processing load be larger, but the systems would also
be running on newly upgraded hardware and commu-
nications lines. Would they be able to avoid the bottle-
necks and processing errors the government’s direct
lending program changeover had caused in a previous
year? So far, the stock market reaction had been
positive, but if there were a servicing failure, how would
the market react? Would Sallie Mae be able to retain its
customer base?
Still ahead were more IT application challenges—
including implementing the advanced call-center routing
capability for the new combined company, getting both
companies on the same intranet and e-mail systems, and
moving the corporate staff based in Reston onto PeopleSoft
financial and human resource systems. With IT headquar-
ters in Indianapolis and corporate headquarters in Reston,
would the IT project team be able to successfully navigate
the political challenges of these integrations as well?Case Study IV-2 • FastTrack IT Integration for the Sallie Mae Merger 627