Delivering Cost Visibility to a Financial Services Group in 14 Countries

Overview of the Client

About the Client

The client is a premium financial services group that offers a comprehensive range of financial solutions to retail and corporate customers across key markets in 14 countries. Their global presence and diverse offerings make cost transparency and effective cost management essential for their success.

The Challenge

The client faced critical challenges in managing its infrastructure spend:

• Lack of Unified View: Management lacked a unified view of infrastructure spending, making it difficult to track and manage costs effectively.
• Decentralized Cost Tracking: There was no consolidated view of costs, resulting in fragmented data that hindered CFOs and CIOs from obtaining a comprehensive view of expenses and making improvements.
• Inefficiencies in Financial Forecasting: These challenges led to inefficiencies that hindered financial forecasting and limited senior management’s ability to make informed decisions.
• Lack of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Visibility: The absence of TCO visibility hampered cost management efforts and resource allocation.

The Solution

MagicOrange Platform Implementation

To address these issues, the client trusted MagicOrange’s comprehensive cost management platform. The solution provided a centralized view of infrastructure spending by incorporating all spend data, including on-premises costs, vendor costs, labor, and cloud spend from two different cloud providers. With a holistic view of their spend data, the client’s team can now track and analyze infrastructure costs with ease.

The new solution also enabled a smoother workflow between IT and Finance departments by using the Technology Business Management (TBM) taxonomy. TBM is a framework that helps organisations align their technology and IT investments with business objectives by providing a standardized way to categorise and classify technology-related costs and services. This fosters productive and effective communication between IT and Finance teams by creating a common language for discussing financial matters related to technology, often referred to as “Running IT as a Business.”

Finally, the client’s implementation of the MagicOrange Platform included creating specific views for infrastructure managers. These views offered real-time insights into the costs they managed, giving management the tools and insights needed to make wiser, faster, and better decisions. Real-time visibility fostered a culture of accountability as managers could proactively monitor and manage their cost responsibilities.

Key Benefits

Total Spend in One Place: Thanks to MagicOrange, infrastructure managers gained a single, consolidated view of all infrastructure spend for the first time. This newfound visibility strengthened their ability to make informed decisions promptly, optimize cost management and strategically allocate resources.

Better On-Premises and Cloud Spend Management: MagicOrange seamlessly integrates all spend data, providing a clear breakdown of on-premises vs. cloud costs. This allows managers to optimize budget allocation and assess the cost effectiveness of various solutions.

Real-Time Cost Comparison: MagicOrange enables infrastructure managers to compare on-premises and cloud spend side by side, accommodating different cloud providers. Management can identify cost-saving opportunities and explore more cost efficient alternatives suited to the client’s evolving needs.

A Culture of Commercial Accountability: Dedicated views for infrastructure managers offer a transparent and easily understandable overview of their costs. This increased accountability fosters a cost-conscious culture and promotes better cost management practices across the organisation.

Improved Inter-Department Relations: The new solution has helped different departments to communicate more effectively by integrating classifications as per the TBM taxonomy.

Strategic Insights Reinforced by Facts: MagicOrange’s customizable dashboards and reports offer CFOs and CIOs strategic insights into IT costs, performance, and efficiency metrics. CFOs and CIOs can identify cost optimization opportunities, streamline operations, and drive innovation through evidence-based decision-making.

Predictive Analytics and “What-If” Calculations: MagicOrange’s data analytics capabilities enable CFOs to leverage historical spending patterns and forecast future costs. CFOs can perform “What-If” scenarios to assess the financial impact of potential decisions or changes in infrastructure. This empowers managers and leaders to develop robust financial strategies and align their spending choices with business goals effectively.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

MagicOrange’s comprehensive cost management solution transformed the client’s ability to manage costs and make informed decisions. With improved cost visibility, optimized spend management, and enhanced inter-departmental communication, the client is well-equipped for future growth and efficiency. The ongoing benefits of MagicOrange’s solution continue to support the client’s strategic goals and operational excellence.

Learn More About MagicOrange Solutions

Explore MagicOrange’s offerings and see how our cost management solutions can transform your organisation. Contact us today for more information or to request a demo.