentplacement. Bluewolf is a strategic premier consulting partner for Salesforce.com-based solutions,but offers services for other cloud-based platforms as well. If a company only needs somesoftware developers for their Salesforce.com project, then Bluewolf meets that need. If a companyrequires trainers to come in and provide ongoing classes to new users of an OracleFinancialssystem, then Bluewolf is there. Want to design a predictive analytics solution as part of yourMarketo social media business intelligence effort – Bluewolf has you covered. If a company isconsidering moving legacy applications to a cloud infrastructure at AmazonWebServices, thenBluewolf can assist with that effort as well. If a company needs Bluewolf associates on premisesthen that is doable. If not, then remote service provision is available at less expensive rates.Bluewolf leaders tout that it was the "first global consulting firm born in the cloud" and along thoselines Bluewolf has offices across the globe – including New York City (headquarters), Boston, SanFrancisco, London, Paris, Sydney, and Melbourne. Their client list demonstrates Bluewolf’s rangeof consulting expertise as well as well as the diversity of organizations that have chosen to moveprocesses and business data to the cloud. In the financial service sector, clients include BainCapital, Citizens Bank, Fidelity Investments, and TD Banknorth. Bluewolf even retains clients inthe non-profit sector, including Harvard Business School and the American Red Cross. Given thatBluewolf is in many ways a technology-focused consultancy, it is no surprise that numerous techsector clients are in Bluewolf’s cache – including industry leaders like EMC, Red Hat, Amazon.com,and – yes – even Salesforce.coms UK branch. It primarily serves mid-sized and large-scaleclients, but an organization does not have to be "mature" to need cloud solutions. For example,then-startup Sunnova (a provider of residential solar-panel services) obtained Bluewolf services tohelp solidify the double-digit, early-stage growth they were experiencing.NoteverycloudhasasilverliningBluewolf and firms like it have had success supporting organizations as they move to the cloud.However, potential customers have lots to consider before investing in cloud-based solutions ingeneral, and spending scarce funds on Bluewolf services in particular. There is no "one size fitsall" cloud solution (by definition), so many organizations struggle with the decision of whatprocesses and data (if any) to move to the cloud. Even beyond the technology questions, thereare considerations for process adjustments that need to be made, as well as working withemployees to get them on board with the required procedural, performance, and possibly culturalchanges that come with system modifications. Bluewolf provides these change managementservices also – but acquiring implementation consulting increases costs.To increase the likelihood of success for cloud-based initiatives, Bluewolf’s solution approachincludes eight key elements from which clients can select all or some.Created in support of MISM2301 learning objectives (mad, Fall 2014)#12345678ElementCLOUD-SPECIFICGOVERNANCEBOARDDescriptionThe board is comprised of both executive and departmentalstakeholders. Executive stakeholders work on high-level innovationand strategy, while departmental stakeholders ensure enhancementsare value-added.PRIORITIZATIONContinuously innovating on the Salesforce platform is key to ensuringSTRATEGYthat the business is getting the maximum ROI. The developmentstrategy should take into consideration business unit needs,resources allocation, and growth projections.CHANGEThe board should meet with power users and top team players toMANAGEMENTdecide how changes will be communicated, including managementtactics such as classroom training, videos, newsletters, and monthlymeetings.TALENTThe board sets hiring and what positions in the organization wouldbenefit from Salesforce training. Most importantly, key Salesforcehires must be currently certified and have experience working with alive instance.TICKETING SYSTEM The ticketing system collects feedback from across the organization.This process determines how tickets are brought in, organized, andprioritized. It is essential that this system be scalable to fit thechanging needs of the organization.MASTER DATAChoosing what data to collect, who owns it, and the process forMANAGEMENTadding fields requires consistent rules. Each business unit shouldhave its own requirements, but they must be consolidated into anenterprise wide plan.TESTINGMaintain strict quality standards when updating and configuringSalesforce. With our clients, Bluewolf uses a customer applicationlifecycle management (ALM) solution and an application calledBUTR (build, upload, test, and report), to ensure quality standardsare met.RELEASE PROCESS Owned by the cloud governance board and an individual releasemanager, this is the process in which releases are introduces to boththe business and Salesforce.SkiesthelimitbutdifferentflightpathsAnd success has come. As of 2013, Bluewolf had over 4,000 client engagements and retainedinformation about each engagement in order to build an ever-increasing base for lessons learnedand proven solutions in the future. The company even took time to craft numerous follow-up casestudies regarding particularly successful projects that had occurred. For example, Electronic Arts,the self-proclaimed world leader in interactive entertainment software, launched a vendormanagement application that was estimated to require 9-12 months of development. Bluewolfhelped them implement the new system in six weeks.Take Page 1 Solutions for another example. With just over 50-employees, this Internet marketingcompany for attorneys, dentists, plastic surgeons and ophthalmologists was initially able to makedo with technologies such as Microsoft Access to manage their customer activity and interactionswork flow. But as Page 1 grew, they knew they needed a better platform. Director Michael Barrowlamented, We looked increasingly to Microsofts .NET as a future platform for our customapplication development. But after three years we were no closer to actually deploying ourapplication. Barrow continued, For Page 1, bringing on a new customer and managing all thedifferent elements involved in building out a custom web site, and then optimizing it, representshundreds of separate tasks, coordinated between multiple departments and any number ofemployees. As a small company, Page 1 Barrow explains that internal distractions and clientdemands were consistently pulling staff resources that were originally assigned to develop the newsystem. Bluewolf was brought onboard to provide Salesforce.com development and consultingservices and completed the project with a 4-month contract. Total cost of ownership (TCO) waspredicted to be 20% of the estimated Microsoft (.Net) solution. The new system improved visibilityinto customer relationships and improved employee productivity.Contrast that small-company experience with that of HID Global, a company with worldwide officessupporting clients in over 100 countries. Founded in 1991, HID provides security solutions foridentity authentication, physical and digital access control, and security auditing. After years ofacquiring and merging with other companies, HID operated like 20 different organizationsaccording to CFO Will West. Without an integrated, singular view of the business, HID could notpredict required pipeline volumes effectively, despite knowing that customer demand was strong.Expenses associated with expedited freight and other supply chain logistics were not sustainable.Bluewolf was brought on to provide development, implementation as well as strategic businesstransformation consulting services. HID sought to have an 18-month view of strategic customerdemand, and invested in Salesforce.com cloud capabilities to enable that. HID was particularlyconcerned about finding themselves in another technology trap five to ten years in the future andwanted Bluewolf to provide guidance to ensure that did not occur. As a result, HID was able toreduce key supply chain costs by more than 30% and improve time-to-delivery by 12%. Time willtell if the "technology trap" risk has been reduced, but HID leadership is expecting it will be.Sources1. Corporate Website, http://www.bluewolf.com2. "A CIOs Guide to customer and employee engagement in the cloud," (Bluewolf, 2014)3. "Bluewolf Beyond for Cloud Applications Datasheet, " (Bluewolf, 2013)4. Bluewolf Case Study ResourcesCaseQuestions1. Describe the business model for Bluewolf, including the variety of services it providesand its primary value discipline/strategic focus (two multi-part lists)2. Describe three information problem s (one at each level) that would help justify theexpense of Bluewolf services (list)3. Given that many organizations select cloud-based solutions in order to reduce costs,describe the TCO considerations a CIO could offer to make a business case for acquiringsoftware solution and strategic consulting services from Bluewolf. (list or table)4. Explain why a CEO might consider establishing a "cloud solutions" governanceboard/steering committee (table)