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From $230M to $84M: American Red Cross's Five-Year IT Transformation

Case Studies  >  Nonprofit & Biomedical

The American Red Cross needed to move a legacy data center environment off Unisys in Eagan, Minnesota, without disrupting operations, and to bring down an annual IT budget of more than $230 million. viLogics led a lift-and-shift migration to its Pennsylvania data center infrastructure, then built and executed a five-year transformation roadmap across the organization's corporate and biomedical IT environments. Through consolidation, modernization and service optimization, not personnel reductions, annual core IT operating costs fell to approximately $84 million: about $146 million in annualized savings, a 63% reduction.

Results snapshot

$146M

annualized savings in core IT operating costs

63%

reduction in core IT operating costs

$84M

annual core IT operating cost, down from $230M+

5-year

transformation roadmap across corporate and biomedical IT

Customer context

The American Red Cross is a national humanitarian organization whose technology supports both corporate functions and biomedical operations. That combination makes continuity non-negotiable and puts every infrastructure decision under scrutiny.

  • Organization: American Red Cross
  • Industry: Nonprofit humanitarian services and biomedical operations
  • Environments in scope: Corporate IT and biomedical IT
  • Starting point: Legacy data center environment hosted by Unisys in Eagan, Minnesota
  • IT spend: Confirmed annual IT budget of more than $230 million; estimated total technology spend near $280 million including decentralized and shadow IT
  • Why it mattered: Legacy and redundant systems were driving cost, and any change had to happen without interrupting operations

The challenge

The organization was running on a legacy, outsourced data center environment, with redundant infrastructure and overlapping applications built up over years. Technology spending had also spread beyond central IT. Moving off the legacy platform carried real operational risk, and staying put meant continuing to fund a cost structure that wasn't sustainable.

  • Legacy appliances, servers and applications hosted in a data center in Eagan, Minnesota
  • A confirmed annual IT budget above $230 million, with total technology spend estimated near $280 million
  • Redundant infrastructure and applications across corporate and biomedical environments
  • Any migration had to preserve operational continuity

"We needed to modernize our technology and the viLogics partnership made that possible with excellent facilities and a staff that cares."

Brian Rhoa, CIO & CFO, American Red Cross

Why viLogics

The American Red Cross needed a partner that could take on the infrastructure and then own the plan to make it leaner.

  • Data center capacity ready to receive the environment: viLogics data center infrastructure in Pennsylvania
  • Migration with continuity: a full lift-and-shift of legacy appliances, servers and applications while operations continued
  • A strategic roadmap, not just hosting: a five-year plan spanning corporate and biomedical IT
  • Savings through technology, not headcount: consolidation, modernization and service optimization

The solution

viLogics delivered the engagement in two phases: a lift-and-shift migration from the data center in Minnesota, to viLogics data center infrastructure in Pennsylvania, followed by a five-year transformation roadmap across the American Red Cross corporate and biomedical IT environments.

1

Assessment

  • Inventoried legacy appliances, servers, applications and supporting infrastructure
  • Set the savings baseline on the confirmed $230M+ IT budget
  • Tracked decentralized and shadow IT spend separately from core costs
2

Migration

  • Full lift-and-shift from Unisys (Eagan, MN) to viLogics data centers in Pennsylvania
  • Moved appliances, servers, applications and supporting infrastructure
  • Maintained operational continuity throughout the move
3

Transform

  • Consolidated applications across corporate and biomedical IT
  • Modernized infrastructure and eliminated redundant systems
  • Changed how technology and applications are delivered to end users
4

Optimization

  • Optimized service delivery across the modernized environment
  • Used operational and workforce studies to find further efficiencies
  • Realigned resources and functions around the new environment

The results

Measured against the confirmed IT budget over the five-year program. Additional decentralized and shadow IT spending is excluded from the savings calculation.

$146M in annualized savings

Annual core IT operating costs dropped by approximately $146 million, measured against the confirmed IT budget.

63% lower core IT costs

Core IT operating costs fell from more than $230 million to approximately $84 million per year.

Off the legacy data center

The full environment moved from Minnesota, to viLogics infrastructure in Pennsylvania while operations continued.

Savings from technology, not headcount

Savings came from consolidation, modernization and removing redundant infrastructure and applications, not personnel reductions.

Customer proof

“We needed to modernize our technology and dramatically reduce costs without interrupting critical operations. viLogics led our data center migration and helped execute a five-year transformation. We reduced annual core IT operating costs by 63%, saving approximately $146 million a year without reducing personnel.”

Brian Rhoa, CIO & CFO, American Red Cross

Best fit for organizations that...

  • Run large, complex IT environments on legacy or outsourced data center infrastructure
  • Need to migrate off aging hosting without disrupting operations
  • Are carrying redundant applications and infrastructure that drive up cost
  • Want a multi-year modernization roadmap tied to measurable savings
  • Need to lower IT operating costs without cutting staff

Talk with a viLogics expert about data center migration and IT cost optimization.

Learn how viLogics can move a legacy environment safely, consolidate what you no longer need and build a roadmap that lowers what it costs to run IT.