How One of the Biggest Telecommunication Companies in the World Found the Perfect Fit with Retable

One of the world's largest telecom companies, like many large enterprises, struggled to manage its complex data systems. They needed a comprehensive solution to manage their partner inventory, promotions, employee data, and company information across multiple locations.

Traditional software solutions were unable to fully meet their needs, leading them back to inefficient and insecure Excel spreadsheets. Not only did these issues result in data loss and inconsistencies, but also potential security breaches, as data was shared insecurely within the company.

Moreover, with frequent employee turnover, a significant amount of valuable information was lost as employees changed positions or left the company. New employees found themselves managing data in inefficient ways, further compounding these issues.

This is where Retable stepped in. Retable’s low/no-code database tool provided a highly customizable and flexible solution. The Retable Enterprise solution with several security features enabled them to set specific rights (admin, editor, viewer) for specific users, offering granular control over data access. This saved significant time that would otherwise be spent on development, change requests and software customization.

The Retable team also have offered a cost-effective solution. Consider the expense of building a similar software in-house: a project manager, a QA specialist, 3 developers, adatabase administrator, security, and release teams. Additionally, the ongoing cost of maintaining and updating the software.

Instead, Retable offered a seat-based pricing model with yearly updates, allowing them to leverage continuous improvements and feature additions.

To facilitate seamless implementation and integration, Retable partnered with large software consultancy firms, providing them reseller rights and consultation benefits. Retable consultants played an integral role in onboarding and training the telecom company's team, ensuring smooth transition and efficient use of Retable

6 benefits of using Retable

Knowledge management and transfer: Retable was designed to keep all valuable data and operational knowledge within the platform, thanks to features like documentation tools and integrated internal wikis. These tools facilitate the retention and transfer of important details about operations and data, making it accessible for any new employee taking over.

User management: Retable’s robust user management and permissions settings ensure the right people have access to the right information. New users can be added easily, and data protection is enhanced by controlling who has access to what information.

Data auditing and version control: To maintain consistency and accuracy of data, Retable includes features for data auditing and version control. This ensures all changes to data are tracked and can be reviewed or rolled back if necessary, reducing the risk of data errors.

Data validation and cleaning tools: Retable is equipped with data validation and cleaning tools that proactively check for errors and inconsistencies in the data, enabling users to correct them promptly. This ensures the highest data integrity and minimizes discrepancies.

Secure data sharing: The telecom company tackled the problem of insecure data sharing headon. With Retable, users can share specific data views with colleagues, confident that the data remains within the secure environment of our platform. This allows for collaborative work without sacrificing data security.

Automated data backup: Retable provides regular, automated backups to prevent data loss. If a user accidentally deletes data or wishes to revert changes, they can recover the data from a backup, ensuring operational continuity and data safety.

Cost breakdown of using Retable vs in-house development

The decision to choose Retable over in-house development was not just about the features but it was also a financially savvy move. The in-house team's composition would require significant investment in human resources and time, which we estimated at an initial cost of $287K.

When we factor in yearly maintenance at 30% of the initial cost and potential risk costs associated with turnover, technology debt, and project overruns, the five-year cost balloons to $915K. Comparatively, Retable’s five-year cost, with a seat price of USD $20, amounted to only $120K. That's a net savings of USD $795K over five years for the telecom company, equatingto a significant return on investment of 663%.

Team cost

For in-house development, based on the team structure provided, the annual cost can be calculated as follows:

• Project Manager (PM): 20% of $70K = $14K
• Quality Assurance (QA): 80% of $70K = $56K
• Developers: 2 x 100% of $70K = $140K
• Database Admin (DBA): 20% of $70K = $14K
• Scrum Master: 60% of $70K = $42K
• Support: 30% of $70K = $21K

The total annual cost for the in-house team would therefore be 287K USD.

Risks and debts of using an in-house solution

Turnover risks: The loss of key personnel can result in delays and increased costs as new hires are brought up to speed. We estimate that turnover increase costs as 10% per year.

Technology debt risks: This refers to additional costs that will be incurred in thefuture due to decisions made for short-term benefits, like rushing a feature instead of properly integrating it. Over time, these costs can accumulate, slowing development and increasing expenses. Let's estimate an additional 15% per year for this.

Project overrun risks: These are the additional costs due to the project taking longer than expected, often due to unforeseen issues or challenges. Let's estimate this at an additional 20% per year.

The initial development cost remains at $287K for the first year.

For the risk costs for the first year, we have:

• Turnover risks: $287K * 10% = $28.7K
• Technology debt risks: $287K * 15% = $43.05K
• Project overrun risks: $287K USD * 20% = $57.4K

Hence, the total risk-adjusted cost for the first year is $416.15K.

For subsequent years, let's add a 30% maintenance cost and risk costs.

The annualmaintenance cost is: $287K * 30% = $86.1K

The risk costs for maintenance are:

• Turnover risks: $86.1K * 10% = $8.61K
• Technology debt risks: $86.1K * 15% = $12.91K
• Project overrun risks: $86.1K USD * 20% = $17.22K

In sum, the total cost for maintenance and risks each year from year 2-5 is $124.84K.

The total cost for in-house development over 5 years would therefore be: $915.53K.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Retable has proven to be an invaluable asset for one of the biggest telecom company. Not only did we help them increase efficiency and security, but we also provided a flexibleand continuously improving data management tool that adapts to their ever-changingneeds.