LKAB is in a massive transition phase to achieve the goal of making its mines carbon-dioxide-free, digitalized and autonomous. To support this we developed a global ITIL Service Desk with an integrated CMDB.
In brief
Challenge
Support this transformation by creating a Service Desk as a single point of contact to provide business-enabling IT support for the home market and global divisions. This includes enabling automated help desk services and improving vendor performance and response time.
Solution
An on-premises ITIL Service Desk with an integrated CMDB that supports continuous automation through a tight-knit integration with core infrastructure services. This broadens the range of issues that can be fixed with minimal effort and enables preventive actions.
How we did it
We worked closely with the IT department at LKAB to define their new Service Desk requirements in accordance with the LKAB digitalization effort. We then replaced the existing legacy systems with an agile and centralized solution for the entire enterprise.
Benefits
LKAB now has an onsite Service Desk that is aligned with corporate digitalization goals. Supports cases are not only resolved quickly but a platform has also been established for continuous improvement and automation.
About the client
LKAB is Europe’s largest iron ore producer, with 4,200 employees in 13 countries. The company, which is wholly owned by the Swedish state, has launched the largest industrial innovation effort in the Nordics, with the goal of making its mines carbon-dioxide-free, digitalized and autonomous.
New trends in Service Desk Management
The trend of moving IT service and support offshore is being reversed. Service Desks are returning on-premises, in order to bring domain expertise back into IT service and support. One important reason, is the fact that modern IT organizations consume services from many service providers and vendors. A single point of contact coordinating all these services becomes increasingly important. Service Desk specialist providers manage and monitor the organization’s multiple vendor services and agreements, and thereby enable continuous improvement.
A business enabling Service Desk
LKAB wanted a new type of Service Desk – one that could look beyond the existing ethos of resolving issues by also functioning as a proactive business enabler, in line with the company’s digital transformation. An immediate challenge was to improve control over the multi-vendor performance and the reporting of Service Level Agreements (SLAs). LKAB required a solution that would remove the silos of vendor responsibility to ensure all IT queries were handled promptly. The company’s existing IT Service Desk could not provide the required transparency or cater for the Service Desk needs of the different divisions around the world. LKAB, however, did not want to take on the risk of building and staffing a new Service Desk to meet their requirements. In 2014 they issued a public tender for Service Desk Management.
A new user-centric ITIL Service Desk
We approached the challenge from the viewpoint of future needs, i.e., the mining company’s processes and procedures and the key Service Desk requirements. This resulted in:
- A fully manned on-premises Service Desk that handles support via phone, e-mail or digital interface.
- An agile service that supports infrastructure, vendor and SLA changes. Fully-automated SLA reporting.
- Full compliancy with existing and soon to be enforced regulations, such as GDPR.
- One Service Desk for the all markets and divisions.
In 2015 we launched the new ITIL Service Desk. In total eight people man the desk, which is open between 6am and 6pm. All services, manuals and interfaces are available in Swedish or English.
Fully transparent Service Desk operations
LKAB now has full transparency over the Service Desk activities of its IT vendors. All SLA reports are stored securely and can be accessed by authorized LKAB staff. New SLAs can be easily added to cope with changing conditions and vendor contracts. Additionally, data such as Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs), troubleshooting guides, knowledge articles and previous query requests have all been transferred from the legacy system to the new platform. And as for vendors, they have more time to focus on high priority projects as the Service Desk team handles most routine enquiries. Furthermore, vendors also now share more information with staff at LKAB and with other vendor partners to support a more transparent process.
What the customer says
“One year after deployment we carried out an in-depth evaluation of the new Service Desk. LKAB employees around the world were asked to rank the performance of Ductus according to a number of key criteria including response times and resolution times, and feedback to end users regarding progress. The Service Desk team received very good scores. Essentially, people are very happy with the new service. Ductus is a transparent company, providing us with a transparent service, which is exactly what we wanted.”
Head of IT-Operations Rory Wikman, LKAB, Kiruna.
How can we help you?
Do you need help with transforming your IT Service Desk? Learn more about what we offer within Service Desk and IT Service Management and get in touch today!
Photo by Kiruna kommun