The trophies have been given out, toasts have been made and the canapés have been eaten. After four fantastic global events recognizing the work of organizations and individuals across the cloud industry, the Digital Revolution Awards 2023 season has come to a close.
Throughout the Digital Revolution Awards 2023 events, we saw many outstanding winners take the stage, receiving a round of applause for making a positive impact on our world through the use of cloud technology.
Now it’s time to shine a spotlight on some of those worthy victors and showcase the fantastic work that made them winners in the Digital Revolution Awards.
In this Meet the Winners blog, we’re getting to know our Digital Transformation Project of the Year winners: Cognizant and Network Rail.
The Digital Transformation Project of the Year award celebrates companies that are using the power of cloud technology to transform operations, processes, workflows, or any aspect of the way their customers work for the better.
These organizations are shaping the future of digital transformation and helping other businesses level up to be more effectual, sustainable, or competitive.
We’re always on the hunt for a project that has, and continues to have, a profound impact on the efficiency of the customer’s operations or their ability to deliver outstanding products or services. And that’s exactly what our judges saw in Cognizant’s partnership with Network Rail using Salesforce CRM.
As a multinational IT services and consulting company, the firm was uniquely positioned to assist when Network Rail, the company responsible for Britain’s railway infrastructure, was looking to digitize its asset maintenance.
Network Rail faced challenges in asset surveying and maintenance due to outdated systems and practices. Their lack of a unified system led to data silos and visibility issues, resulting in asset failures, accidents, and unplanned maintenance. To improve operations, Network Rail partnered with Cognizant, adopting an empathy-driven approach to understand engineers’ pain points and develop a solution.
Cognizant designed a Salesforce solution integrating modern technologies like geospatial imaging, 3D models, IoT and AI. This enabled Network Rail to manage asset failures, enhance safety, and reduce maintenance and speed restrictions. The transformation rollout included governance guidelines, UI design, testing and training. Through a hybrid-agile approach, Cognizant collaborated with Network Rail to implement the solution in three phases, prioritising critical functionality for maximum impact.
At the UK awards ceremony, Network Rail was represented by Principal Engineer Andrew Jannaway, who said: “We’re over the moon; [this award] gives great credibility to the endeavours we’ve been on in the last couple of years. This is a solution that can transform the way we manage property asset management. When we set out on this project a lot of people said it couldn’t be done.”
The projected benefits of this massive undertaking are transformational and will significantly boost Network Rail’s ability to deliver high-quality services across the UK. Thanks to the implementation, Network Rail estimates it will save around £25m of taxpayer money by 2029, achieved in part by a 20% reduction in the cost of delivering surveys, planned preventative maintenance, and reactive maintenance.
The company are already seeing productivity improvements through the elimination of manual risk score and asset condition rating calculations. Plus, it’s on track to reduce its asset inspection cycle time by 50% with the help of mobile apps and QA process automation.
Overall, the new Salesforce-based solution is reducing service failures and leading to improved passenger journeys that are not only punctual and predictable, but also more sustainable—reliable trains emit fewer carbon emissions.
“To have actually achieved and implemented something that is truly revolutionary?” said Andrew Jannaway, “It’s fantastic.”
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