The Transformation of IT Support at hanova
Manual ticket processing and the proverbial “feeling one’s way in the dark”: Until recently, hanova’s IT support operations had their share of challenges. The discovery of Consulting4IT’s “F4SD” product shed light on the situation. The way hanova’s internal IT team worked had long been characterized by manual processes. “Before F4SD, everything was done manually here,” recalls Carlo Gries, a second-level IT administrator at hanova. “For example, a ticket was always created only after a user called in. Either as a resolved case, if we could help right away, or for forwarding to Second Level because we couldn’t find the cause immediately.” Lengthy processes and dissatisfied end users were often the result.
A worthwhile visit to the trade show – F4SD was a stroke of luck
The turning point for hanova came in 2022 at the Hannover Messe, when the company discovered F4SD —the latest in-house development from the systems specialist Consulting4IT, with whom the company had been collaborating for some time. “I was immediately impressed by the product,” enthused Carlo Gries. “I could immediately envision all the things we could do with it. The flexible customization options, in particular, won me over.”Not only Gries, but also his colleagues from First Level Support were immediately thrilled and saw great potential in the new tool. hanova was one of the first customers to choose F4SD.
The Key to Success: Communication
A momentous decision—in a positive sense. Because expectations were not disappointed: the rollout and launch of the service desk application went almost entirely smoothly. Minor issues with some system updates were quickly resolved thanks to close communication among the project team members. “As the first F4SD customer, we were essentially beta testers and thus also involved in the further development and improvement of the initial versions. We were always able to resolve the teething problems that arose here and there during the updates quite quickly together,” explains Gries.
The Value of F4SD: Addressing the Root Causes Rather Than the Symptoms
According to Gries, the greatest benefit of F4SD is that the dashboard opens automatically with information about the relevant client every time a call comes in. “If everything here is lit up in red, it’s immediately clear that something is wrong. And the cause is also provided right away,” he says, describing the new convenience in first-level support. Instead of chasing after an inadequate description of symptoms and ending up at a dead end, first-level support can now immediately identify the causes of issues and, with the help of Quick Actions, sometimes resolve them directly.
Benefits at the second level as well
According to Gries, F4SD also offers significant advantages for the second level: “When similar issues keep cropping up, we can create Quick Actions ourselves. These are then immediately available to the first level in the Cockpit. This means that the issue can be resolved with a single click if it occurs again. This speeds up resolution and reduces the workload on the second level, which can then focus more on other tasks.”
The bottom line: Acceleration and long-term benefits
“At first, it felt like F4SD just created more work,” Gries says with a smile. “That’s because F4SD brought to light issues that had previously been lurking in the shadows. On the one hand, this naturally led to more tasks at first, but on the other hand, it allowed us to proactively address existing problems and thus prevent future disruptions.”
According to Gries, one thing is clear: whether it’s quickly resolving common issues at the first level or solving larger IT problems at the second level, F4SD has not only significantly simplified IT support operations at hanova within a year, but has truly transformed them to a whole new level.
About hanova
hanova is a real estate group owned by the state capital of Hanover with over 550 employees, whose real estate portfolio is complemented by a comprehensive range of services. In addition to professional real estate management and helping to shape the city’s infrastructure, hanova offers and promotes forward-looking housing development with a focus on high-quality, affordable housing. The name hanova is a combination of “Hannover” and “Innovation” and thus stands for a practical approach to innovative and sustainable urban development.