Central control of service management activities
The name Open Grid Europe (OGE) is a program and vision alike: Openness and Transparency (Open) are the central themes for access to the European natural gas network (Grid Europe), which OGE is actively co-creating.
In order to fulfill its ambitious corporate goals, for years now OGE has been drawing support from various service providers who oversee the complex landscape of the business applications. This combination results in greater and increasing demands on management, controlling, quality assurance, and reporting, which the existing IT service management (ITSM) system – also from a provider – was no longer able to fulfill. The Managers at OGE therefore evaluated the ITSM market. The aim, by implementing a sustainable, integrated, central and SaaS-based ITSM total solution, was to manage the complex IT infrastructure and multitude of different services in a transparent and cost-effective way that complies with ITIL®. Moreover, the solution should be able to automate AI-based ticket routing in the future as well. After an extensive proof-of-concept process, the consultancy expertise of USU was chosen, along with the USU IT Service Management software solution.
With USU we have an ultra competent technology partner at our side, with whom we can shape our IT service management processes in a future-oriented, sustainable, and value-adding manner. USU IT Service Management is our central authority for transparent control of all IT processes and external providers.
Dietmar Göntgen, Project Manager, Open Grid Europe GmbH
At a glance
The organization
Sector
IT figures
Website
www.oge.net/en
About OGE
Open Grid Europe GmbH operates the largest transmission grid network for natural gas in Germany, with a length of around 12,000 km. More than 1,400 employers form the infrastructure for the energy supply of today and tomorrow – including hydrogen. With the help of the USU IT Service Management solution, IT provides extensive support services, guarantees efficient IT management including external providers, and ensures a high level of performance and provision of IT services.
Challenge
The change to Multi-Provider Management requires an ITSM solution, which serves as a central hub, supports ITIL®-standard processes such as Incident and Asset Management, and integrates and controls further external service providers as well as ensuring superordinate ticket routing.
Why USU was selected
With its consultancy expertise in service management and the modular USU IT Service Management solution, USU is very impressive. For the required digitalization of ITIL® processes and Multi-Provider Management, the role played by USU Software’s functional width and depth, its high level of integrability, and its availability as a SaaS solution was just as crucial as that played by the evidence of the successful realization of similarly complex customer projects.
Project milestones
- Setting up the ITSM platform with basic functionalities and implementation of Incident Management and Asset Management
- Implementation of Knowledge Management and Self-Service including Ticket Routing
- Connection of main service provider through a robotic solution as an interface for Incident Management. In later course of project, replacement with a direct synchronous interface
- Upgrade with Asset Management for Mobile Devices as well as implementation of Software License Management
- Service Request Management with synchronous interface to the provider
- Change Management with provider integration in USU Service Management
- Successive connection of additional service providers
Benefits thanks to the USU solution
- High technological sustainability of the USU IT Service Management solution
- Flexibility during interface connection and management in a dynamic environment
- Transparency via complex, heterogeneous infrastructure and diverse services
- Efficient IT service and provider control through reporting and SLA monitoring
- Service optimization based on integrated processes with provider integration
- Establishment of Self-Service and reduction of the time it takes to process tickets
Overhaul of Ticket Process and Multi-Provider Management
The ITSM solution, USU IT Service Management, should be gradually implemented during the project and continue to be upgraded and expanded. In addition to basic activities – e. g. the creation of a service catalogue and the upkeep of the CMDB – the main task was to consolidate the ITIL®-based Incident Process already defined by OGE and to synchronize the data. To this end, most of the providers who were chosen to be linked via interfaces were providers who use their own ITSM tools due to high ticket volume. In addition, the transparent reproduction of SLAs was important in order to be better able to guide the provider and their services. The complete ticket process was successively implemented including the allocation of incoming tickets and the integration of self-service functions and knowledge management based on a solution database. After extensive tests and training, productive operations got off to a successful start in the summer of 2019. In further steps, the Change and Service Request Management and Contract Management processes were then configured and displayed in detail. Subsequently, Problem Management is also going to be implemented.
Transparency via internal and external ITSM processes
Today, through USU IT Service Management, OGE is not only optimizing the ITIL®-compliant operation of IT infrastructure with around 2,200 client systems and 30,000 components company-wide, but it also manages the heterogeneous service provider landscape in a transparent and cost-efficient manner. The integrated Multi-Provider Management allows high-end services based on continuous processes for Incident Management, Service Request Management, and Change Management.
Incident Management in particular has been improved, with a more efficient ticket processing process. The integration of Knowledge Management in combination with self-service functions also supports the end users in searching for and processing solutions. IT service management at OGE is enhanced by efficient software license management based on our solution for USU Software Asset Management, in order to ensure compliance and optimize licensing costs.