BT drives down costs of high performance projectors

Customer challenge

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communication services. To facilitate IT procurement throughout the company, BT has developed a catalogue of standard products. As projectors are regularly used throughout the company, it is important that they are reliable to avoid performance problems in client meetings. To minimise the risks of performance operational issues, BT decided to add specific projector models to its technology catalogue.

Computacenter solution

To ascertain the most appropriate projector for BT's purposes, the company partnered with Computacenter's specialist Audio-visual Solutions Unit. Computacenter ran a comprehensive evaluation, and provided data on industry trends, product roadmaps and support to enable BT to make an informed decision. Following the benchmarking exercise, BT selected Epson projectors, which will be sourced on an ongoing basis through Computacenter.

Results

Through the partnership with Computacenter, BT is able to leverage its purchasing power, which has resulted in a reduction of nearly a third in the cost of each projector. In addition to competitive pricing, BT has been able to eliminate projector hire costs. By standardising the technology BT has also been able to simplify IT support, and is now able to offer enhanced meeting facilities for staff.

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Customer profile

Providing communication services for the 21st century
BT is a leading provider of information and communication technology solutions to customers throughout the world. The BT Group encompasses a number of integrated businesses that provide voice, data and IT services to individuals, corporate customers and other communications providers.

In the UK, BT serves more than 18 million business and residential customers with more than 28 million exchange lines. Its business strategy is focused on building long-term partnerships with these customers, while transforming its networks, systems and services for the 21st century.

Business challenge

Making a good impression with reliable technology
To ensure it provides a standardised level of IT equipment across the company, BT has developed a bespoke catalogue of products that enables departments and managers to procure key technology from trusted suppliers.

With a growing reliance on audio-visual equipment for business meetings, it soon became apparent that BT needed to add projectors to this portfolio. As Gary Everson, Product Manager for PCs and Peripherals at BT, explains: "Initially, staff either had to hire a projector or managers would simply buy a product direct. The cost to hire projectors on a regular basis was considerable plus we had no power over individual decisions to procure projectors, which meant there was no cost control, quality control or standardisation across the company."

To ensure it met the requirements of its staff, BT needed to find a projector that was lightweight, compact, powerful, easy to use and delivered high performance. "A projector is often one of the first pieces of technology used by an employee in front of potential customers and clients," comments Gary. "If it doesn't perform, is difficult to set-up, or fails to project a clear professional image, a negative perception can be wrongly implied."

Computacenter solution

Standardised projector procurement
With so many different products available, BT needed expert assistance to ensure it selected the right device. By partnering with Computacenter, BT was able to benefit from its extensive knowledge of the audio-visual market and carry out an independent evaluation of a range of products. The evaluation was designed to assess the ability of competing products to meet BT's requirements. It included a series of constructed test scenarios, which are based on industry standard tools and proven processes.

The results of this benchmarking exercise were captured in a comprehensive business case, which also detailed product roadmaps, industry trends and support information. As a result of the evaluation, BT opted for Epson projectors, which were purchased through Computacenter. Sourcing the new devices, however, was just the beginning of Computacenter's work with BT. It also assists the company with asset tagging new projectors and bundling the devices with core components.

BT's internal product portfolio now includes two different types of Epson projectors – one of which is specifically designed for managers to take to meetings off-site. With an annual purchasing volume of around 200 projectors, Computacenter has also helped BT leverage its buying power. As Gary explains: "Thanks to its vendor relationships, Computacenter has played a key role in helping us maximise our investment in new audio-visual technology."

As a result, BT has seen the cost of projectors drop by nearly a third since its first purchase through Computacenter at the end of November 2003.

Results

Reducing the cost of providing projectors
With more than 400 projectors now being used across the business, BT has also been able to simplify support of the devices. "The lack of continuity across the business meant it was difficult to manage and maintain compatibility standards," comments Gary. "With a standardised projector platform, it is now a lot simpler for the IT department to provide support if required."

As a result of the standardised procurement plan, BT has been able to:

Reduce equipment hiring overheads: It is much more economical for teams to own a projector. The costs over a year are significantly less than borrowing a unit on a monthly basis.

Enhance meeting facilities for staff: The new projectors are easy to use and reliable, enabling staff to make the right first impression in client meetings

Cut purchasing costs: The cost of purchasing projectors has dropped by nearly a third, as BT is now able to take advantage of economise of scale.

Thanks to the relationship with Computacenter, it is also very simple for BT to source new devices. As Gary explains: "Computacenter provides a seamless and effective service. It understands our business and often pre-empts our requirements. As a result, we are able to provide our staff with access to new audio-visual technology promptly and efficiently, which makes it easier for them to do their jobs."