Standardizing the Design Process

Email Article |  digg it |  reddit |  delicious |  StumbleUpon |  Facebook |  Twitter |  LinkedIn 

OVERVIEW

Spanlink Communications did not have a standardized network design process, and relied on multiple separate steps, both slowing design turnaround. After allowing some of their Systems Engineers to standardize on Netformx DesignXpert®, the company has accelerated design turnaround, increased engineer productivity, and improved design accuracy.

CHALLENGES

• Multi-Step, Multi-Tool Process
• Slow Design Turnaround
• Reuse of Obsolete Designs
• Unreliable Online Configuration
• No Standard Process
• Slow Ramp Up for New Engineers

BUSINESS RESULTS

• Reduced Design Turnaround - by 50% or more
• Increased Productivity
• Improved Design Accuracy
• 100% of Designs Validated
• Deliver Superior Designs, Winning Designs
• Increased New Engineer Ramp Up by at least 50%

Time-Consuming Multi-Step Process

Spanlink Communications is a Minneapolis-based Cisco Partner specializing in Unified Communications solutions for Contact Centers and the enterprise at large. Prior to deploying DesignXpert, Spanlink's Systems Engineering (SE) team relied on a time-consuming and redundant multi-step, multi-tool process to design and quote solutions. Configuration and validation were done through an online configurator. Bills of Material (BoMs) and design drawings were created using separate tools, each requiring re-entry of data. Ultimately, all of this information had to be cut and pasted into Spanlink's customer-facing documentation.

"Turnaround time is critical to win a sale," explained Amber Cardillo, Director of Systems Engineering, Western Region, Spanlink. "Typically the customer wants to see everything yesterday, and turning it around in two weeks is no longer acceptable. But it takes time to put a cohesive design proposal together when dealing with multiple tools."

To save valuable design time, many Spanlink SEs reused spreadsheets from previous quotes that were similar, and built new designs on top of the old designs.

"The problem with this approach is that prices and/or the status of products may have changed. The SE wouldn't know this unless he or she took the time to check the online configurator every single time - somewhat defeating the objective of saving time," said Cardillo. "So the SE could be presenting the customer with a design that includes obsolete products or incorrect pricing information. Typically, we pay for that mistake."

The online configurator was slow, and if the system were to go down, or there was no network access available, SEs would have a hard time working on quotes. Additionally, in the middle of configuring an order, the configurator would occasionally lock up forcing the SEs to start over.

"Accuracy was a problem as well," added Tom Jensen, Senior Systems Engineer at Spanlink. "We had to spend time checking with subject matter experts, conducting conference calls, or checking the rules, because the system could not provide validation."

The lack of standardization was also a problem for Spanlink. Each employee had a slightly different approach to creating designs. Spanlink deals with very complex solutions and there was no standard methodology.  Every customer engagement is slightly different, Cardillo notes. Because of this, it can take up to 6 months for a new SE to become familiar with the various approaches. Furthermore, when an SE went on vacation or left the company, the team could not easily pick up where the other employee left off on a project.

After researching alternatives, Spanlink chose DesignXpert from Netformx as the best solution to address these challenges.

Standardized Process for Higher Productivity

Spanlink deployed DesignXpert to all senior engineers early in 2008, and has plans to roll it out to all sales engineers in early 2009. Using the DesignXpert Favorites/Best Practices feature, Spanlink is in the process of building a library of design templates to standardize and accelerate the design process.

Netformx DesignXpert delivers the following business results for Spanlink:

Fast Design Turnaround: DesignXpert collapsed a time-consuming multi-tool process into an efficient process using a single integrated tool. DesignXpert generates a validated BoM that is easily exported directly into Spanlink's customer-facing deliverables, increasing productivity and dramatically cutting turnaround time.

"DesignXpert makes us more productive," Cardillo confirmed. "Because we can turn quotes around quicker we are able to support more customers in the same amount of time."

