To formulate a successfully transition for the Management and Technical Support of an application, DirectLink will implement a process that follows specific tasks designed to reduce risk, ensure an orderly transfer of responsibility, and identify areas of process improvement. AmeriSource's Outsourcing Methodology utilizes the best-in-class Project Management and Testing processes of both DirectEntry and DirectTest to build a framework to deliver Directlink's Application Maintenance & Support services.

AmeriSource supports a set of key activities supported by a set of rigorous quality gates that enables Directlink to assume full responsibility of your application(s). And AmeriSource establishes an ongoing quality review process that ensures the committed Service Levels and Deliverables meet expectations. Directlink's AmeriSource methodology is comprised of four phases. These phases represent a holistic view of the activities, deliverables and interaction models that drive the successful transition of a customer's application.

The Envision Phase provides the foundation to assume the management and technical responsibility for the maintenance and enhancement functions of each eligible application. Key activities are:

• Perform a Customer Needs Assessment
• Project Team Definition
• Client Development & Support Methodology
• Review existing Client Processes & Policies
• Review Infrastructure & Security Requirements
• Review Call Management Processes
• Develop Service Level Agreements
• Develop Resource Requirements
• Organizational Planning & Training

The Build Phase provides the maximum exposure to the customer's current processes as well as provides the project team with the ability to minimize the time required to assume support responsibility for maintenance and enhancement activities of the selected applications. Key activities are:

• Initiate Knowledge Transfer
• Perform Application Review
• Documentation Review
• Analyze Backlogs
• Build Knowledge Repository
• Gradual Integration of Key Resources
• Establish/Agree On Project Management & Communications
• Set up Data Center Support Infrastructure
• Conduct Training

The Manage Phase utilizes a managed, predefined and orderly set of processes enabling Directlink to assume the maintenance and support function responsibility. Key activities are:

• Execution of Maintenance Service Requests
• Refinement of Support Model
• Responsibility Transfer
• Graduate to Primary Support Role
• Implement Tracking Procedures
• Implement Change Management
• Evaluate Process Improvements

The Optimize Phase represents the customer's acceptance for Directlink to assume full application support and en- hancement activities defined in Service Level Agreements. Activities may include:

• Ongoing Support
• Service Requests
• Migrations & Upgrades
• New Release Planning
• Fine tune SLAs
• Application Tuning
• Continuous Process Improvements
• Productivity Increases
• Dashboards & Reporting
• Governance