Centrica completes move to SaaS-based service desk

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Fujitsu and Service-now.com provide a flexible, cost-effective service desk with real potential to reduce service desk operating costs

London, 7 October 2010 - Fujitsu has completed the integration of a significant new service desk project with Centrica, one of the world’s largest energy providers. The project has been delivered alongside Fujitsu partner Service-now.com, the pioneer of on-demand IT software as a service (SaaS) for IT service management. It is one of the most complex single phase implementations of Service-now.com anywhere in the world. The SaaS model adopted has potential to significantly reduce service desk operating costs for Centrica.

The move to a SaaS-based service desk will give Centrica the capability to significantly reduce the number of service desk incidents raised every month, greater flexibility in how it runs its service desk and the ability to scale-up or down based on demand. The delivery of an enhanced self-service capability, integrated with Centrica’s intranet, is designed to encourage self-service adoption. By adopting a highly flexible SaaS solution, Centrica is able to allow for multiple Centrica business units to leverage one platform, whilst also complying with regulatory data separation requirements.

Peter Simmons, project sponsor at Centrica said: “We have been very impressed with Service-now.com as a tool and the benefits which moving to a SaaS-based model can provide. Combining this innovative technology with a systems integrator such as Fujitsu, which has significant experience of working with enterprise organisations and a long service desk heritage, makes for a very attractive proposition. Integration into the new system has been a very complex process but it has been managed quickly and simply.”

In addition, the project entailed many point to point integrations accompanied with a planned migration to a new service desk operating model. Working collaboratively with Centrica, the Fujitsu and Service-now.com team managed service configuration, legacy systems integration, service deployment and training for over 1,500 process users.

This contract is the first of its kind between Fujitsu and Service-now.com. The two companies have entered into a strategic partnership, which adds Service-now.com to Fujitsu’s SaaS portfolio of tools, applications and delivery models.

Mark Peplow, head of sales in Fujitsu’s SaaS practice commented: “This was a demanding project with many complex elements and very tight deadlines. In a little over seven months, working collaboratively with Centrica, we completed the design and configuration, readied the deployment and trained over 1,500 process users. It was unusual in that we went for a ‘big bang’ approach rather than a phased deployment, but together with Service-now.com we were able to deliver on time and on budget.”