While technology can deliver unprecedented value as a core business enabler, choosing and implementing the right solutions effectively within the context of your organization’s specific business needs and objectives can prove incredibly challenging. Many businesses have a complex technology footprint yet lack the skillsets, time, and resources to optimize and fully leverage their investments through comprehensive lifecycle management services.
Our long-time client, Choctaw Nation, faced similar challenges. In this article, I share how GDT partnered with Choctaw Nation and Cisco to help them make the most of their Cisco Digital Network Architecture (DNA) subscription and CX Cloud through Lifecycle Management Services via Cisco Success Tracks. For full details, listen to my recent interview with Scott Schell on the Cisco Podcast Network.
It Began With a DNA Health Check
More than 200,000 members strong, Choctaw Nation employs around 11,000 people across its vast network of essential community and social services, such as medical, government, commerce, and education. They have a huge demand from their members for their services, and a secure, reliable network is non-negotiable.
For this reason, they chose Cisco DNA and CX Cloud for their network infrastructure. They were also an early adopter of Cisco Success Tracks, a premium offering that helps organizations overcome adoption barriers and realize the full value of their Cisco technology investments by accessing Cisco Partner Lifecycle Services.
That’s where GDT comes in. GDT helps organizations optimize their technology investments and adds tremendous business value through our robust Lifecycle Management Services offering. As a twenty-year partner of Cisco, GDT offers deep expertise and experience in all things Cisco.
GDT had already partnered with Choctaw Nation on many other successful projects, so we were familiar with their business needs and technology estate. We knew we could position them to do even more with their Cisco solutions, so we conducted a DNA Health Check to assess their readiness.
We conducted an interactive workshop as part of the DNA Health Check to gather information about Choctaw Nation’s business needs and goals. We also performed a gap analysis to baseline the current infrastructure state and enablement needed to fully leverage their technology investment.
We found that while they were using Cisco DNA and CX Cloud for security advisories and telemetry, it was clear they could gain tremendous value from the other components beyond software management. We shared our findings, recommendations, and next steps to optimize their investments and accelerate business outcomes.
Based on the health check and the past success we had already delivered, they engaged with us on GDT Lifecycle Management Services. Today, GDT is considered a strategic partner for Choctaw Nation. “We would not have got there as fast without GDT,” said Jimmy Williams, Choctaw Nation CIO. “They brought the resources and the health check that allowed us to align our digital roadmap around the business outcomes important to Choctaw.”
A 20+ Year Cisco Partner Lifecycle Services Expert
We’re proud to be a longtime Cisco partner lifecycle services expert with more than twenty years of experience. We combine our expertise with our comprehensive portfolio of Lifecycle Management Services, which allow us to harness the full potential of our customers’ software and maintenance contracts, including enterprise agreements (EAs), to transform multi-technology investments into true business differentiators through adoption and onboarding services, contract and renewal management, and asset management.
To learn more about our work with Choctaw Nation, check out this Cisco Podcast, “CX Customer Success Story with Choctaw Nation.”