"DesignXpert enables us to build standardized templates for different deployment models, allowing us to hit the ground running on any design," said Neil Cockerill, Consulting Systems Engineer, Spanlink. "It is much easier to reuse previous designs and confidently map them to a new set of requirements instead of reinventing the wheel for each customer. I can generate a BOM in half a day or less as opposed to a full day doing it the previous way."

"Eliminating the need to cut-and-paste alone cuts the design time in half," Jensen added.

Improved Accuracy: In addition to eliminating the costly mistakes that cutting and pasting create, Cardillo explains that DesignXpert's real-time validation against an extensive KnowledgeBase^TM has enabled the Spanlink team to propose more accurate designs - from pricing and BoMs to Statements of Work and visual network blueprints.

"DesignXpert ensures design accuracy, making sure I have the right pieces to the solution, and that I am configuring according to the rules," added Jensen. "It gives me a high level of confidence that when I am done the design the customer signs off on is a design that can be implemented."

Superior Designs: The time saved also translates into better designs.  With DesignXpert instead of spending time dealing with tools, Spanlink engineers can invest that valuable time better understanding their customer's technological as well as business needs and designing value-added solutions that will serve both objectives.

Faster Engineer Ramp Up: Using DesignXpert, new SEs can become   productive team members quicker, due to the standardization of design templates and processes. Because of the benefits experienced to date and the intuitive features of DesignXpert, Spanlink plans to extend DesignXpert use to account managers - empowering them to generate simple quotes - allowing SEs to focus on opportunities that are more complex.

The Bottom Line: Essential Design Tool

Spanlink has discovered that DesignXpert is an essential and highly cost-effective design tool that helps the company remain competitive in this aggressive industry.

"DesignXpert has become the industry standard tool," Jensen concluded. "There is really nothing else like it out there."

Accelerating Key Sales-Support Processes to Rapidly Close New Business Opportunities

Email Article |  digg it |  reddit |  delicious |  StumbleUpon |  Facebook |  Twitter |  LinkedIn 

 "After our real-world experiences and results, I'm convinced that no other product available in the marketplace performs as well as DesignXpert."
Talal Sabih
Technical Sales Manager & Networking Product Manager
Emirates Computers

OVERVIEW

DesignXpert^TM by Netformx^® enabled Emirates Computers to dramatically accelerate their pre-sales processes for developing quotes and producing bills of quantity/materials (BOQs/BOMs). Processes that previously required six hours, for example, now take about 30 minutes, and one-hour processes have been reduced to four to five minutes. After daily struggles to validate prices, configurations and quotes for networking equipment, Emirates Computers turned to Netformx to give it the competitive advantage it needed to quickly meet customer requirements and rapidly close new business opportunities. Two factors that have proven invaluable in raising the competitive posture of Emirates Computers are weekly updates to the Netformx KnowledgeBase^TM and the use of DesignXpert's automated Advisors, which are easy-to-use wizards that simplify the complex tasks associated with many aspects of network configuration and validation.

CHALLENGES

• Clients expect an overnight turnaround for price quotes on networking products and services
• Addressing 30 to 40 requests every day using inefficient sales-support processes
• Responding to continual changes from customers is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process
• Accurately identifying network components and specifications
• Quickly configuring complex unified communications solutions

BUSINESS RESULTS

• Technical sales team reduced sales processes by 90%
• A major business opportunity closed in only two days, including addressing ten customer requests for changes
• Automated DesignXpert Advisors enable faster and more accurate responses to complex customer requirements
• DesignXpert empowers sales-support personnel to accomplish more work in reduced timeframes
• Up-to-date Netformx KnowledgeBase^TM provides clear-cut advantages to quickly address client needs

Dramatically Reducing Response Times and Increasing Staff Productivity with DesignXpert

Emirates Computers serves the networking needs of large enterprises and government entities in a region marked by unprecedented economic development. Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are home to an impressive list of the world's largest attractions such as the largest indoor ski resort, largest mall, largest amusement park, and largest airport terminal building. The Burj Dubai will be the world's tallest building upon completion in 2009, and the UAE is developing the world's longest arch bridge. The Tiger Woods Dubai, a residential community and resort, will feature the world's first golf course designed by Tiger Woods.

