Microland transformed Infrastructure Provisioning through Automation for an American Insurance Company

Overview

The client is a multi-line insurance organization based in the US, employing 4,500 people providing diverse insurance services, and has more than 8,000 independent insurance agents in 11 states. The client with a high volume of servers faced challenges leading to underutilization of servers, manual processes, and increased risk to security and compliance. Microland automated the provisioning/de-provisioning, of servers across three phases, achieving 90% automation of the end-to-end provisioning and de-provisioning processes, an 80% reduction in turn-around time, and ensuring 100% compliance.

Challenge

The client was facing challenges with a high volume of server provisioning and de-provisioning requests, totaling over 500 requests annually. Their infrastructure comprised approximately 1300 servers in a hybrid environment, with numerous manual processes involved, including processes for agent installations based on server types and domain addition leading to ~5 hours of turnaround time and prolonged delays in the approval process, ultimately resulting in poor user experience.

The manual nature of these processes posed significant security risks to the client's infrastructure, leaving it vulnerable to threats. Moreover, the absence of compliance checks for agents and system hardening further intensified security concerns. Non-compliant machines not only impacted server performance but also led to a compromise in operational efficiency.

In response to these issues, the client sought a technology partner to address their challenges with infrastructure provisioning and de-provisioning. The objective was to standardize and automate processes, thereby enhancing efficiency and mitigating security risks.

The client articulated the necessity for a vendor proficient in Data Center automation and capable of furnishing training to their internal teams for achieving self-sufficiency in automation.

Solution

Microland executed a phased project with the customer aimed at leveraging our automation platform to streamline and automate the end-to-end processes within the infrastructure provisioning and de-provisioning life cycle. The primary objective was to ensure that the infrastructure complied with regulatory standards established and industry best practices. Microland executed the project in three distinct phases.

• In Phase 1, Microland's deliverables encompassed a Proof of Concept (PoC) conducted collaboratively with the customer, featuring two use cases around Windows and Linux servers monitoring. Furthermore, Microland conducted comprehensive training sessions for the client’s engineering teams to grasp and implement Ansible adeptly. The initiative's outstanding performance led to an exceptional CSAT rating of 5/5 and prompted the client to make the strategic decision to expand their engagement with Microland.
• In Phase 2, the client provided Microland with a set of 10 use cases primarily focused on end-to-end server provisioning and de-provisioning processes. Microland effectively implemented all the proposed use cases, resulting in reduced Turnaround time for provisioning and de-provisioning leading to improvement in operation efficiency and elevated customer satisfaction. The success of this initiative led to the client's decision to further expand their engagement to phase 3
• In Phase 3, there was a demand for developing more than 14 additional use cases, enhancing the existing automation framework to achieve optimal automation and adapt to evolving needs. This enhancement not only strengthened operational efficiency but also led to a significant reduction in turnaround time. Microland successfully delivered Phase 3 in under 7 months, showcasing its commitment to timely and effective project execution.

Our comprehensive and efficient automation-based infrastructure management solution brought about a significant transformation in the way infrastructure provisioning is handled for the client. Automation effectively standardized the existing processes, resulting in improved compliance measures.

Outcome

The outcomes of Microland's strategic intervention in automating server provisioning processes have yielded transformative results for the client's infrastructure management and business productivity.