Customer Solution Case Study
/ / Global Financial Services Company Accelerates Services with Enterprise Portal
Overview
Country or Region: Global
Industry: Asset Management
Customer Profile
Allianz Global Investors is one of the five largest asset managers in the world with operations in 70 countries and over 1 trillion Euros (U.S.$1.2 trillion) under management.
Business Situation
Group subsidiaries needed a powerful yet flexible solution to improve internal communication, accelerate service delivery to clients, and develop a more cohesive corporate identity.
Solution
The company improved internal communication and accelerated accounting services by deploying an enterprise portal solution based on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Portal Server 2003 and other Microsoft software.
Benefits
Faster information access
Accelerated accounting services
More efficient use of IT resources
Higher information security
Improved corporate branding / “The portal gives us efficiencies that translate directly to increased service satisfaction, within the company and with external vendors and clients.”
Tony Burg, Vice President and Assistant Controller, Allianz Global Investors of America
With operations in 70 countries and over 1 trillion Euros (U.S.$1.2 trillion) under management, Allianz Global Investors is one of the five largest asset managers in the world. The company’s U.S. subsidiaries needed to improve internal communication, accelerate service delivery, and develop a more cohesive corporate identity. California-based internal service provider Allianz Global Investors of America delivered the solution in less than six weeks: an enterprise portal based on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Portal Server 2003, Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, and other Microsoft software. This portal has led to improvements in key business processes, including accounting and IT project administration. The portal also enables more efficient use of IT resources, higher information security, and improved corporate branding across the Allianz Global Investors family of companies.
Situation
Allianz Group (NYSE:AZ) is one of the largest insurance and financial services providers in the world. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the company’s 162,000 professionals provide insurance, investment banking, and asset management services to more than 60 million customers in 70 countries. After a series of acquisitions, including the Dresdner Bank Group, Allianz Group's asset management activities were integrated under Allianz Global Investors. Formerly known as Allianz Dresdner Asset Management, Allianz Global Investors is now one of the five largest asset managers in the world, with over 1 trillion Euros (U.S.$1.2 trillion) under management.
A Family of Companies
Allianz Global Investors of America L.P., headquartered in Newport Beach, California, provides central corporate services—accounting, human resources, legal, and others—for about 50 Allianz asset management subsidiaries in the United States. Graham Lambert, Senior Vice President of Information Systems for Allianz Global Investors, is responsible for developing Web-based communication and collaboration solutions for U.S. asset management operations. He tackled a difficult challenge: improving communication and productivity across a diverse, widely distributed organization. Many of the previously autonomous companies were adjusting their operations to comply with recent reorganizations and mergers. Lambert knew where he needed to focus: “Our main problem was internal communication. As the different subsidiaries came together into one organization, we did not have a way to effectively communicate policies, procedures, or announcements. We did not even have a centralized corporate directory.”
Better Communication Needed
The company also needed more effective teamwork and collaboration among corporate service providers and their internal clients. E-mail and paper were the primary document management systems, which led to inefficiencies in workflow and rapidly increasing demands on e-mail infrastructure. Decentralized file shares were not easily searchable, and it was difficult to efficiently manage security and backup.
Accounting Example
Lacking a centralized intranet, group subsidiaries retained traditional paper-based business processes, limiting service quality. For example, the company’s accounting department is the clearinghouse for all invoices sent to U.S. subsidiaries. Tony Burg, Vice President and Assistant Controller for Allianz Global Investors, describes the challenges of handling thousands of transactions per day. “We were a paper-oriented company,” he says. “Our subsidiaries would receive invoices, code and approve them, and then mail them to accounting headquarters to be processed.” Burg’s accounts payable group also received invoices directly, which had to be rerouted back to the subsidiaries for coding and approval. “You can imagine the bottlenecks that occurred in our interoffice mail,” says Burg. Responding quickly to status inquiries was also difficult. Paper invoices were stored in central file rooms, where employees had to sift through large amounts of information to locate what they needed for a specific request.
Solution
Drawing on previous experience with SharePoint® Team Services from Microsoft®(a forerunner of Microsoft Windows® SharePoint Services), Lambert concluded the company’s needs were best served by an enterprise portal solution based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system (bothpart of Microsoft Windows Server System™ integrated server software), and other desktop and server technologies.
Decision for Microsoft
Allianz Global Investors considered several alternatives, including portal offerings from PlumTree and PeopleSoft, before deciding on SharePoint Portal Server 2003. A compelling factor in favor of Microsoft was extensive integration with existing desktop and server infrastructure. Windows Server 2003 delivers Windows SharePoint Services, software that enables companies to create secure Web sites for information sharing and document collaboration. Windows SharePoint Services provides strongly integrated functionality to the Microsoft Office System and other desktop applications. SharePoint Portal Server 2003 extends Windows SharePoint Services by adding powerful search features, customizable sites, and content targeting to connect employees with information and coworkers in powerful new ways.
SharePoint Portal Server 2003 uses underlying technologies, such as Web Parts and document libraries, provided by Windows SharePoint Services. This integration greatly reduces the time and cost associated with development, training, and support. Lambert explains, “We use Microsoft products extensively, but we don’t have extensive development resources. SharePoint [Portal Server] had all the features we needed, so an integrated Microsoft solution was hard to beat.” Total cost of ownership also favored SharePoint Portal Server 2003. “SharePoint Portal Server [2003] provided compelling value,” says Lambert.