In his role as Networking Product Manager at Emirates Computers, Talal Sabih is in charge of evaluating and enrolling new products into the portfolio of offerings provided by Emirates Computers. Additionally, Sabih manages the Networking Technical Sales Team and leads the organization in the networking pre-sales efforts. The team has about 40 people, ten of whom are networking related and involved in all aspects of technical sales support, including quoting and proposals, network design, documentation, and service implementation. Four members of Sabih's team are dedicated full-time to using DesignXpert from Netformx, and they have a heavy workload.

Speaking about the importance of being able to quickly meet the needs of customers and new-business prospects, Sabih noted, "One of my main issues is that I can't afford for my staff to spend a lot of time developing BOQs/BOMs (bills of quantity/materials) for customers, because we're getting 30 to 40 of these requests every day. With DesignXpert, we've been able to cut a six-hour process, for example, down to about 30 minutes. And for simpler requests that used to take one hour, the process now takes about four or five minutes."

Closing a Major Sale in Two Days - With Ten Rounds of Customer Changes

Like most customers in today's fast-paced business environment, clients do not want to wait a few days to get a price quote on networking products and services. In most cases, clients expect an overnight turnaround time. Prior to adopting DesignXpert as its solution to meet these demanding requirements, Sabih explained that his team was "struggling every day to validate prices, configurations and quotes."

Etisalat, a telecommunications service provider in the UAE and a Financial Times "Global 500" company, is a client of Emirates Computers. Discussing the role that DesignXpert played in closing a major sales opportunity with Etisalat, Sabih described how Etisalat "requested a quote and many changes to the quote - ten changes in two days - until we reached a satisfactory design. Most of the changes took place live over the telephone while using DesignXpert. The conclusion is that we would not have been able to get this key proposal done and win the deal without the ease-of-use and fast processes enabled by DesignXpert."

Automated Advisors Enable Staff to Accomplish More Work in Reduced Timeframes

Important DesignXpert capabilities discussed by Sabih include an extensive range of automated Advisors, which are easy-to-use wizards that simplify the complex tasks associated with many aspects of network configuration and validation. For example, the many Cisco Communication Advisors available with DesignXpert - such as Solution Bundle Selection & Configuration, VoIP Gateway, MobileConnect, Unity Connection, and IP Phones - quickly and easily guide sales-support personnel through all of the decisions needed to produce the right solution to meet customer needs.

"The unified communication advisors available within DesignXpert eliminated a lot of the headaches we previously had to endure," stated Sabih. "Now, our staff accomplishes a lot more work in greatly reduced timeframes. We now have more time to produce more effective results, which enables us to close more deals."

Another area where DesignXpert delivers major productivity improvements involves calculating uninterruptible power supply (UPS) requirements for numerous network elements. "It takes a lot of time to compile UPS requirements for every single product in a complete solution, but DesignXpert dramatically reduces the time we need to analyze and determine these requirements for our customers," remarked Sabih.

Netformx KnowledgeBase^TM Stays Ahead of the Competition

Discussing the important benefits that DesignXpert provides to Emirates Computers, Sabih spoke about increased staff productivity, accelerated and streamlined processes, shortened sales cycles, and reduced rework on the part of sales-support technical staff. Additionally, Sabih remarked, "It's clear to me that the people at Netformx are continually working hard to deliver the products and enhancements that its customers need to stay ahead of the competition. Weekly updates to the KnowledgeBase^TM and the addition of new Advisors, for example, is extremely valuable in keeping us current with new products and specifications."

Drawing upon the industry's most extensive and up-to-date information related to pricing, configuration, installation and support, DesignXpert instantly provides Emirates Computers with the knowledge it needs to quickly close sales and inspire confidence and loyalty in its clients.  Updated weekly, the Netformx KnowledgeBase provides accurate data on 150,000 networking components and employs an expertly tuned, decision-support software engine that uses nearly 2,000,000 rules to automate the process of analyzing and designing networking solutions.

