Overview
Submitting, tracking and responding to incidents, service and change requests is a core capability required of every modern IT organization. Not only must they track and resolve issues from their users, but IT teams are also responsible for the oversight and support of technology assets themselves (i.e. laptops, servers, peripherals, etc.). Within the Information Technology Infrastructure Framework (ITIL), IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Asset Management (ITAM) solutions have become critical components of day-to-day IT operations management at companies of all sizes and industries. But as software solutions like these have improved and business conditions have changed over time, legacy technologies lack modern capabilities and become blockers to organizational advancement. Migrating to flexible, ITIL-based technology is the smart choice in these increasingly common scenarios, but migrations require significant planning, communication, and collaboration.
Our client, a multinational beverage and brewing company and the world’s largest beer producer, needed to replace its legacy service desk with a modern solution to facilitate scalable customer self-service customizations and accommodate increasing ticket volume and a large user base. The client’s requirements for a replacement service desk also included self-service options and adherence to ITIL-based ITSM best practices for both its customer-facing operations, including retail and distribution vendors, and its internal support desk. Working with Praecipio and leveraging our partnership with Atlassian and Riada, the client improved customer service levels, enhanced scalability, and reduced technology costs without service interruption.
Challenge
The client’s legacy solution did not provide the base-level capabilities needed to identify types of tickets, manage Service Level Agreements (SLAs), or to determine teamwork assignments. Without these core functions, searching issues and accurately reporting on work performance and progress was very difficult. With more than 20,000 users and up to 4,000 ticket submissions per day, the sheer volume and complexity of incoming work made it necessary to implement custom issue types and customizable workflows to intelligently identify and then route issues to the right personnel.
As a company that employs over 30,000 people and supports multiple breweries and entertainment complexes throughout the United States, our client possesses more than one million assets that require governance. Beyond the challenge of managing the volume of equipment, they stored and managed assets with more than 10 different databases and spreadsheets. During the Discovery phase, we quickly determined that building a configuration management database (CMDB) to provide a repository for these assets was a critical step. Praecipio and its technology partners had the experience required to complete the implementation.
Solution
For the service desk component, Praecipio implemented Atlassian’s Jira Service Management and Confluence. This powerful combination of ITSM tools provided the customer with a self-service portal and knowledge base capabilities that the client needed to automate tasks and improve service levels. Working closely with the client to incorporate some aspects of the former service desk into the new solution, Praecipio created the custom workflows and hierarchies to enable the service-specific SLAs. Our team also implemented our proprietary Jira app, Turbo Kit for Jira, to streamline workflows and amplify functions beyond Jira’s native capabilities. Praecipio's ITIL-certified consultants helped the client implement an ITIL-based service desk that worked more effectively, enabling the business to run more efficiently and reliably.
To improve their asset management strategy, Praecipio implemented the Jira Service Management-compatible Insight by Riada (now Atlassian Assets) to create the CMDB, making it easier for our client’s agents to maintain and update the asset data. By implementing this solution directly in the service desk interface, our client’s IT team can respond faster and make data-driven decisions regarding their assets like servers, computers, phones, accessories, etc. Similarly, their business teams can use the asset management capabilities to manage employee onboarding, marketing and legal assets, and more. Praecipio also provided the world's largest brewery with extensive training in Jira Service Management, Confluence, and Riada’s Insight (now Assets).
Results
The client now successfully supports 750 agents and 20,000 users with Jira Service Management. The new service management platform enables them to handle more than 4,000 daily service requests and create customized dashboards that provide visibility into performance metrics for 20,000 open tickets.
With a modern solution in place that seamlessly integrates with an asset management database, internal support is easier to deliver and track. Therefore, when someone submits a support request, all relevant information about the asset is available to the agent.
Now that the newly implemented system is up and running, the client expects to see improvements in critical service metrics, including improved customer satisfaction and reduced mean-time-to-resolution. Now that the client has access to best-in-class processes and tools, they are better positioned to utilize resources more efficiently, have improved visibility into asset allocation and usage, and adapt to ongoing business changes.
