The Gladstone Area Water Board (GAWB) is a water utility company that provides water and sewerage services to the Gladstone region in Queensland, Australia. In 2020, GAWB embarked on a digital transformation journey to modernize its IT infrastructure and improve customer service. As part of this journey, GAWB engaged Queensland Computers to support and maintain its end-user devices and IT systems.
They required support to help manage and support its IT infrastructure, which included upgrading its ticketing system and remote monitoring and management tools. They also needed a single point of contact for all GAWB staff to access technical support, regardless of the type of request. This was necessary to ensure that all staff could receive timely and practical support.
THE CHALLENGE FOR THE GLADSTONE AREA WATER BOARD
One of the challenges faced by GAWB was the need to replace its existing ticketing system and remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools. Another challenge was to provide a single point of contact for all GAWB staff to access technical support, regardless of the type of request (e.g. IT, operational technology, network infrastructure, physical security or cyber security).
The challenge for GAWB was finding a single provider that could support all of its technology needs, including ticketing system and RMM tools, help desk services, and support for other vendors. Another challenge was to ensure data sovereignty and compliance with government regulations.
QUEENSLAND COMPUTERS’ SOLUTION
Queensland Computers provided a solution that met all of GAWB’s requirements. We developed processes for GAWB staff to access our help desk by phone, email and client portals for all support requests. We also liaised with existing GAWB contractors to see tickets through to resolution.
Support request resolution is achieved by various routes depending on the affected solution. This includes the Queensland Computers help desk, GAWB internal IT staff, operational technology contractor, cyber security contractor, managed network contractor and 3rd party vendors. We also report SLA times for our help desk and other GAWB contractors’ resolution times.
The primary responsibility of Queensland Computers helpdesk staff is to provide support and maintenance on all end-user devices, IT system servers and line of business software. This includes hardware deployment, patch management, system monitoring and all end-user systems.
As GAWB provides critical services 24/7/365, we provide round-the-clock support from our Queensland-based staff.
KEY OUTCOMES
Some of the key outcomes achieved by Queensland Computers include:
- Successful migration of services deployment with high SLAs for service delivery and reporting throughout the contract duration.
- Reduction in ticket resolution times.
- Increase in end-user satisfaction.
- Strict requirements around data sovereignty are adhered to.
Queensland Computers was able to achieve the critical outcomes outlined above by implementing several processes and procedures, including:
- Staff training on the new ticketing system and RMM tools.
- A help desk is available 24/7/365.
- Liaising with existing GAWB contractors to see tickets through to resolution.
- Reporting SLA times for our helpdesk and the resolution times for other GAWB contractors.
GAWB is a critical infrastructure organization and a department of the Queensland Government, so there were strict requirements around data sovereignty. This included internal audits of Queensland Computers systems to ensure all data is stored only on Australian shores, and we adjusted the policy to adhere to Government requirements. Despite these challenges, Queensland Computers was able to provide a solution that met all of GAWB’s needs and achieved the desired outcomes.
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