You are at: montal.com - IT Services & Solutions - IT Services Case Studies

Back to IT Services case studies

Areva T&D - Proactive Managed IT Support

Proactive Managed IT Support - SAM

The Organisation:

Part of the AREVA group, AREVA T&D is one of the top three global providers of sustainable energy transmission and distribution solutions, designing, manufacturing and maintaining substations across the world to take electricity from the source onto national power networks.  A commitment to sustainability, focusing on social, environmental and economic development, is at the core of their operational activity.

The organisation operates out of 6 main offices across the UK, as well as numerous remote home-worker sites and small, temporary offices at construction sites.

The Business Need:

To ensure optimum productivity, each of the organisation's different working environments require the same level of IT delivery, regardless of location. However, most home offices and construction sites had limited or no access to on-site IT support -relying mainly on remote fixes from the in-house helpdesk based in Stafford.  Site visits were made on a 'reasonable-endeavours' basis and represented an inefficient use of internal IT expertise due to long journeys and high travel costs. As a result, when problems couldn't be resolved remotely users were not always able to work. Furthermore, AREVA T&D's 2007 win of a high-value alliance contract with National Grid had significantly increased the number of sites needing support.

As Regional Infrastructure Manager Steve Price explained, "we needed a step improvement - sites required next-day responses by engineers with the kit, expertise and knowledge to resolve issues". Steve also wanted to put greater emphasis on preventative maintenance to avoid problems occurring in the first place, rather than a pure 'break-fix' approach. The over-arching goal was to minimise productivity losses by keeping users working or getting them running as quickly as possible, and this could no longer be achieved cost-effectively in-house.

AREVA T&D therefore needed a national service partner to complement internal IT, providing proactive and reactive on-site support for  sites from Dundee to Bristol and beyond. They went out to tender looking for innovative, supplier-driven solutions to their objective, with a stringent scoring system to ensure their core requirements would be met. Ultimately, Montal were selected as the partner of choice. 

Why Montal? 

Steve told us this was down to several critical success factors. The selection panel found Montal's approach to be more user-centric than technology-centric, with a real drive to 'get users working again' rather than just 'getting the kit fixed'. This attitude fitted perfectly with AREVA T&D's internal ethos and reassured Steve that staff would receive the same high level of people-focused support on-site as they did via their own helpdesk. 

Steve could also see that Montal were flexible and willing to integrate into AREVA T&D's dedicated IT department. Any solution had to feel like an extension of the in-house service desk and Montal really delivered on this front, demonstrating a real desire to build a collaborative partnership rather than just being a service provider. 

Perhaps the most decisive factor was Montal's unique, creative approach to meeting AREVA T&D's support needs. This involved combining the physical on-site presence of highly skilled engineers with the deployment of SAM, a comprehensive software solution developed by Montal for proactively managing IT infrastructure. 

The inclusion of SAM meant that Montal's proposal cut the amount of annual engineering days for proactive systems support by over 50%, significantly reducing costs and staff requirements as well as cutting CO2 by reducing travel - a key consideration for AREVA T&D. This also meant that, with SAM automating many functions, engineers could spend their proactive visits working directly with users on higher-value activities. In Steve's view, "Montal offered a more intelligent way of providing service".

The Solution:

Reactive 'Break-Fix' Support

Montal's team of highly skilled field engineers are spread across the UK, complementing AREVA T&D's internal resource to give nationwide support coverage. Over 20 years providing outstanding IT service ensured that Montal were well-equipped to exceed AREVA T&D's service level expectations and resolve break-fix issues quickly and efficiently.

Proactive Remote Support:

SAM agents were installed on workstations at all supported sites where they initially performed a full audit of all machines. SAM was then set up to carry out a wide range of monitoring, reporting and systems administration tasks, tailored to AREVA T&D's needs. These include:

• Monitoring Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam  applications
• Installing Microsoft patches and software updates
• Automating routine maintenance tasks
• Systems monitoring and alerting
• Reporting on system and network health
• Standardising applications to ensure policy compliance

SAM also brings significant indirect benefits. By keeping a close eye on systems operations and flagging up issues to Montal's Network Operation Centre before they cause disruption, the number of 'break-fix' calls can be reduced and the amount of time lost due to system down situations kept to a minimum.

Proactive On-site Support:

As SAM reduces the need for a physical on-site presence by over 50%, Montal's engineers are able to focus on more high-value activities during their scheduled visits. Having already been alerted to issues by SAM, they can get straight down to resolving problems without having to check each machine manually, and rather than being tied up with routine checks, audits or maintenance they can spend more time with users to understand their needs, make sure they are working effectively and identify areas for improvement.  

This powerful combination of SAM and on-site technical expertise will ensure that AREVA T&D's users get the most from their IT, using resources most efficiently and maximising return on IT investment over time.

An Unbeatable Result:

We asked Steve what his experience had been since Montal took over the managed support contract in June 2009.  He said, "On all major points we were looking for, our decision as been confirmed. Working with Montal has given us confidence that we can move forward in a partnership, rather than Montal just taking a supplier approach. We can see SAM working for us, and see our relationship developing - and it's all down to the people involved. Not only do Montal's engineers know their stuff technically, but they have the people skills to deal with users well. Our partner had to integrate into our internal team and Montal has made that happen through their collaborative approach. We have the same ideals in making this work.". 

In choosing Montal as AREVA T&D's IT partner, Steve has given the organisation the reassurance that all their users will receive the same level of outstanding IT support, regardless of where they are working.

© Montal Computer Services Ltd 2010

PDF download