SHI customizes Device as a Service solution for large state public health department

The customer needed to implement changes to their DaaS solution to accommodate COVID-19 remote work efforts.

Challenge:

For over a decade, a large state public health department has leveraged SHI’s managed Device as a Service (DaaS) solution to provision and support approximately 60,000 desktops, laptops, and tablets at over 450 locations. Services include hardware acquisition, custom factory integration, deployment services, on-site break/fix support, iMac support, special project support, asset return services, and account management.

In 2020, the customer needed to modify the original DaaS solution to support their COVID-19 remote work efforts. The goals and objectives included:

• Standardizing device configurations.
• Streamlining the ordering process across all enterprise agencies.
• Obtaining discounts on hardware pricing and below government market lease rate factors.
• Benefiting from flexibility to adjust finance terms throughout the term of the contract.
• Allowing device movement between agencies' lease schedules to maximize use of assets during lease lifecycles.
• Systematic refreshes of existing equipment.
• Access to qualified technicians to perform on-site break/fix services.
• Providing services statewide in a timely and responsible manner.

Solution:

The DaaS solution has since been adapted to include COVID-19 safety precautions to protect the health and well-being of the state agency’s staff and SHI’s IT support technicians. To ensure that world-class service to the agency's 60,000+ staff workers (many of whom had shifted to remote work) continued uninterrupted in the wake of COVID-19, SHI began shipping devices directly to end users, implementing an electronic method for tracking assets, and servicing them remotely or in socially distanced settings.

Specific accommodations made due to COVID-19 include:

• Grab'N'Go PC deployments: End users could pick up pre-configured devices and peripherals at various customer locations staffed by SHI deployment technicians.
• New practices for device delivery: Instead of provisioning devices onsite, SHI offered shipping of new devices directly to various end users and new hires. SHI also used shipping where possible to support break/fix tickets for peripheral replacements.
• Switch to electronic tracking of assets: SHI and the customer used a specially designed electronic form to document chain of custody of devices. The switch provided every customer location with an improved method of storing and locating specific records, reduced time spent documenting transfers by half, and increasedcost savings by going paperless.

Outcome:

SHI provided an all-encompassing solution that offered the customer the flexibility required with hardware and services bundled together into a predictable, per unit monthly fee.

The benefits of the new DaaS solution include:

• ~$3.6M ($900K annually) in savings on hardware and services.
• Additional $6.1M savings were introduced through increased program acceptance and number of seat counts over the second term of the six-year contract.
• Greater standardization, efficiency, and innovation across the enterprise.
• Improved end-user experience with defined, four-year refresh cycles, and faster return to service times.
• Flexibility to adjust lease terms and ratio of desktops to laptops throughout the contract.
• Competitive pricing based on anticipated quantity of devices.
• Device movement between agencies as needed.

Ultimately, SHI utilized this opportunity to transform the customer’s existing DaaS solution and create a modern and customizable program to help the health agency continue to grow over the course of the pandemic.