Speaking about how Emirates Computers came to the conclusion that DesignXpert was the right solution to meet its needs, Sabih explained, "My initial exposure to Netformx and DesignXpert was at an industry trade show in the United States, where I spoke with Ittai Bareket, the CEO of Netformx. I was very impressed by the capabilities of DesignXpert, and later on, I was provided with a trial copy of the DesignXpert software, which was very helpful in completing a full evaluation. After our real-world experiences and results, I'm convinced that no other product available in the marketplace performs as well as DesignXpert."

emiratescase_web.pdf

Outmaneuvering the Competition

Email Article |  digg it |  reddit |  delicious |  StumbleUpon |  Facebook |  Twitter |  LinkedIn 

 "To say we have increased our staff productivity is an understatement. We have seen an exponential increase in productivity where speed and accuracy are of the essence."|
Robert Snook
President, CEO, Principal Consultant
Phalanx Internetworking

OVERVIEW

DesignXpert^TM by Netformx^® delivers competitive advantages that enable Phalanx Internetworking to routinely outmaneuver its competition by quickly assembling impressive, deal-winning proposals. Replacing a disconnected array of conventional tools - including online configurators, spreadsheet tools, word processing templates and proposal generators - with an integrated solution, DesignXpert increases the productivity of sales and engineering personnel and dramatically shortens the design, sales and fulfillment cycles.

CHALLENGES

• Clients Demanding Superior Performance Early in the Sales Cycle
• Must be Able to Rapidly Integrate All Aspects of Network Discovery, Design and Proposal
• Marketplace is Requiring and Rewarding Increased Speed, Agility and Quality
• Must Be Able to Easily Collaborate and Develop Network Designs and Redesigns "On-the-Fly"
• Voice and Data Networks are Growing in Complexity
• Custom Coding and Custom Business Solutions are No Longer the Exception ... But the Rule

BUSINESS RESULTS

• 50% Reduction in Time Required to Create Network Designs
• 80% to 90% Reduction in Time Required to Rework Designs
• Engineering, Sales and Operations Staff Speak With One Voice
• Integrated Solution for Network Discovery, Design and Proposal Outperforms Competition
• Fast Response and Superior Design Documents Deliver "Wow" Factor
• Sales Cycle Dramatically Accelerated, Productivity Exponentially Increased

Increased Speed, Quality and Customer Satisfaction

Recognizing the competitive advantages DesignXpert had delivered since he first began using it in 1999, Robert Snook decided he could build a successful company around the Netformx streamlined process and toolset. Since launching Phalanx Internetworking in April 2005, DesignXpert became the centerpiece of their operations and as a result, Phalanx has continued to deliver outstanding results that other providers simply cannot match in terms of speed, quality, customer satisfaction and ultimately, profitability.

"Cisco is the core of our business, it is the foundation of what we do, and DesignXpert is the core of how we do it," explained Snook. "All of our business, network-design and sales processes are built around DesignXpert - it is that valuable." Phalanx serves the Cisco Partner community and their clients, including small and medium-sized business (SMB), commercial, and enterprise with verticals including education, healthcare and government. Helping Cisco Partners deliver the right solution to meet their clients' needs is an increasingly important aspect of Phalanx's success in today's network-dependent business environment.

Voice and data networks have become more complex with the addition of sophisticated features, increased traffic levels and a greater number of network devices. As a result, customers are increasingly making purchase decisions based on a solution provider's expertise and attention to detail during every aspect of the sales cycle. Phalanx uses DesignXpert to ensure these key competitive differentiators are an integral part of its meetings with new-business prospects as well as with current clients.

With DesignXpert, Phalanx is able to easily collaborate with clients on network-design options and quickly demonstrate, in a tangible way, how a proposed solution best fits a company's specific objectives. Businesses that engage Phalanx clearly realize they are working with a knowledgeable and trusted business partner that understands their business needs as well as their technology requirements.

DesignXpert Combines All Needed Functionality in a Single Solution

"Because of DesignXpert, the engineering staff, the salespeople and the operations personnel that Phalanx brings to the table are able to speak with one voice," said Snook. "Except for DesignXpert, there is no single platform available in the marketplace that combines all of the features we need to quickly present a clear, compelling picture of how we plan to address a client's needs. For example, the Cisco online configuration tool can do the configurations, Microsoft Visio can do all the drawings, and custom Excel tools can calculate the labor factors, but only DesignXpert can perform all these functions and more - and perform them extremely well - in one integrated tool."

