With the Efecte ICT WebShop, Tieto-Tapiola Takes User Experience to New Level

- End User Satisfaction is in a Key Position

Efecte has provided Tieto-Tapiola with an easy-to-use channel for providing and ordering ICT services. The product improves end-user satisfaction and increases the entire organization’s productivity. Earlier, Tieto-Tapiola utilized a portal for customers’ use in placing orders for workstations, telephones, or software. The order portal involved various forms, links to which were placed on the company’s intranet. Customer feedback clearly indicated that the order process was too complicated and therefore too difficult. This situation indicated a need to develop the ICT service ordering process and thereby improve internal customers’ satisfaction.


Efecte’s ICT WebShop – which Tieto-Tapiola named Titanet – was selected as the solution. The new order portal has approximately 5,000 end users.
 

Ease of Use Leads the Way to Improved Efficiency

“We used to have many different order channels, making it very difficult for customers to guess where they could find the products they wished to order. This was certainly not customer-friendly. It also led to IT support requests being made via the wrong channels. We wanted to combine the order channels so that users could find all of the available services from a single location. When you no longer need to search for the right order portal, you save time. The amount of information is the same, but things are now presented in a clearer way,” explains Development Manager Riitta Kohvakka of Tieto-Tapiola.

“Even in the testing phase, the feedback we received was highly encouraging. Comments such as ‘Can it really be this easy?’ were a clear indication that we were on the right track,” says Kohvakka. She adds, “Since end users now can do more themselves, they have become more active instead of working through intermediaries. The system is simple enough for anyone to be able to use it independently.”

At Efecte, user interface design played a key role. Today, doing things online is the norm, and applications are convenient to use. Efecte wants to bring that user experience also to business applications. “The look of the product and its browser-based interface are up-to-the-minute. It is a modern tool that guides end users through the operation they wish to complete,” explains Kohvakka.

In addition to helping the IT department, optimizing the order process increases the whole organization’s efficiency. When orders already contain all information needed and their approval chains are in order, the work of the Service Desk becomes much easier. “Orders are received in a predefined format. They are easier to manage, and we are also able to monitor SLAs in detail,” says Aki Holma, another development manager at Tieto-Tapiola. He says, “With the old order system, all requests went to the experts at the Service Desk. Now, we have automated standard orders in a predefined format, which greatly reduces the load for the Service Desk.” 

Tieto-Tapiola Embraces Service-Oriented Thinking

When the new tool was deployed, Tieto-Tapiola went through all of its service processes. Work on the service catalog began in the spring of 2010, and the ICT WebShop project provided valuable support for the catalog's completion. Users can experience Tieto-Tapiola’s service oriented thinking in the logical, easy-to-use procedures, combined with clear instructions.

The new, productized ICT WebShop gave IT a fresh face.

“The project has given Tieto-Tapiola a higher profile. We are now seen in a different light, and end users feel we are closer to them. Customers want to know what we provide, and now we are able to communicate this clearly,” says Kohvakka.

Development Partners Have Their Say

The ICT WebShop has been developed in cooperation with customers. Regular meetings with the Efecte product development team and discussions in the product development forum are all aspects of the development partnership. 

Tieto-Tapiola was involved in the product's development from very early on. Therefore, the company was able to influence the product's functionality. After an impressive launch for Tieto Tapiola customers, the deployment of the product went without a glitch.

“We were able to achieve a lot very early on. We moved ahead at great speed, and the product was in use surprisingly quickly,” says Kohvakka.

This excellent development partnership will grow further still as Efecte continues to develop the product in close cooperation with Tieto-Tapiola. “We are looking forward to upcoming features and will deploy them as soon as possible,” concludes Holma.

Tieto-Tapiola Oy is an ICT service provider owned by the Tapiola Group and Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company. In addition to Tapiola and Etera, Tieto-Tapiola's customers include Mutual Insurance Company Turva. Tieto-Tapiola provides efficient and high-quality information technology services to its customers.