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THE BIGGEST EUROPEAN SERVICE MANAGEMENT EVENT 2024
THE BIGGEST EUROPEAN SERVICE MANAGEMENT EVENT 2024
THE BIGGEST EUROPEAN SERVICE MANAGEMENT EVENT 2024
THE BIGGEST EUROPEAN SERVICE MANAGEMENT EVENT 2024
South Point was founded in 2003 to address the growing demand for affordable student accommodation in South Africa. At the time, many students faced poorly maintained and overpriced housing. South Point aimed to offer a safer, cleaner, and more affordable alternative, complemented by a vibrant student community.
In just nine years, South Point has grown into one of the largest independent providers of student accommodation in the country. The company continues to strive for expansion, aiming for over 20,000 student beds, while maintaining a unique and enriching experience for every student who joins its community.
South Point's primary challenge was the lack of visibility and control over their IT assets and service desk operations. They struggled with outdated systems that provided minimal integration and reporting capabilities. “When I started, they were using Office 2013, and I came from a company where I have been heavily involved with Office 365 from the beginning. It was a major step back because the software was very outdated with little integration into anything. The environment in general was lacking processes and there was no ITSM format at all,” describes Sean Lombard.
Additionally, there was a need for enhanced security protocols and better tracking of hardware and access controls. “There was no auditing as such, or even tracking of who had access to what and how they were granted that access, which now we have with Efecte.”
Taulite implemented Efecte’s ITSM solution to address South Point's challenges. The deployment process was smooth and efficient, with minimal training required, and continuous support available. The Efecte solution offered a customizable and user-friendly interface, allowing South Point to tailor the system to their specific needs.
"We transitioned from Freshdesk to Efecte, and the deployment was handled exceptionally well by Taulite. Dawn and Leon from Taulite were super helpful and understood our requirements perfectly," Sean Lombard remarked.
Initially, South Point used Efecte ITSM as a ticketing software for Service Desk operations, which was soon extended to include hardware procurement as well. They have effectively leveraged the “out of the box” ITSM capabilities while making good use of customizations, for instance for employee onboarding and offboarding processes.
Apart from being easy to use and highly customizable, one of the biggest positives of using Efecte for South Point turned out to be the availability of statistics, which their KPIs are heavily reliant on. “Our KPIs are largely based on ticket response and resolution times, tickets failing SLA, to mention a few. Reopening of incidents is another important thing that helps us identify the problem that hasn’t been resolved. Sometimes people put a plaster on a problem without addressing the cause of it, and these types of things we need to monitor.”
The implementation of Efecte’s ITSM solution brought several significant benefits to South Point:
- Enhanced Visibility and Control: Efecte provides comprehensive visibility of IT assets and activities.
- Improved Security: With Efecte, South Point established stricter security protocols, including approval workflows for access requests. This customization was vital in meeting auditor requirements and preventing unauthorized access. This also results in indirect cost savings and general business optimization.
- Better Service Quality: The improved visibility and reporting capabilities allowed South Point to provide better service to their end users - the students. The ability to monitor and address issues promptly results in higher satisfaction levels among users.
The partnership between South Point, Taulite, and Efecte proved to be a success, addressing South Point’s needs for an ITSM in place and overall optimizing their IT operations. Right now South Point continues to reap the benefits of Efecte ITSM, with ongoing support from Taulite to ensure all emerging needs are being met.
Looking ahead, South Point plans to further enhance its IT operations by adopting additional change management practices with the help of Taulite.