Aldwyck selected Hornbill’s solution for its ability to log, track and prioritise calls and provide trends analysis reports, enabling the IT team to identify common problems and plan IT resources accordingly.

Hornbill’s solution was chosen by Aldwyck Housing Group above eight competitive products following demonstrations and matching to a detailed list of requirements. The IT team uses Supportworks to log all incoming calls, prioritise and escalate accordingly, which they were previously unable to do using their previous system that was based on an email box. Aldwyck also uses the Assetworks module for inventory management, using the license and software scanning facility to manage software upgrades across its IT systems.

The IT team - comprising desktop, infrastructure and application support - use the remote control tool to resolve user problems, linking to Assetworks for recorded IP addresses and machine details. Reports with statistics on repeated system failures have also helped the team to identify common hardware faults and performance problems that can then be addressed with the appropriate third party suppliers.

Aldwyck plans in the future to implement the web self-service module to enable users to log and track calls themselves.

Andy Parkes, Helpdesk Manager at Aldwyck Housing Group commented: "Since we implemented Hornbill’s Supportworks we now know exactly how many calls we are taking and their status. We handle over 600 calls on average per month, of which 50% we normally close on the same day.

"By tracking every call with a reference we can provide a much better service to end users – and we can be more effective at identifying problems and managing resources. Overall it has been great for the department."

Gerry Sweeney, Managing Director at Hornbill Systems, added: "Providing a responsive service to end users is an important part of an IT team’s function. By automating processes such as system updates and logging and tracking call status in a central system, the helpdesk team has all of the information to hand that it needs to deal with enquiries efficiently. Plus with the added call data, the team can spot problem trends and pro-actively plan to deal with them. For a hard-pressed IT team, having the right facts and being able to update users quickly on call status improves both communication and promotes confidence in the team."


NOTES TO EDITORS
About Aldwyck Housing Group
The Aldwyck Housing Group has over 7,500 properties across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire and is the largest ‘traditional’ housing association in the area.
It provides affordable homes to rent or buy, key worker housing, supported housing for the young, elderly and care for people with specific needs.

Aldwyck is a private company operating in a not-for-profit sector. All its profits are invested back into its housing services and helping its residents, without the need to share profits with shareholders.
Formed in Hertfordshire in 1968, Aldwyck employs over 430 staff across 80 different locations with an annual turnover of almost £30million.

Aldwyck Housing Group is a Registered Social Landlord, registered with and regulated by the Housing Corporation.

For more information please visit: www.aldwyck.co.uk