Nationwide Transforms ITAM with IBM IASP for Optimal Results

Nationwide Building Society’s IT Asset Management has experienced significant change over the years as software license estates have grown from just software and servers to the cloud, adding layer upon layer of complexity to the organization that now has a workforce of over 18,000 employees.

The SAM team at Nationwide was relatively small and widespread so, to address the changes to its IT estate, Nationwide engaged with various managed service providers to share the workload and responsibilities. In the same vein, various tools that were seen as the ‘silver bullet’ were implemented. Despite their best intentions, the complexity of the estate and suppliers meant it wasn’t easy to manage this effectively with a standard managed service and they found it difficult to make these partnerships and tools work effectively for them.

The lack of a mature structured ITAM Management Framework meant that resources within the team were in a constantly reactive state. ITAM and IT Procurement didn’t have a strong working relationship and operated in silos. Cross-functional requests were often met with a defensive response because neither team understood clearly why the requests were being made. The organization holds a vast amount of confidential information, and this compounded the situation as there were security concerns about what this information was being used for. Opportunities to share knowledge, appropriate data, and valuable information to drive positive outcomes were often missed. This lack of internal communication also impacted the relationship with IBM, and Marie was concerned that if any of their business areas spoke to the publisher support teams, it was possible that an audit could be triggered when the wrong information was unwittingly imparted due to the lack of knowledge about the limitations of the license or contract. Nationwide had already experienced painful IBM audits that resulted in unbudgeted spend, and a suboptimal IBM estate which needed to be rectified.

ITAM & Procurement Grow a Stronger Relationship

Marie explained how Nationwide moved ITAM and IT Procurement functions into a well-managed, cohesive, and proactive relationship. This began with a process of communication and education, and both teams started to understand more about how the other operated and realized that, through sharing information and working together more collaboratively, they would become more effective. This allowed the ITAM team to understand how the procurement team functioned on a more granular level and provided them with the data they needed. As renewals approached, they established exact requirements so that the right products were purchased in the right way and with the right volumes. Procurement began to understand the importance of the governance and optimization the ITAM function delivered and provided the team with the documentation and contracts, allowing them to manage the software effectively knowing what they could deploy and where they could deploy it.

The trust between the two teams grew and ITAM and Procurement started working together on optimizing Nationwide’s software estate. This trust became invaluable as it led to a journey that would free up resources and optimize Nationwide’s IT spend. Most importantly, this would mitigate the risk of costly audits.

Nationwide Confronts the Complexities of IBM Licensing

Marie recalls her team navigating two IBM audits, each taking about six months to complete. With so many teams across such a huge organization, trying to track down the information required in the audit response and who would need to provide it was extremely time-consuming. Valuable resources were taken away from day-to-to-day business tasks to build the response, leaving the team in a constantly reactive state. As a result, the outcome of each audit was less than favorable and required a negotiation process that would subsequently define the IBM renewal. This prevented the careful forecasting of usage and only buying what was needed. Instead, the settlement was met by increasing the products and volumes to satisfy IBM and ensure compliance.

Marie explained that despite her experience with IBM, the constant changes to the publisher’s licensing terms meant that they were continuously trying to stay abreast of the correct usage of products while carrying out all other ITAM responsibilities. Managing deployment, changes to the environment, and ensuring it was all being collected correctly by ILMT was becoming overwhelming.

The amount Nationwide was spending with IBM was spiraling because the reactive state of management of the environment left substantial large agreements in place without a clear understanding of what was actually needed, both now and in the future. Trying to achieve either a cost-neutral or cost-down outcome was impossible as new projects would land requiring more products.

Team Discussions Lead to an IASP Solution

Procurement now understood what the ITAM team encountered each time there was an audit and ITAM understood how this ultimately affected the IT budget. The lack of resources and expertise to support these audits and proactively manage this publisher had become a challenge, and both teams knew they needed a solid solution.

