"Harbour IT is an integral partner to RAMS Home Loans for growth, and to ensure continuity for the organisation. We learn every day and find better ways to do things, but above all [the system] is cost-effective and allows the franchise to focus on selling home loans, not on its IT."

Mark Austin, IT Manager

The Challenge

RAMS Home Loans was stuck with an outdated IT infrastructure, while faced with rapid growth of franchises calling for fast, low-cost set up of multiple new offices.

How We Helped

We worked with RAMS Home Loans' IT Manager to understand the business drivers for the company: simple, cost-effective infrastructure, support for franchisees, and scope for rapid growth. Together, we replaced the old infrastructure with a streamlined set of services and applications to meet the company's current and future business needs.

"The old infrastructure would have to be removed, Harbour IT in conjunction with myself came up with a technical design that was low cost, very simple - minimalist - which allowed the franchisee to open up very quickly without the burden of high IT costs or the weight of Telco's and the like."

The Result

A strategic balance between in-house and outsourced IT services provides RAMS Home Loans with greater flexibility and lower costs than their previous systems. An Internet-based design ensures corporate head office can deliver applications to franchisees over the Web. A low-cost, minimalist design enables franchisees to be up and running quickly without high cost, supporting RAMS' rapid growth plans.

Mark Austin said that when the company looked at going down the virtualisation path, it had placed a 30 per cent operational and support cost savings figure on the plan.

"We're probably nudging about 50 per cent saving right now," he said. "So it's a lot better than we thought."

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About RAMS

• Every RAMS Home Loan Centre is independently owned and operated by local franchisees. All RAMS franchisees are chosen for their integrity, extensive industry or business experience and commitment to customer service excellence
• They have once again been recognised as Money magazine's Non-Bank Lender of the Year in the 2010 Australian Consumer Finance Awards
• RAMS is one of Australia's leading home loan specialists and over the past fourteen years has helped tens of thousands of Australians with their home loan needs

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