Johnson & Johnson.

The business need.

Medical specialist Johnson & Johnson is a global household name whose products touch the lives of at least a billion people worldwide, every day. Naturally, it relies on a vast communications infrastructure, supported worldwide by Verizon and backed by regional partners.

But within EMEA, the unified communications network had run into difficulties. The multi-vendor estate across seven sites was not only complex, it required close monitoring and reporting & analysis tools. In addition, the previous maintenance arrangement in place did not offer proactive fault-flagging or alarming. This meant that corrective action could often only be taken after SLAs had already been breached.

Verizon – and Johnson & Johnson – wanted a partner that could improve the service, driving up availability and performance. They were looking for the highest possible levels of technical expertise and consultative service, and a company that could manage a multi-vendor estate.

The solution.

In just four weeks, Connect took over the entire management of Johnson & Johnson’s communications estate on Verizon’s behalf.

Connect agreed a ‘Per Port’ Managed Service contract that guaranteed a four-hour SLA response time. Johnson & Johnson’s UC estate was also integrated with the Connect Service Centre in London, for real-time alarming, remote diagnostics of faults and automatic logging.

Connect introduced its unique jeopardy management process. This means that rather than responding to breaches of SLAs, Connect proactively monitors any dips in performance long before service to users is disrupted. Action can then be taken, restoring performance without users even knowing. This is offered as a true 24×7 service – vital for a business of Johnson & Johnson’s scale.

The contract also included implementation and upgrade projects for additional Johnson & Johnson sites.

Outcomes.

From the start, Connect was able to hit the challenging service levels required, with SLA performance consistently over 99.9% – while managing 54 systems from seven different vendors, and a total of 56,000 ports. At the same time, having stabilised the infrastructure, Connect began to enhance it, increasing capacity, performance and reliability.

Derek Banks, Director TPV Solutions, Verizon Enterprise Solutions concludes: “Verizon Enterprise Solutions found a strong partner in Connect, who came to our relationship with a track record of delivering the highest levels of service across multiple countries and multiple vendor types. Together with their technical expertise, remote monitoring and management capability and global partner delivery network, Connect’s service level achievement is very competitive.”