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At the University of Eastern Finland, users create new use cases for Efecte
“It’s super great to work with these guys,” says Petra Hiisiö, the UEF (University of Eastern Finland) account manager at Efecte.
The collaboration of UEF and Efecte started in the spring of 2021 with the competitive tendering of a public IT service management service. Prior to the tendering, UEF was preparing the process via a market survey, with UEF’s IT management people looking at the operators in the field and considering different options.
UEF identified the need for the digitalization of service and service processes from a wider viewpoint than simply that of IT management and IT services. And so the goal of the market survey was to identify an Enterprise Service Management solution, which would better cater to the different parts of the organization than an IT service management solution.
The selected solution would also have more users in the other parts of the organization (200) than IT management (60).
From the different organizations included in the market survey, Efecte’s service management platform was singled out as one potential alternative, with features that seemed to be a good fit with the needs identified by UEF.
The offered solutions were carefully assessed in the public administration competitive tendering. Price was an important factor in the assessment of the whole package.
The cooperation between Efecte and UEF is based on regular discussions held more or less on a weekly basis. Juhamatti Tillonen highlights successful communication, even in complicated situations. Already at the early stages of the deployment project, the need was identified to return to what had been agreed and to specify the requirements. Ongoing and open dialog makes everything run smoothly.
The quarterly business reviews create a consistent overall picture and provide all parties with a view of development and future requirements.
At the core of successful cooperation is fast decision-making, and the decision-makers are also involved in the daily operations.
“Efecte Care, which takes place once a month, is a good thing. It enables us to discuss development targets. Both Efecte’s service desk and consultants help with the development work. We have found solutions very smoothly. Local experts have been a significant asset for the cooperation,” says Juhamatti Tillonen.
The deployment project, which started after the summer vacation period in 2021, implemented UEF’s IT service management and ESM (Enterprise Service Management) solutions for UEF’s IT support service. The solution included incident management, service request management, change & problem management, asset management, and a self-service portal.
The self-service portal was realized as a centralized service used both by UEF’s employees and its students. The project also included a Whistleblower solution, which is ready to be deployed within the framework of developing legislation.
The deployment project was implemented in three stages. When moving to the next stage, the work done at the previous stage could always be developed further. The deployment project was officially finished on September 1, 2022.
In the future, all of UEF’s hardware and software orders will be placed through the self-service portal. The development work has been conducted in collaboration with UEF, Telia, and Dustin.
Data has been collected for Virtual Coach, and AI is already being used to support human agents. Talks have also been held regarding identity management digitalization and the deployment of Efecte’s IGA system.
Even though Efecte’s solutions have only been in use for a short time, UEF has already been able to identify the advantages of the platform. The platform has approximately 200 users. In the service units’ view, use of the platform will increase visibility across organizational boundaries.
Identifying cost factors and recruitment needs has become easier. The knowledge-based management of the production of daily services has increased. Efecte’s reports are already generating data that makes it possible to analyze contributions and resource requirements.
“We can already demonstrate the efficacy of the measures, both in terms of resources and processes,” says Tillonen. “We have been able to break down the barriers between units. All in all, cooperation between units has improved.”
Use of the platform elsewhere in the organization has also created brand new use cases. Previously, UEF’s Centre for Continuous Learning provided students with assistance via email. After hearing about Efecte’s platform, the curriculum designers also wanted access to it.
The Centre for Continuous Learning is now also serving students using Efecte’s ticketing system. Through more efficient documentation and arrangement of data, the ticketing system facilitates the work of curriculum designers and improves their time use.
Tillonen also recommends Efecte’s Service Desk. As a nudge to Efecte, he thinks more effort should be made to encourage customers to make use of the Service Desk. “Cooperation requires a catalyst,” says Tillonen, meaning that universities could gain synergy benefits by mutually discussing use cases. He also sees a clear role for Efecte in this.
To conclude, Tillonen mentions Jonne and Nick from Efecte who come to the site to inspect UEF’s system and to plan for future development. “It is great that they listen to the customer, and we’re able to mutually develop the system,” says Tillonen.