Cost-Effective Application Support: How XTIVIA Optimized Operations for a Leading Retailer

Organization

One of our valued clients is a prominent retail apparel chain headquartered in Texas, operating over 1,500 stores across the US and Canada. This company has acquired several major clothing retailers as subsidiaries and offers a diverse range of men’s clothing, footwear, tuxedo rentals, and suit pressing services, emphasizing quality, fashion, and innovation. With a robust supply chain supported by numerous warehouses, their global workforce of approximately 22,500 employees delivers exceptional shopping experiences.

To remain competitive and address digital transformation challenges, they have implemented an advanced mix of cloud and on-premises technologies, ensuring a resilient and scalable enterprise setup.

Challenge

Our client faced significant challenges supporting a wide range of applications across their enterprise, including both production and development operations. Their previous approach relied on multiple geographically dispersed teams, which created a number of issues:

• High operational costs diverted attention away from business development.
• Fragmented responsibilities across different teams led to compromised SLAs.
• The complex, multi-technology environment with diverse dependencies and integrations proved difficult to manage.
• Addressing complex technical issues required specialized expertise, resulting in delays.
• Extended downtimes further impacted business operations.

They approached us for a comprehensive and cost-effective solution to address these challenges while improving operational efficiency and service quality.

Solution

We analyzed their existing support framework and governance model to design a unified, streamlined support system for L1 and L2 application support. Here’s how we partnered with them to transform their operations:

1. Consolidated Support Team:

• We established a single, highly skilled team capable of supporting multiple technologies, eliminating the need for fragmented teams across different geographies.
• This 24/7 support model provided end-to-end SLA accountability, ensuring faster resolution of production issues.
• By consolidating operations under one team, we reduced overall support costs by 50%, creating significant financial benefits for the client.

2. Automation Implementation:

• Automation solutions were introduced to reduce manual effort, enabling faster processing times and minimizing human errors in daily operations.
• We implemented proactive monitoring and automated alert systems, allowing the team to identify and resolve potential issues before they escalated.
• These automation initiatives also improved the quality of service delivery, enhancing customer satisfaction through consistent performance.

3. Continuous Service Improvement (CSI):

• A CSI framework was developed, ensuring that the service delivery model was refined and improved each quarter to address evolving business needs.
• Regular reviews and feedback mechanisms were established to identify opportunities for optimization and implement new processes or tools.
• This framework ensured measurable improvements in efficiency and effectiveness over time, keeping the client ahead of their competition.

4. Advanced Troubleshooting and Collaboration:

• Our multi-skilled team deployed advanced debugging techniques, enabling faster identification and resolution of complex technical issues across multiple technology stacks.
• We worked closely with the client’s development teams to perform detailed root cause analyses and implement long-term fixes, reducing repeat incidents.
• Through regular knowledge-sharing sessions, we ensured seamless communication and collaboration, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
  

5. Performance Metrics:

• ITIL-aligned metrics such as Mean Time to Resolve (MTTR), First Touch Resolution Rate, and Reopen Rates were introduced to objectively measure the effectiveness of support operations.
• Comprehensive performance dashboards were designed, providing the client with real-time visibility into key metrics and trends for informed decision-making.
• These metrics were reviewed quarterly to identify areas for improvement, ensuring ongoing alignment with the client’s business objectives.

KEY CAPABILITIES

Our expertise played a key role in delivering results for this client. We leveraged deep capabilities in the following areas:

Service Frameworks: ITIL-aligned practices.

Technology Proficiency:

• Middleware Administration (e.g., TIBCO, MQ, IBM eCommerce, Hyperion).
• Omni-Channel platforms like Manhattan.
• Containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Cloud platforms (GCP).
• Database management systems (MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL).

Administration Tools:

• Atlassian Suite (JIRA, Confluence).
• UC4 Automic, Jenkins, ServiceNow.
• Monitoring tools (AppDynamics, SolarWinds, Grafana).

BUSINESS RESULT

The solutions we implemented delivered measurable benefits, including:

• Improved Resource Utilization: A consolidated operations model enabled a single team to efficiently support multiple technologies.
• Enhanced SLA Performance: With full accountability for production issues, our unified approach eliminated inter-team delays, leading to better SLA compliance.
• Scalability: The flexible 24/7 support model allowed for seamless onboarding of new scopes with minimal training.
• Cost Efficiency: Consolidating support into a single multi-skilled team reduced operational costs significantly.
• Continuous Improvements: The CSI framework ensured consistent service enhancements, achieving higher “Right First Time” delivery rates and reduced dependency on manual interventions.

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