Modernizing infrastructure and kickstarting cloud migration

Collaborating to streamline operations and improve user experience

Deloitte and prime contractor Chickasaw Nation Industries have collaborated since 2015 to develop and maintain the Overseas Business Management System (OBMS) for the Center for Global Health (CGH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Together, they successfully delivered an integrated .NET solution for their Motor Pool and Travel modules, and a SharePoint 2013 solution for their Workforce and Procurement modules.

In 2019, the CDC Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) launched a migration to Office 365 services and mandated that all SharePoint 2013 sites be migrated to SharePoint Online or another cloud technology by December 2020.

What happened next

The project team (Chickasaw Nations Industries / Deloitte) conducted an Analysis of Alternatives to assess various SaaS and PaaS technologies against OBMS’s business requirements, out-of-the-box (OOTB) technical capabilities, CDC security considerations, and overall expected licensing costs. Based on CDC/OCIO’s implementation readiness and its value to CGH and CDC’s cloud strategy, the client chose Microsoft Power Platform.

In 65 days, the project team delivered a production-ready proof of concept (POC) for the Procurement module, also addressing data security requirements. The POC demonstrated that the team could significantly increase its output and reduce delivery time through low-code/no-code application development. Leadership then approved the move forward with the remaining modules. The rebuild and stabilization of the first two modules was completed one month before the migration deadline, and both modules went live in December 2020.

Since then, the project team has migrated all (4) legacy OBMS modules. Based on this success, CGH leadership asked the project team to assess other systems for their suitability to integrate/interface with OBMS. The team responded with a comprehensive roadmap. Of the 43 identified country offices around the globe, 24 are now using these solutions to streamline and standardize their operations, with six more offices to follow soon. The team is now developing a new inventory module and building a mobile app that will allow the country offices to quickly and easily issue, restock, and track inventory in their warehouses.

The wins

• The team’s quick delivery of an enterprise scale application acted as a catalyst for overall CGH technical infrastructure modernization and its migration to the cloud.
• Created a connected operations management solution that provides country offices a holistic view of their backend operations from Procurement to Inventory Management.
• Developed a standardized, visual approval processes with enough flexibility to streamline business processes in the country offices and enable users to approve requests through their mobile phones.
• Significantly reduced the administrative work needed to maintain the application by standardizing the underlying security model of the application.
• Empowered users to create custom dashboards and views to meet their specific needs. Developed two mobile applications targeting user groups, like Motor Pool Drivers, enabling them to complete their tasks on-the-go through mobile phones, thus significantly reducing their offline work.
• Automated currency exchange rate conversion by syncing with the Department of Treasury API.

By the numbers

70% faster

Time-to-market decreased, demonstrating our team’s legacy knowledge of CGH’s country management processes and deep experience in implementing low-code/no-code platforms.

1,500 personnel

User experience improved significantly for CDC employees based in more than 25 countries due to replacement of a legacy user interface with a modern and “fluent” UI focused on faster response times and reduced number of steps needed by users to complete tasks.

88% user adoption increase

The re-platforming team increased user adoption by eliminating manual, paper-based processes, and by raising awareness of the application through adoption of a strategic communication plan that included: weekly user community calls to address questions, newsletters to highlight new features, and deployment of a quick and easy way to issue support tickets.