Balancing Compliance, Continuity, and Service Quality: Using the Metric Tool to Explore Network Technology Priorities

A case study conducted with Ultron

Case Study Authors

Musa Bektaş (Ultron IT Services), Dr Ayşe Begüm Kilic-Ararat and Dr Arsham Atashikhoei (University of Bath)

Context

Network technologies play a critical role in enabling secure, reliable, and resilient operations across industries such as energy, public services, and critical infrastructure. For organisations providing these solutions, success depends not only on technical performance but also on understanding how different stakeholder groups prioritise outcomes such as regulatory compliance, service quality, operational continuity, and business growth.

To address this challenge, we developed a structured decision-making approach using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Through pairwise comparison, the tool enables participants to evaluate and prioritise business, operational, and human-centred outcomes associated with technology adoption. The approach provides a transparent mechanism for identifying areas of alignment and divergence across stakeholder groups.

Objective

Ultron is a technology provider specialising in network infrastructure solutions for organisations operating in highly regulated sectors. The company works with customers where operational reliability, service continuity, and compliance with industry regulations are essential requirements.

The objective of the workshop was to understand how different functions within the organisation prioritise the expected outcomes of network technologies, identify areas of alignment between teams, and explore how these perspectives influence customer value creation.

Approach

An in-person workshop was conducted in Ankara, Türkiye. Eight participants with technical backgrounds took part in the workshop. Participants represented both pre-sales and post-sales functions, providing perspectives from technology design, solution development, implementation, and service delivery activities.

Participants completed the AHP survey by comparing metrics associated with business performance, operational performance, and human-centred outcomes. The results were analysed for the organisation as a whole and separately for pre-sales and post-sales teams. The findings were then visualised and discussed collectively to facilitate reflection and cross-functional learning.

Insights

The analysis revealed that participants primarily evaluated network technologies through a business and operational lens. Business Performance and Operational Metrics received the highest weighting, while Human-Centric Metrics were considered less influential. The highest-ranked outcomes included regulatory compliance, operational security, business continuity, service quality, and cross-functional coordination, reflecting the needs of customers operating in highly regulated and mission-critical environments.

Regulatory compliance emerged as the most influential priority. Participants explained that many customers operate in sectors where compliance is mandatory rather than optional, meaning technologies are primarily evaluated on their ability to maintain operational reliability, reduce organisational risk, and meet regulatory obligations.

The workshop also revealed clear differences between pre-sales and post-sales teams. Pre-sales participants prioritised business continuity, regulatory compliance, and supporting business growth, reflecting their role in designing customer solutions. In contrast, post-sales teams placed greater emphasis on service quality, operational security, and response speed, reflecting their responsibility for maintaining reliable services after implementation. Participants viewed these differences as complementary rather than conflicting, with each function contributing to overall customer value.

Participants also emphasised that operational performance underpins broader business outcomes. Reliable network services and high service quality were seen as essential for customer satisfaction, long-term business growth, and strong client relationships. Conversely, financial measures such as investment return and workforce-related indicators received lower rankings, as secure and uninterrupted service delivery was viewed as a prerequisite for achieving longer-term commercial success.

The findings provided participants with an opportunity to compare priorities across functions and validated many of their assumptions about organisational roles. The discussions also generated interest in benchmarking results with other organisations in the sector, highlighting the potential value of the AHP Tool for understanding industry-wide priorities and supporting evidence-based decision-making.

Impact

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“The survey exercise provided valuable insights by allowing participants to evaluate topics from a customer perspective. This approach helped strengthen our understanding of customer expectations and encouraged a more customer-centric mindset throughout the session. One of the key takeaways was recognising that both my team and I share a strongly aligned mindset and approach to decision-making. This reinforced the understanding that we operate as a strong team with shared goals and values. In addition, the differences observed between departments proved equally valuable. These variations highlighted areas requiring greater strategic focus and provided visibility into both organisational strengths and opportunities for improvement. Understanding these different viewpoints will help us better align cross-functional objectives, improve collaboration, and identify priorities for future development. Overall, the session was beneficial in increasing self-awareness, strengthening team alignment, and identifying strategic focus areas across the organisation.”

Anıl Karaman, Service and Project Services Manager

For further information on this case study please contact the P-LD at P-LD@bath.ac.uk

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account at the University of Bath ES/X004651/1.

This work was supported by the Innovate UK led Made Smarter Innovation Programme: People-Led Digitalisation Engagement and Impact Acceleration [Grant Reference UKRI1436] Centre for People-Led Digitalisation, at the University of Bath, University of Nottingham, and Loughborough University.