Discovery Communications:
IT & Business Alignment Award Winner
Company Overview:
Discovery Communications is the world’s #1 nonfiction media company, reaching more than two billion subscribers
in 223 countries and territories in 45 languages. Its 162 worldwide networks include Discovery Channel – the
world’s most recognized TV brand, TLC and Animal Planet and joint-venture networks such as OWN: Oprah Winfrey
Network. The company has 4,500 employees in 50+ offices worldwide. In 2012, revenues were $4.487 billion, a
significant portion coming from contracts with several thousand distributors..
Business Challenge:
Discovery wanted greater clarity and structure for its high-volume process of managing, reviewing and renewing
thousands of contracts a year. Previously, the process was based on email and spreadsheets, varied by region and
offered minimal opportunity for oversight, governance and data mining. Management wanted greater visibility
into the process to optimize revenue and ensure opportunities were not missed. The process had to be accessible
and reliable for international and mobile sales as well as senior-level executives.
Solution/Innovation:
Discovery developed an automated international contracts management process called DORS—the Distributed
Online Request System—using Software AG’s webMethods BPMS. DORS enables the necessary data entry and then
automatically routes requests to the distribution operations team for review. Business rules are used to determine
if and when additional routing to other Discovery groups is necessary. DORS has become a governance mechanism
to enforce the new business process, policies and standards while supporting organizational change and user
adoption. Built-in escalation measures ensure timely, accurate and complete processing.
Business Results:
Contracts are renewed weeks faster. Teams in all regions are more productive using a formalized approach. In fact,
they’ve found the process to be intuitive and helpful in executing business faster. The automated process positions
Discovery as a reliable, dependable and responsive partner and improves how the company manages everyday
activities that are critical to the bottom line. Executives are thrilled with the automated functionality and the
anticipation of normalization and robust reporting to help drive how they think about their business.
Technology Benefits:
Discovery was able to develop the solution in only four months. The solution is easy to use and manage. Out-ofthe-box webMethods features, such as the Blaze business rules engine, and solution architecture best practices
streamlined solution development. Changes can be incorporated quickly as needed, freeing up developers for
other innovations.
Why Software AG?
webMethods has become Discovery’s go-to choice in more than a dozen projects over the past five years. Time
and time again, Discovery has been able to turn to webMethods to quickly deliver solutions that meet the
dynamic, high-performance requirements of its global business. The company’s continued creative application of
webMethods will undoubtedly result in more opportunities to help deliver value to internal and external customers
and partners as well as to the overall corporation.
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