Contact Energy transforms user experiences with MyAwhi powered by Ivanti increasing its NPS by 52 points
In 2019, Contact Energy made the decision to insource a number of key operational services previously provided through an external vendor. After some lengthy planning and business engagement, Cherwell (acquired by Ivanti) was selected to be Contact’s next generation IT services platform. Key to the decision was the focus on providing a better user experience in addition to offering the capability to automate various processes and added flexibility.
In 2019, Contact Energy made the decision to insource a number of key operational services previously provided through an external vendor. After some lengthy planning and business engagement, Cherwell (acquired by Ivanti) was selected to be Contact’s next generation IT services platform. Key to the decision was the focus on providing a better user experience in addition to offering the capability to automate various processes and added flexibility.
The Challenge?
In 2019, Contact Energy made the decision to insource a number of key operational services previously provided through an external vendor. After some lengthy planning and business engagement, Cherwell (acquired by Ivanti) was selected to be Contact’s next generation IT services platform. Key to the decision was the focus on providing a better user experience in addition to offering the capability to automate various processes and added flexibility.
Contact Energy needed a refreshed platform and the right implementation partner to achieve new IT services goals.
The transition however, was challenged by a number of complexities, including a change in leadership and the implementation partner, running a significant Windows upgrade in parallel, as well as the mobilisation of the entire business due to the COVID pandemic.
Upon joining Contact Energy as Head of IT Service Operations in late 2019, Kylee Bentley investigated the progress with the delivery team and the decision was made to hit pause on the implementation.
Why Ivanti?
Contact Energy developed MyAwhi, a brand new user portal with Ivanti
In 2020, the team worked closely with Cherwell to determine how to move forward and selected Streamline Partners, headquartered in Australia, to renew the implementation. Streamline spent time understanding the Contact Energy business and needs in order to become trusted advisors to deliver a successful outcome.
The Contact Energy team developed a new user portal with the Cherwell solution and rebranded it MyAwhi (Awhi is Māori for embrace, surround, support, and cherish), which became the definition of value from the IT services and operations team.
Along with the new platform, the Contact team introduced processes to facilitate the change including active stakeholder engagement, providing improved language guidance, technology change management and a process for ongoing feedback and resolution.
The Results?
Contact Energy achieves greater efficiencies and user-friendly results
The platform went live in early 2021 and delivered improved user experience and efficiencies, an uplift in customer advocacy and contributed to an overall operational performance improvement.
The platform included a significantly changed user experience, with the following components delivered or due later this year:
- Normalised taxonomy and a refreshed, improved service catalogue – Simple and easy to understand service catalogue (or Taxonomy) with a product catalogue for easy ordering of standard and nonstandard IT products and access, the outcome of extensive design and conceptualisation.
- Automated, data-driven workflows – Capability to build new workflows without development or changing the configuration of the system. All they have to do is add additional records and the workflows are live. The existing workflows already include automated onboarding and offboarding, which includes direct and automated interaction and integration with AD and Exchange via PowerShell scripts. The feature is incredibly powerful and agile for their business.
- Supplier focused Automated Ticket Exchange (ATE) – Contact Energy have an ATE configured that not only provides synchronisation of tickets with their vendors’ system, but it also provides data and field mapping capabilities so both systems know what is being transferred.
- Federated CMDB Platform – A federated CMDB built within Ivanti that is set up to take multiple feeds of data for Contact Energy’s CMDB. Currently it automatically ingests their AWS Configuration Items and auto populates the Configuration Items into Ivanti.
The combined effort of their MyAwhi engagement journey and Ivanti partnership is reflected in positive Net Promoter Score (NPS). The ICT service operations team went from an NPS of -20 in late 2019 to +32 one year later.