Phalanx has realized important business benefits as a result of its relationship with Netformx, using DesignXpert to outmaneuver its competitors by rapidly designing effective network solutions and assembling deal-winning customer quotes. Drawing upon the industry's most extensive and up-to-date KnowledgeBase^TM of networking equipment specifications, including information related to pricing, configuration, installation and support, DesignXpert instantly provides Phalanx with the knowledge it needs to rapidly close sales and inspire confidence in its clients.

"Our sales and service model is built around supporting Cisco Partners," stated Snook, "and having everyone in the sales and solution lifecycle using DesignXpert makes everything flow in a well-orchestrated fashion. We get quick and easy validation from the Cisco engineers and we deliver precise proposals and professional-looking design documents to our clients. The fast design and re-design capabilities of DesignXpert coupled with the professionally rendered drawings deliver a great ‘wow' factor that impresses everyone involved."

Automated Processes Create Exponential Productivity

Explaining the impact of DesignXpert on Phalanx and its staff, Snook stated, "To say we have increased our productivity is an understatement. We have seen an exponential increase in productivity where speed and accuracy are of the essence. One engineer can start a task, another can easily finish, with no recreating the wheel. We do a lot of custom coding and custom business solutions, and they are all perfectly integrated into DesignXpert."

Discussing the clear-cut metrics behind these productivity improvements, Snook continued, "Without DesignXpert, a design that would require five hours to create would typically take about four hours to rework. With DesignXpert, that five-hour design is not only done in half the time, but includes all of the physical link topologies, Visio-type drawings, IP addressing, hostnames, VLAN information, et cetera. When necessary, rework is completed in about 10 percent to 20 percent of the time required by someone not using DesignXpert."

Customers today increasingly demand that their solution providers exhibit not only all of the technology skills needed to implement quality solutions, but also the business skills to understand how their solution addresses the company's needs. Using DesignXpert, Phalanx meets both of those requirements and bridges the crucial communication gap that often exists between solution providers and their clients.

With DesignXpert, Snook approaches every business opportunity with a comfort level that often eludes his competitors, knowing he has extraordinary advantages in terms of speed, precision, quality and customer service. "What we can deliver is what sells our company," he emphasized.

Snook is a long-term Netformx customer who places a high value on DesignXpert and what it has enabled Phalanx to achieve. He also admires Netformx for its commitment to technology and business excellence. When asked to comment about how he would evaluate Netformx from the perspective of customer service and product support, Mr. Snook had a one-word reply. "Unprecedented."

phalanxcase_v3.pdf

Meeting Growing Customer Demands

Email Article |  digg it |  reddit |  delicious |  StumbleUpon |  Facebook |  Twitter |  LinkedIn 

"Based in Orlando, we provide a wide range of network and communication services for the Hospitality Industry. We have successfully designed for 1,800 room resorts with a million feet of convention space. When you have a network like that - you need a tool like DesignXpert."
Herb Bornack, Jr.
CTO
Orlando Telco

OVERVIEW

In serving Orlando's continuously expanding business sector, Orlando Telephone Company (OTC) was faced with increasingly larger and more complex network requirements. The traditional manual design method could not handle these types of opportunities or provide the level of detail that these customers required. OTC implemented DesignXpert from Netformx to provide fully validated designs with detailed accessible proposal.

CHALLENGES

• Multi-Step Process
• Manual BOM
• Lack of Sufficient Design Detail
• Limited Online Configuration

BUSINESS RESULTS

• Time Savings - 20% to 30% reduction in design time
• Improved Design Accuracy
• Comprehensive High-Quality Deliverables
• Closing Deals Fast
• More and Larger Customer Wins
• Customer Design Confidence

Larger Customers Demand Better Designs

Orlando Telephone Company (OTC) is a leading Florida provider of advanced communications solutions for the booming Orlando area hospitality industry. Their solutions include voice, high speed Internet access, CCTV and SMATV/CATV services as well as IP PBX, high-speed Internet access networks and guest room television services. Before adopting DesignXpert, Chief Technology Officer Herb Bornack, Jr. and his team relied upon a multi-step network design process that included creating the graphic presentation in Visio, manual development of the Bill of Material (BoM) on a spreadsheet, and limited validation techniques, such as an online configurator.

