A credible Client Zero story required more than deploying software. EY teams needed to combine IBM Apptio with a redesigned operating model and show that the approach could work across functions with different needs. This would allow the organization to test not only the platform but also the governance, process and change decisions that shape a successful transformation.
The Client Zero journey began with EY teams assessing each function’s planning, reporting and governance processes. The Enterprise Business Office worked with teams to clarify responsibilities and identify where processes could be harmonized while recognizing that different functions still needed planning models suited to their work. IBM Apptio’s configurable architecture provided a way to support both objectives.
“The configuration was a huge win for us,” says Jones. “[The platform] has a lot of configuration flexibility, so it really enables you to be flexible with the business attribution aspects of the tool. It’s not static; it’s not something you have to go to IT for every time you need a change.” This flexibility became an important Client Zero lesson: Enterprise consistency does not need to come at the expense of business relevance.
Each rollout followed a repeatable structure. EY teams reviewed current processes, configured IBM Apptio, trained users in new ways of working and ran old and new systems in parallel until spreadsheet-based processes could be retired safely. At the same time, EY cross-team leaders clarified roles, accountability and governance, forming a collaborative model whereby Finance, the Enterprise Business Office and the business came together to both enable the transformation and sustain the new ways of working that support accurate, on-time financial outcomes. Together, these steps formed a practical transformation playbook rather than a technology-only implementation.
Change management was central to the model. Teams accustomed to long-standing processes needed support as responsibilities and routines changed. “You’re going to stop doing what you’ve been doing for however many years,” Jones remembers telling certain teams. “It’s going to be super hard the first time. By the third time, it’s going to be okay.” Experiencing that resistance firsthand gave EY teams direct insight into the human side of transformation.
The work also prompted EY teams to rethink how planning and budgeting activities were organized. Manual tasks distributed across people, tools and spreadsheets could be consolidated, while a more streamlined operating model enabled employees to move toward higher-value work such as strategy and analysis. This reinforced another Client Zero lesson: Technology creates greater value when it is paired with changes to work, roles and decision-making.
As confidence in the model grew, adoption expanded across EY member firms and business functions, including Enterprise Technology, Information Security, Client Technology, Supply Chain Services and Clients & Industries. Scaling the approach across different operating contexts helped EY teams test its repeatability and refine the practical guidance they could bring to clients.
The resulting Client Zero playbook brings together platform configuration, process harmonization, governance, operating model redesign and adoption. It is grounded in decisions EY teams made within their own organization, giving client conversations a practical foundation built on implementation experience rather than theory alone.
Source: www.ey.com
