Rok Group: Reduces TCO using Numara FootPrints from Numara Software

Rok realises cost savings and substantial efficiencies by extending Numara FootPrints service desk management solution beyond IT to Procurement and Finance teams

Reading, UK, 11 August 2010: Numara® Software, Inc., global leaders in service desk and asset management solutions, announced today that UK building, maintenance and construction company, Rok Group, has extended its use of Numara® FootPrints® service desk management solution to other parts of the business to track and manage non-IT processes, which are now benefiting from using this flexible service desk solution.

Rok’s central buying desk team, responsible for all procurement of building, maintenance and construction materials, is now using Numara FootPrints to manage and track all the company’s purchasing requests. Numara® FootPrints® is an uncomplicated, flexible and cost-effective IT service management solution. The award-winning, ITIL® V3-compatible solution offers extensive, integrated process automation to help organisations drive business success through improved efficiency, excellent customer service and reduced resource drain with streamlined operations.  Known for its fast time to productivity, ease of use and administration coupled with extensive workflow automation, this 100% web-based application provides extensive flexibility for consolidating and automating business processes within and beyond the IT organisation.

The low cost and short time to implement, combined with the product’s flexible functionality that allows it to be used for different workflows, were compelling factors for the team to implement the product for its IT service desk and more.  Additionally Rok’s Service Centre, based in Exeter, is using Numara FootPrints to manage all financial and purchase enquiries to the team. Paul Janes, IT Service Delivery Leader at Rok, comments on the organisation’s use of the technology:

“What is really interesting is that we are now using the product more in other parts of the business than in our IT team. I think this demonstrates that Numara FootPrints  is a very flexible product that can lend itself to many varied and bespoke workflows.”

Paul Janes goes on to comment on what he considers to be the best feature of Numara FootPrints and why he considers it has been so widely adopted across the organisation: “The product is incredibly easy for us to customise ourselves. We don’t need to bring in outside expertise to get it configured to how we want to use it. Changes, new projects and new workflows are extremely quick and easy to deploy and integrate with our existing systems and groups. We handle all these updates and changes internally, so we don’t need to hire third-party professional services to get us to this point.

“Other service teams tell us about new requirements and we immediately suggest that they try using Numara FootPrints, because of its workspace architecture. These are non-IT people who see the ease of building customisable workflows as a real benefit.”

Rok specialises in low risk, relationship based provision of building services on a national basis and undertakes maintenance and building improvements including plumbing, heating and electrical services; social housing (new build and planned repairs); and construction. The majority of these services are delivered by its own trades people working from a large network of offices in major towns across the UK.

There are about 45 people in Rok’s IT team, with three people dedicated to manning the Service Desk and an additional 30 people involved in support in some shape or form. The Service Desk supports around 2,500 users across hundreds of customer sites and Rok offices.

Paul Janes continues: “The IT Team has been using Numara FootPrints  since 2003. The tool has allowed us to leverage our limited resources as efficiently as possible and increasingly, the flexibility and broad functionality of the tool has allowed us to excel at the service we provide. Our service levels have probably improved three-fold.  I would estimate that our average fix time has gone from five days to under a day.

Rok is also using this ITIL®-verified solution to implement ITIL service lifecycle best practices. Paul Janes concludes: “I really do like the product. It is highly flexible and lends itself well to ITIL processes. We manage incidents, problems and changes following ITIL best practices and Numara FootPrints has certainly helped us achieve this.”

About Numara Software, Inc.

With more than 55,000 customer sites worldwide, Numara Software is a global leader in delivering practical, flexible solutions that allow IT organizations to improve service to their end-users. Our integrated IT service management and IT asset management software platforms enable organizations to efficiently automate a wide variety of IT related tasks and processes using interoperable solutions from a single, proven vendor. Widely known for our dedicated focus on ease of use and affordability for our customers, our IT solutions deliver fast time-to-value, increased control, and reduced risk for small businesses to large companies. For more information, visit: www.numarasoftware.co.uk.

For further information:

Paula Elliott
C8 Consulting Ltd for Numara Software
+44 (0) 118 9001132
paula@c8consulting.co.uk