Stuttgarter Volksbank AG is the largest "Volksbank" in the greater Stuttgart, Germany area. In order for employees to be able to process inquiries in a meaningful way after the migration, a process-oriented solution for the helpdesk had to be found. Ideally, the solution would consist of an IT service management tool that could grow with the company and with future IT-related challenges. Based on Peregrine ServiceCenter, an IT service management solution was developed. Contract management based on Peregrine ServiceCenter was introduced in 2004. All contracts, including pertinent information, are administered in ServiceCenter using "Best practices" frameworks, such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library).

Renault F1 aims to win the World Championship, and has world-class resources at its disposal: Renault F1 France in Viry-Ch?tillon, home to the expertise which claimed six consecutive championships in the 1990s, and Renault F1 UK at Enstone, equipped with design and development facilities which are among the sport's very best. The need for continuous availability and support of IT systems meant Renault F1 required a helpdesk system that could operate in both centres and provide a centralised resource for managing the IT infrastructure. Assetworks allowed Renault F1 to collect detailed information about the configuration of their machines on both sites and this combined with the remote control module drastically reduced the number of desk visits they need to make.

HP Web Jetadmin contains many tools for troubleshooting printers. As a result, it is increasingly being used as a Helpdesk troubleshooting tool. HP Web Jetadmin includes several features whereby Helpdesk personnel can remotely troubleshoot printers without having to physically visit the location where the printer resides; significantly reducing the time spent resolving issues. Proactive measures, such as regularly querying for status or enabling e-mail alerts, can be enforced so that printer problems can be resolved before the end user call ever comes in to the Helpdesk.

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) in Waco is a state-supported technical college in Texas functioning on a slim budget. The TSTC IT department found themselves restricted with their eight-year-old database and began searching for a more resourceful and modern solution for their helpdesk. Their hurdles included limited availability and access, paper receipts, and inadequate reporting. They desired a web-based application accessible from any computer on the campus. Also, they required better trending and status reports. With the implementation of GroupLink's HelpDesk, Texas State Technical College's IT department is able to meet the demands of users quickly and productively.

Cherokee Nation Enterprises (CNE) draws most of its revenue from gaming machines. To better serve their internal customers, they needed to move to a first-contact resolution model and incorporate ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) best practices. CNE also needed to streamline tasks for its gaming technicians. Lacking a centralized support solution, technicians walked around the casinos to find broken machines, logged repair details on a paper card kept in each machine, and later entered the same information in spreadsheets. CNE has implemented Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise HelpDesk to support the increasing help desk call volume of its rapidly growing enterprise.

The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) is an Australian Federal Government statutory authority within the Foreign Affairs and Trade ministerial portfolio. They needed an open system that could be accessed 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world by any of their local or regional IT service delivery staff. A desire to achieve service management best practice as detailed by the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) guidelines required Austrade to conduct a rigorous self-analysis. Following an extensive tender process to find a comprehensive service management solution, Austrade implemented, HP OpenView Service Desk which ultimately underpins all of Austrade's ITIL-based helpdesk processes.

Playing a key role in ensuring an efficient economy with a strong and dynamic private sector is the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. To help build an efficient economy the policy-making departments have to be efficient themselves, but this was not always the case in IT terms. To help rectify this situation, EZ turned to HP OpenView Service Desk. EZ needed a quality stamp for its IT Department, which had to find a more structured way of working. It decided that centralization of all IT management was the key and that its requirements would be best met by an ITIL process based management method incorporating change process, problem process, incident process and helpdesk process.

The debut of new Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd later this week - which, by the way, has already been panned after silicon.com's Weekly Round-Up saw a preview - is likely to set back the cause of IT workers everywhere with its hackneyed and clichéd jokes reinforcing the geek stereotype. IT pros in the server room have long since developed a thick skin about the geek jokes but it can be more of a problem for those moving up the management ladder, who will often find they are viewed as nothing more than an extension of helpdesk support by other business managers and the board room.

Faced with difficulties recruiting high-calibre IT staff and a mandate to implement new technologies as part of the e-government scheme, Lichfield Council knew it was time to consider outside help to deliver IT services. But the council also knew it alone would be too small to interest the quality players from the private sector. So Lichfield found a partner in the nearby Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, and the two councils started entertaining bids from outsourcing firms.

The more knowledge an organization has about its IT assets, the more control it has over associated costs, purchases, helpdesk support, and overall client management. This webcast features a live demonstration of Symantec Discovery, and shows how Symantec can help you reduce exposure to risk, decrease IT cost and effort, and manage your assets. This webcast will show how Symantec Discovery will identify and track all hardware and software assets throughout an organization to help ensure your IT infrastructure remains secure, available, and compliant with corporate standards.