An Army of One

In an organization as large as Cleveland-based KeyBank ($91 billion in total assets), efficient document and device management can lead to improved information security and significant cost savings. According to Allyn Pytel, KeyBank's SVP of information delivery and application support, the bank relied on an army of disparate printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines that were supported by a variety of vendors.

This distributed environment, Pytel relates, made it difficult to monitor each device's performance and output. KeyBank also found it difficult to maintain the total cost of ownership across the enterprise. "We needed to manage fewer devices," says Pytel. "We wanted uniformity across our suppliers."

Center of Attention

So, in the second quarter of 2004, KeyBank's information delivery team, the bank's sourcing group (which supports the devices) and the IT division joined forces in search of a technology partner that could provide a centralized suite to audit equipment. The bank wanted a partner that could maintain the enterprise's devices from a central location. "By eliminating the separate silos that devices operate in, we can keep our network - and the information we are processing - more secure," Pytel explains.

The solution would need to manage KeyBank's large, heterogeneous environment while remaining hardware-agnostic. "If a device doesn't meet our needs, we need to be able to install another vendor's device," Pytel explains.

After issuing an RFP, KeyBank narrowed the list of potential partners to a few providers, including Xerox Global Services ( Stamford, Conn.) According to Xerox, its primary competitors' strategies focus on a customer's total spend, often advocating low-cost devices. Xerox, however, targets savings from an optimal device-to-employee ratio and a more secure network environment, the vendor claims.

KeyBank signed with Xerox Global Services at the end of 2004 and began deploying the provider's Office Services tool suite and managed output strategy in early 2005. "Xerox's solution identifies how often equipment is used, and it flags device or network problems before they occur," says Pytel. "This helps us achieve peak productivity."

The suite is integrated into KeyBank's help desks, systems management infrastructure and business management tools. "The integration of Xerox's software and our hardware has been smooth," Pytel says. "It is an out-of-the-box solution, so no additional equipment or software needed to be added."

The solution monitors device usage across all lines of business - including the leasing division, consumer banking, corporate banking and KeyBank's financial group - and related costs, performance, output volume and quality. The information is delivered to a combined team of Xerox and KeyBank executives.

KeyBank already has decreased its fleet to one device for every two employees, but, "This can be improved," Pytel says. "The suite will continuously review performance and usage and recommend a device fleet that can uphold productivity and our business objectives."

While KeyBank only went live with the full product suite in July, Pytel already has strong expectations. "The strategy and tool suite [includes] detailed analysis and recommendations for improved efficiency based on usage patterns, employee needs and device performance," he says. "This will help us reduce expenses by 10 percent in the first 12 months and produce 20 percent reductions each subsequent year."

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Snapshot

Institution: KeyBank (Cleveland).

Assets: $91 billion.

Business Challenge: Improve information security and reduce operating expenses through device management.

Solution: Xerox Global Services (Stamford, Conn.) Office Services tool suite and management services.