THE CHALLENGE
Catastrophic Network Failure
A global services organization suffered a 29-hour network outage that crippled operations and resulted in $978,000 in performance penalties. The failure exposed fundamental weaknesses in their IT infrastructure, carrier relationships, and operational processes.
The organization faced multiple compounding challenges:
- ▸Unreliable global network: Frequent outages impacting customer service delivery across multiple continents
- ▸Excessive carrier costs: Inefficient network architecture driving millions in unnecessary annual spend
- ▸Performance penalties: SLA violations resulting in nearly $1M in penalties from a single failure
- ▸IT team attrition: High voluntary turnover due to constant firefighting and lack of strategic direction
- ▸Customer churn risk: Clients losing confidence in the organization's ability to deliver reliable services
The board recognized that without immediate intervention, the organization's reputation, customer base, and valuation were all at risk. They needed a complete IT transformation—not just a patch.
THE ENGAGEMENT
AltDigital deployed a fractional CIO/CTO team to lead a complete rebuild of the organization's global network, carrier relationships, infrastructure, and operational processes. This wasn't a consulting engagement—we took ownership of IT operations and built a sustainable, high-performance infrastructure from the ground up.
Network Redesign & Optimization
- Rebuilt global network architecture for redundancy and performance
- Renegotiated carrier contracts, reducing annual spend by $4M+
- Implemented automated network failover for zero-downtime operations
- Deployed multi-region infrastructure with geographic redundancy
Operational Excellence
- Implemented 24/7 monitoring with automated alerting and response
- Established ITIL-based incident management and change control
- Built runbooks and automation for common operational tasks
- Trained and mentored IT team on new processes and technologies
Our fractional leadership approach meant the organization gained C-suite IT expertise without the overhead of full-time executives. We built the infrastructure, established the processes, and developed the team—then transitioned to an advisory role as internal capabilities matured.
THE OUTCOMES
The transformation delivered measurable business impact across uptime, cost, employee retention, and ultimately, shareholder value. Three years after the catastrophic failure, the organization successfully exited at nearly 4x the stock price at the time of the outage.
99.999+% GLOBAL IT UPTIME
Achieved five-nines uptime for 14 consecutive quarters across all global regions. Automated failover and redundant architecture eliminated single points of failure, transforming IT from a liability into a competitive advantage.
$4M+ ANNUAL CARRIER SPEND SAVED
Network redesign and carrier renegotiations reduced annual telecommunications costs by over $4 million while simultaneously improving performance and reliability—proving that better infrastructure doesn't have to cost more.
99% REDUCTION IN PERFORMANCE PENALTIES
SLA violations dropped from nearly $1M in a single incident to negligible levels. Improved uptime and proactive monitoring meant the organization consistently met—and often exceeded—customer expectations.
SUCCESSFUL EXIT AT NEARLY 4X STOCK PRICE
Three years after the catastrophic failure, the organization achieved a successful exit at nearly 4x the stock price at the time of the outage. Reliable IT infrastructure, improved customer retention, and operational excellence were cited as key drivers of valuation growth.
Additional Business Impact:
- Lowered IT employee voluntary attrition through improved processes and reduced firefighting
- Improved customer retention and growth due to reliable service delivery
- Established IT as a strategic enabler rather than operational burden
- Built internal IT capabilities that sustained performance post-engagement