Bornack's primary issue with Visio is that it presents a very basic picture and does not provide enough detailed information to satisfy their customers

As the communications needs of the business and leisure traveler have increased, hotels and resorts must provide a wider range of services to remain competitive. "We are dealing with larger and more sophisticated customers," Bornack explained, "who demand much more information about the network given the investment they are making."

Orlando Telephone Company provides network design consulting services that are sold on a stand-alone basis - allowing the customer to choose a different vendor for the implementation phase - or it is bundled into a complete end-to-end OTC solution.   Regardless of who completes the implementation, the size and complexity of these projects demand that the level of detail in the design documents be comprehensive enough to assess implementation costs and timetables accurately.

"In order to sell a design as a service I can't just put together a cute diagram in Visio," Bornack said. "That is not good enough if I am selling a design. I need to sell a design, BOM, and proof of concept, which means I need to validate my IP addressing and all the connections. In order to do that, I needed a more elaborate tool than Visio."

Bornack's other problem with Visio is that it does not validate designs. Bornack often turned to an online configurator, however, it only validated one product line, and each item was validated separately, not as a network.

Better Results in Less Time

The company deployed DesignXpert to develop and validate all network designs from OTC, on the enterprise side and the service provider side. Because DesignXpert resides on their laptops, Bornack and his team can bring the design to a customer meeting, walk the customer through the design, explain why each item is needed, make changes quickly at the customer site, and close the deal fast.

Bornack appreciates the powerful and practical capabilities of DesignXpert including integration with multiple online configuration tools and timely updates for multiple product lines and prices.

Netformx DesignXpert delivers the following business results for Orlando Telephone Company:

Time Savings: "With DesignXpert, I get a more thorough result in less time," Bornack confirms, pointing out that time is saved with the automation of each step in the process into a seamless streamlined workflow. "Instead of having to spec each product individually and create a spreadsheet for the cost of that product and then combine them into a general spreadsheet, DesignXpert does all that work for me. And I can validate my entire design with one click of my mouse.[e1] ."

"DesignXpert takes about 20% to 30% off my design time, depending on the size of the network," he added.

Improved Design Accuracy: DesignXpert automates processes, minimizing human error, improving design accuracy and validating the entire design.

"If I have to change an interface and I don't properly change the other side of the link, it is going to fail validation," Bornack says, explaining that DesignXpert eliminates this problem by guiding him to make the right changes and notifying him if anything is incorrect. "If I'm busy, DesignXpert keeps me from making mistakes."

Comprehensive High-Quality Deliverables: "DesignXpert puts together a complete and detailed package for me, and ties everything up, including service provider and enterprise designs, in a professional-looking integrated presentation," Bornack said. "I can walk the customer through the design step by step."

In addition, the detailed documents make it much easier for the technician to follow, making the installation process more efficient.

Closing Deals Fast: DesignXpert enables the OTC team to make rapid design changes, even while sitting in a  customer's conference room, letting the customer see the latest version right away, minimizing delay, and enabling the team to close deals fast.

"It is not just that I can work faster, it also impresses the customer and helps secure a customer win," Bornack said.

More and Larger Customer Wins: "DesignXpert enables us to cover a larger number of customers and larger sized opportunities than we would normally be able to do," Bornack explained. "A larger size customer requires a better presentation. In DesignXpert, designs can be illustrated faster, cleaner and more thoroughly. That's a big plus."

"DesignXpert comes in very handy especially when working with our larger customers," he continued. "Based in Orlando, we provide a wide range of network and communication services for the Hospitality Industry. We have successfully designed for 1,800 room resorts with a million feet of convention space. When you have a network like that - you need a tool like DesignXpert."

