Outsourcing Giant Boosts Technical Skills and Minimizes Training Costs with Sun Learning Connection
EDS (Electronic Data Systems Corporation), is the second-largest provider of IT services worldwide, with annual revenues of $21 billion and more than 120,000 employees. The company’s core portfolio includes information technology, applications and business process services, as well as infrastructure transformation services.
Customer Challenges
Develop and maintain a high level of technical expertise within EDS
Minimize costs and administrative overhead of training globally dispersed IT staff
Track progress of IT staff toward required certifications
Solution
To meet a range of educational needs, Sun Educational Services developed a blended educational strategy for EDS. A key learning method is self-paced online training through Sun Learning Connection. Sun Learning Connection is one component of a broad range of Sun learning services, including the Sun Virtual Classroom, coaching and mentoring, certification, skills analysis and curriculum planning, all used in a comprehensive approach to meeting EDS' learning needs around Sun technologies. EDS training administrators monitor the progress of online students using the learning management system built into the Sun Learning Connection.
Business Results
More than 1,000 EDS employees trained in three-year period using Sun Learning Connection
Up to 75-fold cost savings for Sun Learning Connection compared to classroom training
Learning management system simplifies training administration
As one of the world's top IT outsourcers, EDS employs tens of thousands of system, database and storage administrators around the world. Making sure that this large and geographically dispersed workforce is properly trained and certified has a direct impact on the company's bottom-line: A well-trained staff is more efficient, leading to lower headcount and other cost savings, and more effective, ensuring that service-level agreements are met.
Sun is a major supplier of hardware and software for EDS-managed data centers, so it's logical that Sun Educational Services plays a significant role in training the EDS IT staff on a wide range of Sun hardware and software products and technologies.
The Global Learning and Development department at EDS drives the training process by developing an overall training plan based on the company's strategic goals for the upcoming year and where Sun Learning Connection supports those goals. Sun Educational Services then works closely with EDS to determine the number of licenses needed. EDS pays Sun an annual per-person fee, which provides each student with online access to selected eLibraries with more than 215 Sun courses and ePractice exams through the Sun Learning Connection.
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The Sun Learning Connection gives EDS great flexibility and tremendous costs savings over instructor-led training.
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— Laura Ellison, Marketing Program Coordinator, EDS
The Sun Learning Connection, which enables self-study for EDS employees, saves the company a great deal of money. If an employee were to take all of the courses through instructor-led training, it would cost more than 75 times the annual fee for the Sun Learning Connection. Over a three-year period, more than 1,000 EDS staffers have taken courses through Sun Learning Connection, multiplying the savings.
Sun Learning Connection offers training in the latest Sun products and technologies, including Solaris 10, Sun Fire servers, Sun Identity Management and Java. Students access courses using Web browsers, working at a time and pace that fits their schedules. EDS management monitors student progress through the learning management system built into the Sun Learning Connection, and can run reports by student name, courses started, courses completed and other parameters.
Sun Educational Services augments the online training with other methods to match specific student needs. Those who require more in-depth knowledge can take advantage of the Sun Virtual Classroom, a cost-effective alternative to classroom training that provides many of the benefits without travel expenses. For the most challenging topics where the need for personalized training is greatest, EDS can opt for instructor-led training, either in Sun classrooms or onsite at EDS facilities.
EDS places a high value on industry-recognized certifications in key technologies. Certification establishes a standard of competency, which provides flexibility in staff management. For example, if all system administrators in a data center are certified on the Solaris 10 Operating System the data center manager can confidently assign any available staffer to work on Sun servers running Solaris 10.
The Sun Learning Connection includes ePractice exams to prepare students for the actual exams, which are taken in person at third-party testing centers. EDS' students have a high rate of success in passing certification testing on the first attempt.
Learning is a continual process for EDS, resulting in a highly competent workforce and a competitive edge for the giant outsourcer. Sun Educational Services will continue to provide highly professional, flexible, cost-effective training to EDS using Sun Learning Connection as well as the full portfolio of training modalities.