Nationwide’s Senior IT Procurement Manager, Ros Davies, spoke with IBM about the possibility of a ‘no audit’ clause to be added to their contracts. IBM suggested the IASP program, explained the benefits, including the audits exemption, and provided a list of approved partners. This was put to Marie as a solution, but with her experience and understanding of how IBM operates, she understandably had reservations. The program looked like it would be embarking on an uncomfortably close and overly transparent relationship that would feel like an ongoing audit. It sounded like IBM would have a complete and constant view of their IBM estate and that a partner would act as an extra set of eyes, alerting IBM of any non-compliance. She envisaged each situation where servers are spun up by the software developers, leaving them instantly non-compliant and unable to remediate. On first impressions, the only solution this provided would be simplifying the procurement process, and it looked like a very costly solution to the problem.

The strong relationship and understanding between ITAM and Procurement meant mutual respect for any apprehensions and an appreciation of requirements. They explored the program more extensively and realized the overall value this program could deliver if they were working with the right partner, and if both teams were involved in the partnership. Marie’s initial concerns were dispelled, and she entrusted Ros’ Procurement team with finding and engaging with the right IASP partner. Ros and her team had a clear understanding of the role that ITAM performed within Nationwide, and understood the failings of previous managed service partnerships. They knew what would be required from the new partnership and that the decision wouldn’t be solely based on the cost. Marie was confident in Ros’ ability to communicate the progress of the provider evaluation and engage with the best IASP provider to meet their needs.

Anglepoint is Chosen as the Independent IASP Provider

The Gartner^® Magic Quadrant^™ for SAM Managed Service Providers showed Anglepoint as a strong contender for this partnership. Although they were a relatively unknown American IASP provider in the UK market at the time, they were the clear leader in their field. Nationwide needed a provider to partner with that would have aligned goals and be incentivized by outcomes that met with their focus on cost optimization and reduced risk, not the sale of IBM software.

The partnership was formed, and the process took about six months to implement fully. Anglepoint’s expert team worked closely with Nationwide to ensure engagement with all the right people across the organization through weekly updates and continuous reporting. A gap analysis of ILMT and SAM tooling ensured that all the IBM data was being gathered and that there was a clear centralized view of the IBM estate. Anglepoint embedded itself within Nationwide, working as an extension of the ITAM and Procurement teams and providing extra resources and IBM expertise, acting as both a consultant and partner. Nationwide followed IBM’s best practices that Anglepoint recommended and now operates in complete compliance with the risk of painful audits eliminated. Nationwide has now outlined a clear roadmap for IBM, forecasting future use and empowering the best possible commercial and contractual outcomes for renewals.

The IASP program requires the client to provide usage reports every six months (This is an exception as standard requirement is quarterly). Anglepoint delivers reports every quarter to Nationwide so that a close eye is kept on the IBM environment, meaning Nationwide is ready and prepared to submit the usage reports.

Anglepoint’s services have gone above and beyond the requirements of the IASP program and offer an extra layer of optimization recommendations and remediations to help keep firm control of the IBM Spend. The relationship has created a better management perception of the ITAM and Procurement teams as the partnership means budgeting is more accurate and favorable. Rather than engaging with management every few months, reports are provided regularly, ensuring any requests that are made are delivered with confidence and more likely to be approved. ITAM and Procurement are more respected as improved business functions.

Today, Nationwide has a well-managed IBM estate, a strong relationship with Anglepoint as their IASP provider, and a great relationship with IBM. Through this they benefit from additional resources provided by Anglepoint, the ability to plan and budget, and remediate risk as a result of having a compliant IBM estate.

This working relationship with Anglepoint has expanded and now includes many other publishers in a Managed Service. Anglepoint’s laser focus on everything ITAM means Nationwide stays current and offers invaluable benchmarking across the industry. This allows Nationwide to do what they do best and service their 15 million customers worldwide.