SupportCenter Plus allows Vinnova to manage support and help desk cases for several government agencies.
"Giving each agency its own support portal enables high- quality follow-ups and saves a lot of time," explained Ulf Trulsson, head of the IS/IT Department at Vinnova's Administration Division.
Vinnova is Sweden's innovation agency, promoting sustainable growth by fostering conditions conducive to innovation and by financing needs-based research.
Each year, Vinnova invests more than two billion kronor in various initiatives. The agency also employs more than 200 staff and has offices in Stockholm and Brussels. In addition to its own IT department, Vinnova's IT department also manages IT matters for four other government agencies: the Swedish Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte); the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas); the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research; and the Swedish National Space Board.
Before switching to SupportCenter Plus, Vinnova used support software it had developed in-house. The agency outgrew this solution once it began providing support to other agencies. "Our previous system was rudimentary and it needed to meet the need for additional features, like the ability to reply to support inquiries via email. We knew that there were many different solutions on the market already, and we didn't feel we had to develop our own system to meet this need," said Trulsson.
With the introduction of SupportCenter Plus, each agency has been set up as its own business unit.
"By choosing this setup, we can measure and follow up with each ‘customer' individually. Being able to produce reports is important. We also need a uniform support setup with a common system for all agencies, and a common heIp desk where we can receive fault reports about everything from maintenance to IT," Trulsson added.
Through a framework agreement arranged through the government agency Kammarkollegiet, Vinnova found the Norwegian IT firm Crayon Group, which agreed to allow UDK to act as an integrator. "UDK took over the discussions with Vinnova and proposed various solutions. They are knowledgeable and incorporate experience from other solutions they have worked with to give us a solution that we're very happy with. UDK is highly customer-oriented, and our dealings with them have been very smooth."
Ultimately, Vinnova chose SupportCenter Plus as its solution. SupportCenter Plus is a ManageEngine product built for handling support and help desk inquiries from different customers. Those who register cases can follow up themselves and track their case's progress within their specific support portal. The tool is especially powerful when all cases are handled by one entity, as in Vinnova's situation.
"SupportCenter Plus' reporting function is very good, not least of all the function that produces Quick Reports, which means that you don't need to enter the system to be able to view your cases."
Vinnova also uses UDK's Single Sign-in for all employees, each of whom are assigned the correct role through Active Directory as soon as they sign in to SupportCenter Plus. "Something that has worked really well is the introduction of a suggestion box, which was also very easy to include. Adding it was both simple and hassle-free. We have gone from having an almost manual management solution to being able to register and follow up on all suggestions for improvements submitted by Vinnova's staff."
VINNOVA has also benefited from SupportCenter Plus' standard features, which allows staff to e-mail case numbers assigned to each case. "This really simplifies things for us and means that we don't miss sending the solution before the case is closed.
"Previously, we might have resolved the issue but forgotten to create a receipt and email the person who registered the case. Now we manage correspondence directly in SupportCenter Plus rather than through our email client. What's more, we can now also archive all our documentation by case," explained Annika Flank-lvarsson, system manager for SupportCenter Plus.
When Vinnova employees generate cases, they now do so directly within SupportCenter Plus, where all cases are categorized. External cases are usually received by email without being categorized, and Vinnova then categorizes these manually. "If we categorize them ourselves, we're more certain that they've been categorized correctIy."
SupportCenter Plus is a complete package solution for managing support and help desk cases from one supplier to multiple clients. Clients can raise cases and also manage them through a dedicated support portal that is unique to each individual client.
Single Sign-On and Quick Reports are two additions (add-ins) developed by UDK to further increase SupportCenter Plus' functionality.
One important feature of SupportCenter Plus is its ability to let users measure and follow up on all cases. "The challenge for us is to make sure we enter all cases in SupportCenter Plus. We receive information face-to-face, over the phone, and by email. When we receive information ‘over the counter,' there's always a risk that it won't be registered. By entering all cases into the system, we achieve the most efficient and effective service."
Vinnova's plan for the future is to integrate SupportCenter Plus with Exchange Server so the organization can retire all other first-line support and only use SupportCenter Plus. Moreover, this solution is so open that it can be adapted to suit existing needs. "SupportCenter Plus is a very good solution if you run a help desk and provide support to several different customers—in our case, government agencies," Trulsson concluded.