The ‘Land of Manual Processes’ Goes Digital with the Value and Expertise of Tambellini Group

“I view Tambellini Group as an important factor in the continued success of institutions. The level of expertise that you bring most institutions could never afford to buy on their own. You need to have somebody you can call.”

Steve McDevitt
Chief Executive Officer, Saint Anselm College

Background

In 2019, Saint Anselm College (Saint Anselm) was well behind the modernization curve. Most business processes were handled manually across campus without considering more efficient options, and the IT department’s staff skillset was dated. When Steve McDevitt, chief executive officer, joined the team, he recognized complacency as misunderstanding and misunderstanding as unfamiliarity of the possibilities. McDevitt soon devised a plan towards modernization, which encompassed implementing cloud-based administrative systems. Having managed projects like this before, McDevitt understood the importance of credibility behind such an expensive plan. Already familiar with Tambellini Group (Tambellini), McDevitt, on behalf of Saint Anselm, selected Tambellini as its analyst and advisory firm.

Solution

Already having a business relationship with Tambellini, McDevitt did not hesitate to reach out. As a member, Saint Anselm has unlimited access to research reports, data, and custom advisory services. In the early stages of modernizing, it was critical to change executive leaders’ language and emphasize that the move to the cloud was not a technology project but one of operational efficiency. Tambellini resources provided relevant information to Saint Anselm executives that helped guide this conversation.

During the ERP selection process, COVID-19 hit, stalling the project. Just over one year later, Saint Anselm re-engaged Tambellini, ready to proceed on its modernization journey. The obvious next step was the RFP and selection process. Yet, Saint Anselm, with the assistance of Tambellini, went in a different direction. Ultimately, Tambellini advised a more cost-effective solution: forego an RFP and do a detailed analysis of a specific solution, the foreseen choice as its modern ERP system.

In collaboration with one another, Tambellini held 30 in-depth meetings with various Saint Anselm departments, including faculty, HR, finance, and payroll. Tambellini also conducted student engagement, career center, student service-learning environment, and time and attendance discussions. Tambellini then formulated a functional requirements document and a detailed analysis for Saint Anselm to identify gaps. No gaps were found in validating Saint Anselm’s selection of its preferred solution, making the institution confident in its decision. In addition, Tambellini also assisted in choosing an implementation partner, provided legal advisory services, and negotiated contracts with the solution provider and implementation partner for Saint Anselm.

“We gain a lot more credibility having an outside expert in our decision-making process.”

Results

• Saint Anselm built credibility and assurance that were augmented by Tambellini research and advisory services, supporting its move from on-premises to off-premises.
• Saint Anselm was able to save half a million dollars over 10 years with the help of Tambellini contract negotiation and advisory work.
• The college selected a new, modern Finance and HCM system that will enable it to maintain and improve its commitment to excellent service for students, faculty, and staff.
• Despite the COVID-19 impact, Saint Anselm maintained an aggressive project and implementation schedule. Its modernization progression roadmap is still live and on track, and Tambellini resources assist in the overall progression.

“Everybody I have engaged with at Tambellini has real
experience in the space. There’s a good and ‘not normal’
for higher ed focus to get stuff done.”