Customer Design Confidence: By providing thorough and well-detailed designs, DesignXpert allows OTC to boost customer confidence in designs and build a level of trust with the customer.

The Bottom Line: Competitive Edge

Due to the vast portfolio of services offered by OTC, they face competition from many fronts including service providers, PBX providers, cabling companies, CPE vendors, and systems integrators.  DesignXpert puts Orlando Telephone Company ahead of all their competitors because it empowers them to deliver a complete, detailed design in an easily accessible presentation, delivered to the customer in their choice of format.

"On large networks, I have seen my competitors provide hand-written designs or rudimentary designs with generic shapes and no where near a proof of concept," Bornack concluded. "DesignXpert gives us a competitive edge."

otccase_web.pdf

Streamlining Presales Operations

Email Article |  digg it |  reddit |  delicious |  StumbleUpon |  Facebook |  Twitter |  LinkedIn 

"With the same amount of resources, we now handle many more opportunities in the same time frame using DesignXpert."
Chris Gaito
Vice President, Professional Services
IPLogic

OVERVIEW

IPLogic's network design and quoting process involved multiple steps and tools, and redundant tasks, often taking up to three weeks to close a large deal. After deploying DesignXpert^TM by Netformx, IPLogic was able to integrate multiple tasks into a single tool. This dramatically increased IPLogic's efficiency and reduced design turnaround time to between two and three days or less, while increasing the professionalism of their deliverables and minimizing oversights and mistakes.

CHALLENGES

• Multiple Segregated Tools
• Multiple Customer Meetings
• Time-Consuming Manual Process
• Redundant Tasks
• Hand-Drawn Diagrams
• Resource Availability
• Inefficient Vendor Tools

BUSINESS RESULTS

• 33% Reduction in Opportunity-to-Quote Time
• 60% Reduction in Quote Preparation Time
• 90% Reduction in Presales Administrative Investment Time
• 90% Reduction in VoIP Bill of Material(BoM) Configuration Time
• 99% Reduction in Design Errors
• Able to Do More With the Same or Fewer Resources

 Lengthy PreSales Process

Prior to using DesignXpert, IPLogic had a lengthy presales process that involved multiple customer meetings and using multiple design and quoting tools. 

"We would meet with the customer and take a great deal of time to document the network," said Chris Agnoli, Consulting Engineer at IPLogic.

Following each customer meeting, the IPLogic team would return to the office, design the solution on paper, and then log into the online configurator to create the quote. Often the original design was actually hand-drawn on a large sheet of paper, because Visio was too time consuming, according to Agnoli.

"The time it takes to find stencils on Google that match the components in the network in order to create an accurate drawing, just isn't worth the time to draw it out in Visio," Agnoli explained. "I can draw the design more quickly on a piece of paper." In addition to potential damage and lack of an audit trail, the customer deliverable was not at the level of professionalism that IPLogic and its customers demand.

When a consulting engineer reviewed the output from the configurator, too often the project design was not clear. Therefore, the engineer would have to contact the salesperson and/or design engineer for further clarification about the scope of the opportunity and how the design and configuration meets the customer's objective. Once all the part numbers were entered into the online configurator, a customer quote still needed to be generated.  To do this the BOM had to be exported to an Excel spreadsheet and emailed to the internal salesperson.  The salesperson then created a quote, part number by part number, painstakingly using the company's internal quoting system. Only after everyone agreed, was it deemed worth the effort to store the design in a Visio diagram.

"It was very time consuming; a lot of circling back with multiple phone calls," Agnoli recalled. "We spent much of our time duplicating efforts, creating a design on paper, then in Visio, then in the configurator - a very cumbersome, drawn-out process."

When complete, IPLogic would deliver the design to the customer, who in most cases would request changes.  This launched a repeat of the same processes - and occasionally there would be multiple rounds until the customer accepted the design. The team sorted through the quote to locate the deleted part numbers and add the new ones, while continually double-checking the impact of these changes on the overall design. At this rate, designing large-scale networks could take as long as three weeks.

