Case Study

Engineering velocity and timely releases were a stated top priority at ZS — but engineers were being pulled off product work to resolve complex client escalations. Each product team ran a different support process. IT operated on a separate ticketing system. No dedicated function existed, no SLA had been defined, and accountability for issues outside the T1 workflow was unclear.

Company & Position

ZS Associates, Associate Partner (2011-2017)

Details

At the CTO’s request, the engagement began with resolution of several complex client escalations — identifying and addressing root causes directly before building the infrastructure to prevent recurrence.

Actions

• Researched support workflows across product teams and IT; documented process fragmentation and root causes.
• Discovered that 30–40% of tickets were configuration-related — a finding that led directly to centralization of implementation services.
• Wrote job descriptions and competency models; hired and trained dedicated T2 personnel.
• Implemented a single ticketing system and unified processes across product teams and IT.
• Established a follow-the-sun support model with a new India team; extended Service Cloud with CRM integration for customer records.

Outcome & Impact

• 99.9% SLA compliance achieved; client escalations reduced and customer satisfaction improved.
• Engineering support time reduced by 13%, improving velocity and on-time product releases.
• Engineering team member satisfaction measurably improved.