Dr Stefan Schloter, CIO at T-Systems International GmbH, spoke with DMR about the efficiency program which has been conducted with great success within his organization since April 2009.

DMR: What IT initiatives are best suited to reduce IT costs without causing quality and the performance of services to suffer?

S. Schloter: In our present economic situation, all CIOs are under pressure to reduce IT costs. This is made even more difficult by the fact that the quality of the IT  support of business processes on the business side must be assured. In my opinion, the focus of the measures should be on the IT costs for “run the business”. A reduction of these costs creates space for “change the business”. In this way, more IT modifications which contribute to the company‘s success and process efficiency can be realized. This in turn enables faster response to changes during growth phases.

DMR: If you take stock of the progress which has been achieved in reaching the set goals and of the selected procedure, what conclusions would you draw?

S. Schloter: I am highly satisfied with the way the program has been conducted. One important point is the holistic approach which critically examines the entire block of costs, starting with operations and continuing to infrastructure and all the way to the costs for workplace systems. The mechanics for control and tracking of the measures are also helpful, especially the implementation degree methodology, which ensures that measures are monitored over the course of the individual stages from the initial idea to the full implementation.

DMR: What have been the greatest challenges and success stories up to now?

S. Schloter: One challenge is to identify the right measures. That is very important during the start-up phase so that the process quickly accelerates. A high level of continuity must be maintained in the work at a later time so that none of the momentum in the program is lost. Moreover, I believe that successful cross-area work, from the business departments to the suppliers, is important. This is the only way to exploit potential completely. At this point, it is necessary above all to think outside the box when identifying measures so that we are not trapped within established channels.

We have successfully realized potential in the office infrastructure and the network costs, but have also achieved this goal in computer center operation by changing over to the dynamic services offering of T-Systems. These measures are naturally highly satisfying because the cost savings become effective for profits directly on the outside edge.

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