Net Solutions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

GWA Group is the biggest and the most trusted company in the building and construction sector of Australia. GWA is Australia’s foremost designer, importer, and distributor of iconic brands and products, servicing and enhancing residential and commercial bathrooms and kitchens across Australia and New Zealand. The product range is distributed under Australian brands including Caroma, Clark, Dorf, Fowler, Stylus, and international brands including Cristina, Schell, EMCO, Virtu, and Sanitron. I work for the digital & technology team and have been with the organization since May 2016.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Net Solutions?

We had an in-house digital team until last year; all web development work was done internally. But, GWA wants to be in the business of designing and manufacturing great products for a consumer; we don’t want to be in the business of building software and digital solutions. So, we wanted to change the operating model of the digital team and bring in more external players.

Reducing the FTE [full-time equivalent] engagement in the digital team by outsourcing resulted in savings which are being repurposed for some innovation work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Net Solutions currently manages end-to-end work for all web-related development. We currently have around 12 full-time development resources working on various GWA projects. They maintain 11 Drupal sites and continue rebuilding branded microsites for launch later this year. They also designed and built a specifications tool for the sales team, as well as a competitor monitoring app for the marketing team. The last thing they handle is our AWS infrastructure.

The model keeps on evolving to make sure our needs are met. Net Solutions is very flexible in terms of making changes to the resourcing model. We started with 3 full-time resources and 1 T&M [time and material pricing] resource. Now we have scaled up to 12 full-time resources and around 5 T&M resources. The resources were finalized by the account manager and the project manager working on our account. We are very satisfied with all the resources who have worked on our account.

How did you come to work with Net Solutions?

They participated in an RFP process, along with 5–6 other vendors under consideration.

How much have you invested with Net Solutions?

Ballpark would be around AU$250,000 in last 10 months. [$200,000]

What is the status of this engagement?

We started about August 2016 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Net Solutions has been very proactive about the solution design. They engage the head of technology, solutions architect, and UX resources to fine tune the solution design for us. The project manager orchestrates the full involvement of different teams to deliver a zero defect solution.

How did Net Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Excellent, I am in constant touch with the project manager and the management team. We are constantly exploring ideas on how to make the engagement more effective. A variety of tools are being used to collaborate and manage the project and business analysis aspects.

What did you find most impressive about Net Solutions?

Their ability to quickly adapt and cater to the client’s needs.

Are there any areas Net Solutions could improve?

No.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Net Solutions?

I’d recommend outsourcing in order for internal teams to be able to concentrate on their core strengths. It also helps lower operating costs, provides a lower cost of failure, and you don’t have to worry about the internal resources crunch.