"The biggest challenge was resource availability," said Chris Gaito, Vice President of Professional Services at IPLogic. "Since it is difficult to find qualified people, we had to find new ways to be more efficient with current resources to achieve our planned revenue growth."

Integrated Design and Quoting

"We looked at tools for quoting, design and other various pieces of the process, but we did not find any solution, other than DesignXpert, that successfully integrated all the necessary components into a single integrated and easy to use tool," explained Gaito, who deployed DesignXpert across his entire team. Now every solution is designed and quoted using DesignXpert.

According to Gaito, using one integrated tool - DesignXpert - helps him drive process and workflow, establish new standards, and minimize training and licensing.

Netformx DesignXpert delivers the following business results for IPLogic:

• Time Savings: "DesignXpert allows us to realize some very significant operational efficiencies, minimizing the IPLogic sales cycle," said Agnoli. "The time savings is unbelievable. With DesignXpert, all that time has been reclaimed by the company."
  
  By using DesignXpert, IPLogic has reduced person-hours required to prepare a quote by 60%, and has reduced opportunity-to-quote time from as much as nine days down to two to three days or less. Agnoli also pointed out that DesignXpert has reduced VoIP BoM configuration time by up to 90%, from 40 minutes down to just four minutes. 

• Maximized Resources: "With the same amount of resources, we are able to cover a lot more opportunities in the same time frame using DesignXpert," said Gaito.
  
  "Fewer engineers are used to handle more presales opportunities in a more thorough manner, which has benefited us," added Agnoli. "We need to keep our resources billable.  However, presales activity, while critical, is not billable. To reduce several days of presales design effort to one day - that's time the engineer can be on site doing installations and generating revenue."
  
• Reduced Errors: A manual process means more data entry and more potential for typos and other errors. By automating processes, DesignXpert enables IPLogic to eliminate human error.  In fact, users have said that the since using DesignXpert, they experience an error rate of less than 1%. 

The Bottom Line: Enhancing Team Productivity

"Previously we had to be online to use the network design, configuration and quoting tools," Gaito concluded. "Using the old methodology, it took anywhere from 12-20 hours per project, and all that time had to be online. With DesignXpert, engineers now spend from 30-60 minutes doing the same work and a majority of that time can be offline. Therefore, I have engineers who can be productive working on trains or planes or in other environments where they do not have network connectivity. I have opened up a whole new working hour by having the right automated tool."

DesignXpert - Avaya ASD Integration

Email Article |  digg it |  reddit |  delicious |  StumbleUpon |  Facebook |  Twitter |  LinkedIn 

 Netformx today announced that network designers around the globe can now incorporate Avaya Intelligent Communication solutions in multi-vendor network designs when using Netformx DesignXpert.

More Design Options for DesignXpert Users

DesignXpert is a single, powerful desktop application that replaces an entire set of conventional network design tools, online configurators, graphics programs, word processing and spreadsheet templates, and proposal generators. It streamlines the entire opportunity-to-proposal process, making it easier for network engineers to build enterprise networks quickly and accurately incorporating industry-leading solutions such as Avaya's Communication Manager, which organizes and routes voice, data, and image and video transmissions.

Avaya's stencil library of Contact Center, Unified Communication and SMB products have been added to the Netformx KnowledgeBase, and DesignXpert has been integrated with the Avaya Solution Design (ASD) tool to ensure validation of multi-vendor designs that include Avaya products.

Avaya Intelligent Communications solutions operate over converged networks and support a rich multi-modal user experience, dynamic applications and communication-enabled business processes.

"When Avaya customers or channel partners develop multi-vendor designs, DesignXpert is a significant advantage," said Scott Spaulding, technical director, Avaya. "The integration of DesignXpert with Avaya's ASD tool enables our customers to more efficiently complete multi-vendor designs, because they are able to design the entire network in a single tool."

Netformx DesignXpert users report productivity gains ranging from 50% to 80% with up to 99.99% design accuracy over previous multi-tool methodologies.  This translates to more effective resource utilization, faster customer response time and reduction of costly error