Transforming critical incident management for a global enterprise
Overview
A global enterprise operating across a complex support ecosystem faced persistent challenges in managing critical incidents. With multiple partners each following their own protocols, the organization struggled to deliver consistent and timely updates to their business stakeholders. The client aspired to standardize processes and elevate the user experience for critical incident management (CIM), ensuring that updates were clear, actionable and aligned across all partners. HCLTech stepped in as a strategic partner to reimagine the CIM framework, delivering a solution that not only addressed immediate pain points but also laid the foundation for future innovation.
The challenge
Fragmented communications undermined stakeholder confidence
The client’s short-term aspiration was to improve the clarity and consistency of CIM updates, while the long-term goal was to establish a scalable, unified process across all support partners. However, each partner operated their own CIM process, leading to inconsistent and confusing updates during priority incidents. This disjointed approach frustrated stakeholders, who often received unclear information and were unable to assess the business impact effectively. The probable solution was for HCLTech to take ownership of the CIM process across all partners, acting as the central facilitator and ensuring timely, standardized updates.
The objective
Seeking simplicity, clarity and innovation
The client was looking for a partner who could think innovatively and execute a simple yet powerful solution. The goal was to deliver clear, consistent and timely CIM updates that could be easily consumed by all business stakeholders—not just IT leadership. While the client had no additional requests, HCLTech proposed enhancements to further improve the experience. The solution was critical to the client’s broader aspirations, as it enabled stakeholders to understand the business impact of incidents without struggling to obtain fragmented information.
The solution
A phased strategy for transformation and transparency
HCLTech recommended a two-phase approach, validated through mock presentations and approved by leadership before implementation:
- Phase 1: Streamlined the CIM communication process across all support partners, with HCLTech serving as the central facilitator for priority updates.
- Phase 2: Introduced a CIM dashboard as an alternate mechanism for delivering updates, offering a unified platform to track incident status and assess business impact.
This solution provided the client with a scalable, transparent and user-friendly system. It also introduced a differentiated approach not seen in other HCLTech accounts, making it a strong candidate for replication across the enterprise. The dashboard aligns well with full-stack observability solutions, which HCLTech is actively promoting.
The impact
Delivering clarity, control and confidence across the enterprise
The implementation of HCLTech’s unified critical incident management (CIM) framework marked a turning point for the client’s operational transparency and stakeholder engagement. By replacing fragmented communications with a centralized, intuitive system, the solution empowered business and IT leaders to make faster, more informed decisions during high-priority incidents. The impact was felt across all levels of the organization—from frontline teams to executive leadership. Key outcomes driven by the solution include:
- Enterprise-wide transformation: A widely deployed CIM framework was reimagined to serve all levels of the organization, including C-suite executives, with tailored visibility into incident status and business impact.
- Improved stakeholder experience: The dashboard eliminated the need for manual explanations. Stakeholders now have a self-service portal accessible via desktop or mobile, reducing dependency on IT leadership for updates.
- Clarity and consistency in communications: By centralizing the CIM process, HCLTech resolved the challenge of inconsistent updates from multiple partners. All stakeholders now receive timely, standardized information.
- Operational efficiency and reduced overhead: The portal provides instant access to incident details, reducing reliance on the Senior Director for clarification and freeing up leadership to focus on strategic priorities.
- Scalable and future-ready architecture: The solution is designed for growth, with a proof-of-concept underway to integrate a corporate chatbot with the client’s ITSM platform (ServiceNow), enabling intelligent automation and faster response cycles.
HCLTech’s approach not only addressed the client’s immediate challenges but also laid the foundation for long-term innovation. The CIM framework is now a replicable model across other accounts, with potential to evolve into a fully automated, AI-enhanced solution. This positions the client to stay agile and responsive in a dynamic business environment.
