Running IT Like a Business

Even though Mercury’s product is billed as an IT governance package it really is more of a business process and IT portfolio manager than anything else, said Moore. This is why he was able to breath life into the company’s existing HR solution by automating its processes; saving PaeTec $1.3 million in the process.

This may make the CFO particularly happy but the biggest benefit to Moore is the visibility he gets not only into his IT shop but the business as whole.

“So, when you take a look at the tool set end-to-end, you have the ability, through their demand management and project management pieces, to get a handle on what projects are actively ongoing at any given time and, from resource management tools, you are able to take a look, in real time, and get an understanding of where people are spending their time,” Moore said. “From where I sit, that’s the biggest plus for me.”

Another plus is Moore’s staff now spends the majority of its time on projects actually related to growing the business.

“The stuff is really generic enough we can automate any kind of business process,” said Moore. “So, even though Mercury is selling it as IT governance, you can really use it for any governance. It’s really a process governance tool more than anything else.”

This ability has helped the company to become the only ISO 9002 (which is all about business process and business process documentation) certified CLEC in the business; an important designation in an industry where competition is fierce and customers are hesitant.

As nice as this is, the biggest payoff still comes from the efficiencies that automation brings to the business, Moore said. By utilizing all of Mercury’s capabilities beyond its intended role in IT, Moore has been able to reap benefits that go far beyond simply saving time on trouble tickets and PC setup requests.

“If you just want to track projects inside your IT department then certainly Microsoft Project is more than capable of doing that stuff for you,” he said. “But, if you’re really looking for (the stuff we’re doing), then that’s where the (Mercury) software really pays off. But if you’re not looking for that long-return vision, that long-term scalability, that long-term customer satisfaction stuff then Microsoft Project will be fine for you.”