Knight Frank LLP, the leading independent global property consultancy has selected Hornbill's Supportworks ITSM, the service management solution for its IT service desk. The IT team uses Supportworks ITSM to support over 1700 staff based in locations in the UK, Ireland and Germany, with the intention to roll out to all overseas operations. The team chose Hornbill's solution to both support their ITIL processes and provide a common service platform across which all its IT departments may share information worldwide. Since deploying the new system the company claims improved efficiencies of its Service Desk, both from using one centralised service desk system and the introduction of the customer self-service portal.

"Hornbill's Supportworks ITSM gave us all the functionality that we required - both to be immediately operational and also for roll-out to our overseas offices," said Phil Hurcom, Problem Manager at Knight Frank LLP. "Calls can be more easily tracked against data that is input just once in a centralised service desk, saving our agents time and making our processes more efficient.

"The web portal and ITIL compatible processes have enabled us to work more effectively, which in turn means we can resolve queries faster and minimise user downtime. The Hornbill team worked closely with us and were very attentive to ensure that our technical requirements were met."

Knight Frank selected Supportworks ITSM for its ability to support the ITIL framework and the functionality that was supplied 'out-of the box'. Hornbill was selected over ten alternative suppliers for its user-friendly interface and easy integration with existing systems. The IT team has customised the customer self-service portal with Knight Frank branding, which it plans to roll out for users to access across its global intranet. Users will be able to view and track the progress of calls via the portal, reducing the administrative burden of follow up calls on the service desk.

As part of the overseas support service, the IT department also plans to link up support calls via the service desk to local third party support and maintenance companies in other countries, streamlining processes.

Gerry Sweeney, CEO of Hornbill Systems commented, "Hornbill's solution is ideal for companies like Knight Frank that wish to be able to centralise their service desk, yet still be able to offer users local support. The ability to track and log calls systematically, and for users to be able to follow progress, reduces the number of calls to the service desk team. Not only does this improve call handling and customer satisfaction, it also frees the IT team to focus on proactive work."

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NOTES TO EDITORS
About Knight Frank
Knight Frank LLP is the leading independent global property consultancy. Headquartered in London, Knight Frank and its New York-based global partner, Newmark Knight Frank, operate from 196 offices, in 38 countries, across six continents. More than 6,770 professionals handle in excess of US$700 billion (almost £355 billion) worth of commercial, agricultural and residential real estate annually, advising clients ranging from individual owners and buyers to major developers, investors and corporate tenants.

For further information about the Company, please visit
www.knightfrank.com