On September 17, the University of Toronto will be launching the IT Service Centre as part of the Enterprise Service Centre (ESC). This service desk solution will enable the University to eventually streamline, track and respond to over 38,000 annual IT inquiries. In the future, the ESC will also help the University process over 40,000 annual Human Resources service requests.
The ESC, based on the ServiceNow platform, will provide a modern employee experience, help to manage a growing workload, allow for seamless collaboration and provide real-time data to make evidence-based decisions to help adjust our services according to demand.
Here is a Q&A with Gary Raposo, manager of enterprise shared services with Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration (EASI):
Why is U of T developing the Enterprise Service Centre?
The Enterprise Service Centre, or ESC, is a service desk platform that will unify the way you submit requests and open incident tickets at the University. Today there is no consistent way to do this – in some cases you send an email, in some cases you have to make a phone call, sometimes there’s a web app, or even a paper-based process. With ESC, we want to provide a single portal for all your requests.
What will it be used for?
ESC will support a number of central IT requests and HR cases at launch. We’re using a continuous development process with ESC so new applications will be added on a regular basis after that.
Who will be able to use it?
The system will be open to anyone who has a UTORid. ESC will present service catalogue options relevant to your profile so only items that are useful to you will appear. We’re hoping to make the ESC experience a personalized one.
What will users find most valuable about the new platform?
Over time, ESC will simplify your life. It starts by providing you with a single portal for all your requests so you won’t have to remember a myriad of emails, phone numbers, and websites. ESC also has a built-in knowledge base allowing you to get answers to your questions without having to open tickets in the first place. Finally, ESC provides full visibility to your tickets and requests so you’ll always know who’s working on your request and you’ll have the latest updates. You’ll never wonder if that email or web request ended up in a black hole.
When will it be launched?
The IT Service Centre will launch with the first wave of applications on September 17, 2019. The HR Service Centre is planned to follow in November 2019. We will be working with local IT teams to push out a desktop shortcut icon to access this cloud-based service.
Initial services will include a ticketing system for the Joint Operations Group, the Digital Workplace managed desktops and EASI services such as ROSI access and SharePoint Online support.
How do you see this platform evolving in the future?
ESC is built on an extremely flexible, cloud-based platform from ServiceNow. ServiceNow provides us with the building blocks to automate and streamline almost any workflow. I’d like to see the ESC evolve beyond IT and HR and into things like asset management, facilities requests, and even business and procurement requests. More importantly, I see ESC evolving across more departments, faculties, and divisions to provide a truly consistent experience across the University.
Questions? Check out the Enterprise Service Centre project website.
You can also watch this video about the IT Service Centre.