Case Study

University: Sourcing Strategy & Selection

Enabling strategic vision by preparing for a new managed services partner with a Sourcing Strategy.

At a Glance

DigiRen empowered a university to realise its 2030 digital vision by developing a tailored sourcing strategy and managing the selection process for a Managed Service Provider, optimizing their service delivery and enhancing the overall employee and student experience.

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Cultivated future-focused strategic partnerships.
Yes
Aligned strategic goals with new partners.
Yes
Helped select partners for transformative change.

Challenge

The University has more than 23,000 students across 90 countries. Its 2030 digital vision prioritises providing digital leadership and delivery capability to empower the University to be a university of choice. Whilst undergoing a transformation of their platform operating model, the University was seeking a Managed Service Provider (MSP) who could align to the modern context and drive innovation to empower employees, streamline operations, and ultimately enhance the student experience. The existing MSP contract was approaching renewal, and several pain points highlighted the need for a strategic shift:

  • A vendor predominantly focused on maintaining base operations rather than driving value-adding engineering activities.
  • A strong desire for an MSP partner who could enable the internal team to refocus on higher-value strategic activities.
  • Service inefficiencies, effort duplication and delays caused by unclear roles and responsibilities
  • Missed opportunities to leverage modern platform optimisation practices, with a plateau in the service delivery experience and commercials indicating a lack of change.

The challenge for DigiRen

To help a university optimise its service delivery, develop a tailored sourcing strategy and manage the selection process, encompassing contract review, market baselining, framework development, and expert RFP guidance.

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Approach

Here's how the tailored sourcing strategy and selection process were conducted:

  1. Reviewed the existing contract from both cost and operational perspectives, including comprehensive workshops and interviews with university staff.
  2. Performed market baselining with four prioritised providers to assess potential value and capabilities.
  3. Developed a tailored selection framework aligned with the university's strategic vision.
  4. Defined an optimised service delivery model, outlining where services could be insourced, outsourced, or shared responsibility.
  5. Managed the end-to-end Request for Proposal (RFP) process, including facilitating key sessions and preparing critical documentation to support decision-making.
  6. Provided objective technical advice to evaluate potential vendors, ensuring alignment with the university's operational and strategic needs.

Outcomes

  • Driving transformation on the University’s journey to a modern operating model by selecting a partner who provides more than “keeping the lights on”.
  • A future-focused strategy for how the University can realign future platform partnerships with their strategic goals and operational context.
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