Dubbo City Council is the governing body of some 40,000 people living in the city recognised as the capital of western NSW. The City is a popular tourist destination visited by 585,000 people annually, with the famous Western Plains Zoo as the major attraction.

Agriculture forms the basis of the economy, with many people employed in the cotton, wool, cattle and sheep industries.

The Council's mission is to satisfy the social, economic and environmental needs of the residents and visitors to the Dubbo community in an ecologically sustainable manner.

Within the Council and at off-premise locations, 220 staff utilise a multitude of IT products, including printers, PCs and data projectors.

To keep operations running smoothly this equipment needs to be constantly performing efficiently. A team of six on the Council help desk is responsible for supporting the needs of these users.

The help desk is bombarded with communication in the form of personal visits, phone calls and emails from users requesting assistance with their equipment.

According to the IT Operations Supervisor (ITOS), these requests are many and varied.

"If you name it, we've covered it. Anything in IT help desk terms, from printer jams to finding lost dogs," said ITOS.

Time for a change …

Dubbo City Council decided to implement FrontRange Solutions customer service software, HEAT in late 1997. The Council decided to invest in a new package in order to increase the efficiency of its help desk operations and it also wanted to ensure data was not lost and jobs were not 'slipping through the cracks'.

Prior to installing HEAT, the council had been using a general database program to log calls. Some calls never made it to the database, and were logged on paper.

"We needed a uniform means of tracking calls. Our database wasn't meeting our demands, and our staff had resorted to the old-fashioned paper and sticky-notes solution. This made day-to-day work difficult, and evaluation of the help desk responses almost impossible," said ITOS.

It's all automatic

The IT staff were impressed by HEAT's automation. With the software's self help functionality, help desk staff receive less phone calls for assistance. Instead, users can send an email to the help desk, which is automatically logged into a task list ready for prioritisation.

An auto response feature replies to the sender with a receipt of the problem being logged into the database giving the user comfort their problem will be addressed.

The system will then remind help desk staff about tasks yet to be completed with 'pop-up' messages appearing until it is told the problem has been solved.

The ITOS described renewed appreciation for HEAT, after spending wasted time searching through a filing cabinet.

"HEAT enables us to keep track of where we're up to with calls. The biggest problem we had prior to installing HEAT was not knowing the status of a call. I was cleaning out a filing cabinet the other day, and pulled out all these incomplete old paper files. With HEAT, this is not a problem.

"You have a record of when the call was logged, who's been assigned to handle the call, actions required and carried out, and any necessary follow-up. Everything we need is easy to retrieve," said ITOS.

With E-mails going backwards and forwards automatically, the help desk staff have more time on their hands.

"We can spend less time taking calls, and looking for information, and more time actually getting on with IT support," said ITOS.

It keeps getting better

HEAT has been of great benefit since it was installed and the Council is continually discovering way it can better utilise its software.

"Implementation of HEAT was easy. Since then we have spent time working on customising the system to the point where it is specifically suited to our clients. We are happy to continue to keep adding to it, forever tailoring the software to our users' needs," said ITOS.

Planning for the Future

Dubbo Council is discovering the benefits of HEAT's reporting capabilities. With a well-defined fault list, HEAT can print reports that identify ongoing issues and problems, assisting management with long-term IT strategy and planning.

"HEAT allows us to produce statistical data on where most errors are occurring, the time it takes to resolve them, and to what extent the organisation is suffering from downtime. Once we have these figures, we can take steps to address outstanding issues, with proof in our hands of why we consider it a problem," said ITOS.

This sentiment is supported by FrontRange Solutions Vice President Asia Pacific, Mr Archie Wilson, who says it is becoming increasingly important for internal help desks to establish themselves as efficient.

"Help desks are often viewed negatively, by other staff in the organisation who are not aware of the pressures being faced by IT support staff. With HEAT, a help desk can monitor its operations statistically, helping senior management to understand the complexities of the help desk and where they may need further assistance" said Mr Wilson.

In summary, the ITOS said: "It has streamlined our business. It has given us the tools to better meet our clients' needs. We can now preserve all historical data which will enable us to grow and better meet future needs by working out the best way we can achieve them."

About HEAT

Easy to install and customise, HEAT is an ideal choice in call management software for help desk managers who require a simple yet powerful help desk solution. HEAT includes automatic escalation, automatic ticket generation, and proactive service-level management.

HEATWeb enables incorporation of web-captured information from any PC with a Web connection, thus allowing information to be accessed remotely and helping to relieve call pressure on the help desk.

In 1999, 25% of the US Fortune 100 companies used HEAT and currently, over 90% of HEAT customers renew their annual maintenance agreement, which is 30% higher than the industry average. Also, both the Gartner and the Meta Groups rate HEAT software No. 1 in terms of product vision.

About FrontRange Solutions (formerly GoldMine Software Corp.)

Founded in 1989, FrontRange Solutions is a leading provider of front office solutions to enable businesses of all sizes to buy, sell and support customers with Web-based applications designed for the New Economy. The company sells its products and services through a direct sales force, value-added resellers and other distribution partners.

FrontRange Solutions has its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The Asia Pacific subsidiary is headquartered in Sydney and has offices in Melbourne and Brisbane. For more information, visit www.frontrange.com