Ziff Davis Media

Outsourcing From CIBER Increases Efficiency & Reduces Costs At Ziff Davis Media

PC Magazine. You've probably seen this publication on the bookrack at the grocery store, or the last time you browsed around a major bookstore. It's the largest and one of the most authoritative publications on computing and Internet products, and more than six million people read it.

The publisher, Ziff Davis Media Inc., produces about a dozen other computer-related periodicals including PC Magazine, EWeek, Interactive Week and Smart Business as well. Though it is one of the nation's leading authorities on computer technology, Ziff Davis Media decided it no longer wished to manage its own HRMS and accounting applications. The company had just been acquired, and the new management concluded that outsourcing operations support and development the HRMS and accounting IT would reduce staffing and other costs, and help the company's bottom line.

So Ziff Davis Media engaged CIBER, Inc. (NYSE: CBR), the trusted technology leader transforming businesses to be agile, scalable and connected. An experienced team of consultants from CIBER's Outsourcing National Practice met with management and IT staff at Ziff Davis and, in just seven months, assumed the day-to-day management of the applications and improved their performance.

"CIBER executed its work smoothly, and the transition was transparent to our employees," says Kim Hoover, the chief information officer at Ziff Davis Media."Our human resources and accounting departments use these applications daily and report that the system response time is now faster and service level is higher."

The solution from CIBER was three-phased, including assessment, design and implementation.

In the assessment, the CIBER team documented and analyzed the operating environment and the applications that Ziff Davis Media wished to outsource: PeopleSoft Financials, PeopleSoft HR, Admarc and AdScope. The documentation profiled each application, including hardware data, network configuration, operating systems, modifications and backlog, external interfaces, business processes, service levels, change management, version control, help desk support, disaster recovery plans and other pertinent information.

The purpose of the design phase was to develop a model for the outsourced environment in which the four applications would operate. This phase included the correct sizing of the hardware and communications line, hardware specifications, the design of a thin client environment, security solutions and operational role definitions. A transition plan addressed all aspects of implementing and testing platforms, locations, security, and moving or porting the applications and data.

During implementation, CIBER installed, debugged and tested Ziff Davis Media's enhanced HRMS and accounting applications in a new "home" for the systems -- CIBER's Edison, N.J., office. The applications and enterprise data were ported to the new environment, and a link with Ziff Davis Media was established through the company's T1 lines. The CIBER team used several leading technologies to deliver its outsourcing solution. It employed Compaq storage area networks, Citrix thin client environment and Cisco infrastructure equipment. Performance benchmarks and operational responsibilities were then finalized, and the outsourced systems went live in August 2000.

The benefits have been dramatic. For one, the applications now function much more efficiently. With CIBER's fine-tuning of the database and programming, the cycle times for processing employment data and weekly payroll, for instance, have been reduced from hours to minutes. IT consultants at Ziff Davis Media, which once numbered about 60, now include just four credentialed CIBER system specialists. And Ziff Davis Media expects significant savings in the overall cost of operating and maintaining the applications.

"The arrangement makes good business sense," Hoover said. "With a fixed outsourcing budget for the next three years, we can project our IT support costs and plan accordingly. And our in-house IT staff is refocusing its efforts on the company's core business - delivery of superior editorial content - and on providing more strategic support and value."

THE PROBLEM

• Ziff Davis Media Inc. had just been acquired, and its new management wished to outsource the operation and maintenance of the HRMS and accounting applications: PeopleSoft Financials, PeopleSoft HR, Admarc and AdScope. The company hoped to reduce staffing and other costs with this solution.

THE SOLUTION

• In just seven months, a team of consultants from CIBER's Outsourcing National Practice assumed the day-to-day management of the applications and improved their efficiency.
• CIBER first documented and analyzed the operating environment and the applications that Ziff Davis Media wished to outsource.
• CIBER then developed a model for the outsourced environment.
• The design phase included the correct sizing of the hardware and communications line, hardware specifications, a thin client environment, security solutions and operational role definitions.
• A transition plan addressed all aspects of implementation and testing.
• CIBER installed, debugged and tested Ziff Davis Media's enhanced HRMS and accounting applications in a new environment for the systems: CIBER's Edison, N.J., office.

THE BENEFITS

• The four applications function more efficiently. Data processing cycle times have been reduced from hours to just minutes.
• Ziff Davis Media's IT consultants - once an army of 60 - now just include four CIBER system specialists.
• Ziff Davis Media anticipates significant savings in the overall cost of operating and maintaining the applications.
• With a fixed outsourcing budget for the next three years, Ziff Davis Media can project its IT support costs and plan accordingly.
• The company's in-house IT staff is able to refocus on the company's core business and provide more strategic support and value.