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Benchmarking and Renewal of Gowrie's IT Support Contract

Gowrie Victoria, a leading provider of early learning services and qualifications, engaged Dog and Bone to assist them with a review and benchmark of their MSP’s (Managed Services Provider) contract for whole of IT management and support services. This collaboration aimed to identify opportunities for improvement, cost savings, and alignment with Gowrie’s evolving business needs.



The client

Gowrie Victoria is a purpose driven, not-for-profit organisation with a reputation for high quality early childhood education and care, translating theory into practice, and shining a light on best practice. Gowrie Victoria operates 6 early learning services across the Melbourne metropolitan area, as well as providing coaching, mentoring and learning programs to increase the capabilities, confidence and engagement of educators and teachers across Victoria.


The context

Gowrie Victoria, although satisfied with the level and quality of service they were receiving from their MSP, realised that with changing business needs and increasing cost pressures, they needed to ensure that the contract renewal aligned with their organisational objectives effectively. They did not want to unnecessarily conduct a full RFP (Request for Proposal) procurement and were looking for a pragmatic approach aimed to identify areas of improvement, cost reduction, and enhance the utilisation of technology resources within the organisation.


Goals and objectives

The primary goal of the project was to enable Gowrie Victoria to renew their Managed Services Provider contract ensuring that it was aligned with their business needs and providing good value for money with the understanding that the costs were within an appropriate range for the services provided.


We were looking for a pragmatic, independent review of our current MSP agreement to ensure that (1) we were receiving value for money and (2) their offering was appropriate for our current and emerging needs .... Engaging the independent expertise of Dog and Bone allowed Gowrie to test & confirm our MSP’s offering and provide the necessary due diligence before committing to another contract term.

- Paul Hodgson, Executive Manager, Commercial, Gowrie Victoria


Our approach

To address Gowrie Victoria’s needs, Dog and Bone engaged with business stakeholders to understand the current and future technological environment and service needs followed by an in-depth review of the proposed contract renewal, identifying gaps and opportunities for better business alignment and cost reductions, considering services offered, service level commitments, and pricing constructs. A benchmark analysis was then conducted against Dog and Bone’s extensive knowledge and data to provide comparison for Gowrie to understand their position of the proposed contract cost. Findings and recommendations were then presented in a detailed report and presentation to key stakeholders.


Key deliverables

  • Review of current technology environment and existing contracted technology services

  • Consultation with key business stakeholders to understand future business needs

  • Recommendations and considerations for contract renewal

  • Benchmarking of proposed cost against Dog and Bone knowledge and data

  • Detailed report and presentation of findings


Dog and Bone were able to provide both expertise and independence in their review. They also actively listened to our needs and were able to design an engagement that was targeted, cost effective and met our brief .... The engagement with Dog and Bone and final report provided assurance that we had undertaken an independent and informed assessment of our MSP contract. We can now go forward with a high level of confidence in both the nature of the contract and more broadly, the ongoing partnership with our MSP.

- Paul Hodgson, Executive Manager, Commercial, Gowrie Victoria


Outcome

Through engaging with Dog and Bone, Gowrie Victoria were able to proceed with the contract renewal, using the recommendations and insight from Dog and Bone to:


  1. Avoid a lengthy and costly RFP project, continuing to build on the existing MSP relationship

  2. Reduce and eliminate some proposed costs which were unnecessary for Gowrie Victoria

  3. Uplift services and service levels according to business needs

  4. Align the contract services with Gowrie business and technology needs


Key benefits

The collaboration with Dog and Bone enabled Gowrie to proceed with confidence into the contract renewal with the knowledge that the renewed contract was aligned with Gowrie business needs and will bring long term value to Gowrie, their staff and customers.


The recommendations and insights from Dog and Bone also assisted Gowrie to establish improved contract and service governance across their technology environment and establish a more productive and value-driven partnership with their MSP.


 

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