Mittal Steel South Africa, in partnership with local service provider iLAYO Software Solutions, has implemented HP OpenView ServiceCenter to provide the company's IT users with efficient support and services.
Mittal Steel South Africa's Vereeniging business unit was selected as the pilot site for the ServiceCenter implementation, with the long-term goal being to roll ServiceCenter out at Arcelor Mittal globally.
Arcelor Mittal is the world's largest steel company with shipments of 113 million tonnes and revenue of over $77 billion in 2005. It owns steel-making facilities in 27 countries, spanning five continents and employs 330 000 people. Mittal Steel South Africa is the largest steel producer on the African continent, producing over seven million tonnes of liquid steel per annum.
Mittal Steel South Africa was chosen as the pilot site because the local company had the necessary skills and experience to plan and implement ServiceCenter effectively.
ServiceCenter is one of HP's consolidated service desk offerings, part of the OpenView portfolio. It is an integrated IT service management application that enables IT to improve service levels, balance resources and optimise costs. According to HP, the product is designed to help evolve IT service management organisations through a series of logical steps, from establishing basic controls to a higher level of maturation where automating service delivery can help maximise the business value of the IT organisation.
Inana Nkanza, MD of iLAYO Software Solutions explains that ServiceCenter operates across a host of different platforms, making it the solution of choice for companies operating globally. Once installed it can provide management with a comprehensive overview of how many support issues there are and where the problems lie in one or several locations. This makes it easier to ensure support is provided in accordance with service-level agreements.
Based on the success of the local implementation, the ServiceCenter roll-out has already been extended to all of Mittal Steel South Africa sites and seven international locations.
ServiceCenter has been awarded Pink Elephant's Enhanced PinkVerify status, signifying the product's ability to deliver the quality and cost savings expected of ITIL-aligned service management initiatives. The system helps IT organisations quickly deploy consistent, integrated work processes based on the ITIL framework.
Nkanza adds that ServiceCenter has provided a reliable help-desk resource Mittal can rely on as it continues its global SAP roll-out. "The steel giant's objective is to have one standardised help-desk service available throughout the world on a 24-hour basis where issues can be reported, assigned and tracked to ensure the optimal service levels are delivered at all times."
iLAYO was chosen as Arcelor Mittal's partner because of the skills the company can provide as well as its service ethic. "The company proved it could deliver what is needed and has been very responsive to Arcelor Mittal's needs."
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