GVTC Communications Gains New Competitive Edge Using AgilePoint Process-Centric Applications

GVTC Communications, in addition to being a leader in fiber broadband which earned them the 64th largest fiber-optic provider in the United States by coverage area, offer DSL and high-speed Internet. This full-service communications provider also offers digital cable TV, phone, and smart interactive home security monitoring to more than 40,000 customers in areas north of San Antonio and South-Central Texas.

GVTC is dedicated to meeting high expectations and providing top-flight communications services and powerful technologies for residential and business customers in far north San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country, and South Texas. The goal for GVTC is to connect states to the world through better technology. To maintain the friendly, knowledgeable service that it has been defined with since the beginning, listen and respond to customers’ needs by offering new technologies and serving our communities.

Just as demand for voice, data, internet, and other digital services grew,

• GVTC needed to create an efficient end-to-end enterprise process flow from the order through delivery. This inevitably would avoid delay or penalties for non-performance and non-compliance. Not only that, it would improve collaboration and process visibility for all stakeholders throughout the entire order fulfillment process.
• GVTC must challenge the status quo to operate efficiently and compete with other providers, as a company launching a brand-new line of business ethernet solutions targeting enterprise customers. For GVTC, expanding into this new line, they would need to transform their business by empowering business analysts to rapidly create process-centric applications.
• They also want to accommodate existing and new sales and contracting requirements as well as maintenance and support activities including scheduled maintenance and trouble tickets. The existing systems utilized multiple documents and file resources that created task duplication, errors, and service status “black holes.”

Data was shared between departments by individuals using excel spreadsheets rather than a system of record. They built new, next-generation fiber transmission technologies that created customer technical requirements which were not supported by their existing legacy order processing systems.

While accustomed to being a technology leader, GVTC knew it needed to find a solution that would help deliver a great platform that eliminates the current inadequacies and break into the line of business ethernet solutions. It set out to find the foundational technology to create an optimal, order workflow.

GVTC chose AgilePoint for the workflow management as it is ideal for working on eForm based applications and integrating with other tools like SharePoint. Not only are they superb, but they also do not take a lot of time to do.

“We are competing against very big competitors with deeper pockets than us so we have to have better processes to be more effective - more efficient to compete. We had a brand-new line of business that was starting to ramp up and we needed help. We are using AgilePoint to improve process efficiency and reduce costs”, says Marc Miller, Director, Strategic Planning and Business Integration.

They deliver disruptive technology to accelerate emerging digital business transformation through enabling a future-proof application strategy. With their process automation,

• GVTC intended to provide a company-standard SharePoint dashboard to access and monitor group tasks, orders in process, and a master inventory of critical maintenance and troubleshooting elements.
• They would also provide order task status and overdue notifications to all stakeholders based on reasonable due dates and work sequences.
• They would replace their Master ASR Excel spreadsheets and shared drive updates using the eForm technology for digital transformation.

The solution yielded numerous benefits that increased overall operational efficiency:

• Ensures compliance with fulfillment steps and business rules.
• Reduces risks related to penalties for non-performance and non-compliance.
• Provides scalability for the new line of business.
• Improves access to data, data integrity, process visibility, and team collaboration.
• Provides new integration opportunities for other back-office and external systems.
• Provides the basis for integrated sales/quote/ proposal process.

GVTC’s move from manually managed processes to fully automated processs created a seamless order fulfillment process. The application provided management of critical service level agreements and the elimination of financial penalties under new carrier contracts.

The Ethernet Backhaul Order Fulfillment Project now automates the enterprise workflow from order to fulfillment at GVTC. It provides previously unavailable PC and mobile access to the entire cross-departmental process for all stakeholders and ensures compliance and audibility for every order.

Here is a remark by Thomas Hearn, Manager, Business Process, Business Operations & Billing, “AgilePoint is going to support us long-term in our strategic IT buildout. It is a perfect fit for us”.