An IT Platform that Makes "Cents"

Problem: Coinstar could no longer ignore that they had outgrown their IT applications. As the top brand in consumer coin counting, the company was rapidly expanding with more products and acquisitions. Coinstar had a significant investment in the Lotus Notes/Domino platform, which included capabilities such as e-mail, online collaboration, and scheduling. However, the platform was not adequate to support the company's increasingly sophisticated business processes, data needs, and business reporting. The time had come to migrate to the more robust Microsoft Exchange platform. This would be a tough transition for such a large company-affecting countless people and systems.

Solution: Coinstar asked the experts at Marquam Group for guidance. Marquam's team began by surveying and analyzing the company's existing application portfolio, examining in detail the ways that Coinstar's IT systems functioned and interacted. Marquam Group categorized 1,200 Notes databases and 38 core business applications on both the technical and business value to determine their priority for replacement.

This information gave Marquam Group what they needed to create a roadmap - a technology migration plan with a priority and sequence for replacing all applications over the next five years. The plan outlined the entire architecture transition based on Microsoft products. It included project budgets and specific training recommendations for Coinstar's IT staff. Thanks to Marquam's detailed analysis and roadmap, Coinstar is making a smooth, well-planned transition.