XKO Software Consolidates ten service systems to one with Hornbill Supportworks

• Wednesday, 10 January 2007

Fast growing IT services company meets increase in customer support requirements with centralised service management solution

Hornbill Systems has supplied its Supportworks Enterprise Service Platform (ESP)to XKO Software. Using Supportworks, XKO’s IT team supports over 1000 external customers of more than 25 different software solutions from its four main locations in Chertsey, Lutterworth, Milton Keynes and Manchester. The four support locations reflect the company’s growth by acquisition over the years. The company has implemented Supportworks to provide a centralised service desk for both customer and internal support requirements, claiming improved customer service as a result.

Hornbill’s Supportworks ESP was selected from competitive products for its ease of use and functionality that matched the company’s specific requirements. The implementation of Supportworks has enabled XKO to move from using ten different support systems to just one centralised system. Following the installation, first line support is handled mainly from the Manchester office, while second and third line is shared among the teams based in the other locations. In total the company has 140 registered users comprising support, programmers, consultants and sales and finance.

The IT team at XKO has taken advantage of Supportworks ESP’s adaptability by customising features of the system to meet its specific support needs. Display screens have been customised so that forms show more information and a diary function has been added. As well as linking with the hardware supplier that provides support, XKO has integrated Supportworks with its own internal contracts and accounts systems, recording details of customers and software licences.

“I have been a support manager for many years and used several different products and I can happily say that Supportworks is the easiest both to implement and use thanks in part to its familiar look and feel. I found it particularly straightforward to use it to implement standards and manage performance.” commented Gordon Robinson, Support Centre Manager at XKO Software.

Supportworks’ web self-service has been particularly successful at XKO. It offers users versatility with the option of being able to log calls, track their progress, and for managers and department heads to set up new employees or customers. Having recently promoted the benefits of self-service, the IT team has seen a positive increase in the number of adopters, reducing pressure on the service desks.

“Since we gave web self-service some focus and presented the benefits to customers in terms of easy access and control, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of users logging and tracking progress on-line. Of the 900 calls that we handle each week, nearly 50% are now received via the web,” commented Gordon Robinson, Support Centre Manager at XKO Software.

Gerry Sweeney, Managing Director at Hornbill Systems, added: “Versatility is the key to Supportworks; it can turn its hand to whatever service functions the user wants. Disparate locations and many different products to support can be challenging for an IT helpdesk operation. For companies like XKO the investment in Supportworks enables them to provide a seamless support service to customers. The inherent functionality and adaptability mean that Supportworks can very quickly assist companies implement systems that improve working practices and customer service.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS
About XKO Software
XKO offer a wide range of integrated, end-to-end business software solutions, technologies and services designed to help small, mid-market segment and corporate businesses become more connected with customers, employees, partners and suppliers.
XKO’s software solutions optimise business processes across financial management, supply chain management, customer relationship management and analytics. XKO’s software solutions and applications are designed to provide insight to help customers achieve business success and greater operational efficiency.

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

About Hornbill Systems
Hornbill Systems delivers market leading Service Management solutions that enable organisations to automate business processes and provide first class customer service. Drawing on a decade of experience, Hornbill has packaged a number of applications designed for rapid deployment within any employee or customer service support environment. Solutions are available for IT Service Management, Facilities, HR/Payroll, as well as a broad range of Business, Consumer and Citizen Response service desks. Hornbill’s foundation product, Supportworks ESP can address the individual requirements of multiple business units, significantly reducing costs by providing a consolidated Service Management solution.

In 2005 Supportworks won the HDI awards for “Best Business use of Support Technology” with Sharp Electronics and “Support Excellence Award for Smaller Helpdesks” with Camelot.

For more information about Hornbill’s solutions please visit http://www.hornbill.com/



For Company and editorial information contact:
Shirley Virando
Hornbill Systems
Tel: 020 8582 8224
Email: shirley.virando@hornbill.com


Andreina West
PR Artistry
Tel: 01491 639500
Email: andreina@pra-ltd.co.uk

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