Fast Deployment and Adoption
A relatively small team (less than three full-time employees) required only six weeks to deploy SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to 1,800 employees across Allianz Global Investors’ U.S. subsidiaries (see Figure 1). Using templates, deployment guides, and other support resources shipped with the product and available online, the team made rapid progress. Logon authentication and security is handled by Active Directory® service, simplifying access to sites and document libraries across the company. Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs means employees can work with the portal and team sites intuitively without extensive training. As Allianz Global Investors migrates to Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003, improved integration with Windows SharePoint Services means employees can collaborate on team documents directly from programs like Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office Excel® 2003 spreadsheet software, and Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003messaging and collaboration client—with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. A standardized page design and self-managed content administration helped eliminate bottlenecks in posting and updating site-specific information. Each site has an owner responsible for handling questions and updating content. To prepare content managers, the team issued a descriptive flier and conducted brief training sessions. “Training site administrators was fast, because uploading content is very intuitive, and SharePoint [Portal Server] features are easy to learn,” says Lambert.
A Flexible Solution
While the portal and team sites offer a high degree of standardization, subsidiaries are free to use features that best suit their needs. One of the most popular home page links is a corporate directory, enabled by a customized application that provides searches across the company’s PeopleSoft employee database. Team sites offer powerful document management features—versioning, check-in and check-out, and alerts—that enable employees to work on collaborative documents much more efficiently than with e-mail or paper-based systems. There has been strong adoption in Human Resources where policies, procedures, and forms have been migrated from file shares and paper to a dedicated SharePoint site. Allianz Global Investors’ IT Department also makes extensive use of team sites to manage projects and change control. Change requests, previously paper- or e-mail-based, are now submitted using custom forms created through the portal with Microsoft Office InfoPath®2003 informationgathering program. The forms are stored in a document library where they can be reviewed electronically by members of a decision-making board.
Accounting Streamlined
The accounting department has a dedicated document repository for client billing, and is developing an integrated workflow solution for its accounts payable section. When fully deployed, the workflow solution (based on K2.NET 2003 by Microsoft Gold Certified Partner SourceCode Technology Holdings) will streamline and automate invoice handling for accounts payable. New invoices will be routed to accounting headquarters and scanned upon arrival. Web-based forms will add 10 to 12 fields of searchable metadata including vendor name, invoice amount, and responsible business unit. The invoices will then be routed electronically to appropriate subsidiaries for coding and approval, and returned to accounting for payment. All information generated in the process will be stored on a server running Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000, part of Microsoft Windows Server System integrated server software, and also uploaded to the company’s PeopleSoft accounting system.
Some process steps are being applied retroactively to existing financial documents. A records migration team is scanning historical vendor invoices, adding metadata, and uploading the files to the document library. The SharePoint Portal Server powerful search engine and results filtering (e.g., by business unit or vendor name) enables employees to quickly find the information needed to respond to audits and vendors’ invoice inquiries.
Benefits
Allianz Global Investors has realized substantial benefits since deploying Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003:
Faster Information Access, Better Service
As more content is migrated from paper records and network file shares to fully searchable document libraries, employees find information faster, increasing their productivity and improving service. For example, converting paper invoices to fully searchable digital format results in more efficient workflow. Time previously spent searching paper records can be redirected to managing accounts, and response time for addressing inquiries has improved by 25 percent. Because invoices and other financial records will no longer be routed by paper mail or overnight courier services, those costs will be eliminated. “We’re here to help our subsidiaries keep their financial records current and serve their customers better,” says Tony Burg, Vice Presidentand Assistant Controller for Allianz Global Investors. “The portal gives us efficiencies that translate directly to increased service satisfaction, within the company and with external vendors and clients.”
Easier Administration
The portal has reduced IT overhead previously required to create and manage information resources. SharePoint Portal Server 2003 provides employees easily accessible ways to capture and share information—activities formerly done through network shares, interoffice mail, or e-mail. Local site administrators can manage content and security. E-mail attachments have decreased, reducing the load on mail servers and helping return e-mail to the messaging role for which it was designed. Lambert summarizes the overall benefits this way: “Our resources are used more efficiently. It’s much easier for the IT organization to deploy the portal and set up team sites than to manage network shares.”
Increased Information Security
Converting paper records to digital files and aggregating information to libraries improves data security. In the accounting department, paper invoices could be viewed by all people who touched the document or gained access to the file room. In contrast, accessing digital invoices requires a username and password, reducing the number of employees viewing the information. Access can be tracked, and rights changed easily as employees or organizations change. And because fewer people handle the original invoices, misplacement has been sharply reduced.
Improved Corporate Identity
Prior to SharePoint Portal Server 2003, employees in the semiautonomous companies comprising Allianz Global Investors did not have an easy way to gain broader corporate awareness. The portal helps spread the Allianz brand and culture across these organizations. “Pervasive Web presence helps employees understand that while we have a complex organization, we are all part of the global Allianz family,” explains Lambert.
A Bright Future with Microsoft
With a Microsoft solution based on SharePoint Portal Server 2003, Allianz Global Investors can be assured of scalability and support as its subsidiary companies grow and change. The demand for portal access and team sites is growing because the integrated solution delivers solid performance and value. Says Graham Lambert, “We see increasing adoption from people who realize this solution benefits them in real ways.”
Microsoft Office System
Microsoft Office is the business world's chosen environment for information work that provides the software, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact. For more information about Microsoft Office System, go to:
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 enables enterprises to deploy an intelligent portal that seamlessly connects users, teams and knowledge so that people can leverage relevant information across business processes to help them work more efficiently. For more information about Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies, go to: