Wasted time at VIKING eliminated by Automize’s Azure Automation app

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The reduction in user waiting time is the primary benefit for VIKING Life-Saving Equipment, who has been using Automize’s Azure Automation app since 2019.

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment is a global company with a local presence in a number of markets around the world. VIKING operates with a global IT setup, where IT is managed centrally rather than locally.

“We use the ServiceNow platform to handle ITSM, IT Service Management, e.g. incidents, change requests and ordering of hardware, and then we use the platform for management of business applications, primarily on the ITSM side,” states Henrik Abildgaard, Global IT Manager at VIKING.

The elimination of several thousand days of user waiting time

Since 2019, VIKING has been a frequent user of Automize’s Azure Automation app, which is a ServiceNow-certified app that integrates Microsoft Azure Automation into the ServiceNow platform.

“We wanted to automate so that the business didn‘t have to wait for the IT department because we were a bottleneck,” explains Henrik Abildgaard and continues: “In the past, for example, a user could end up waiting for six days in order to gain access to something in SAP - and with about 1,000 of such requests per year, we are talking about a total of 6,000-10,000 days of user waiting time. We have now eliminated that waste time almost completely.”

The time saved for users is the primary gain

Henrik Abildgaard emphasises that while time is saved in the IT department, it is only a side benefit: “We need to look at it from a user perspective, where it is about providing our users and the business with faster service. The primary benefit is the time saved for users.

”Today, VIKING with the Azure Automation app has automated large parts of the ITSM flow. This applies, for instance, when a user requests access to SAP.

“If a green access is requested, the user will be able to immediately access SAP. In case of yellow or red rights and roles, the request is sent in an automatic flow to the employee’s supervisor for approval, and then forwarded to the IT department, who assigns the role in SAP. What used to take days is now reduced to hours or minutes,” says Henrik Abildgaard.

The IT department is no longer an intermediary

“One of the additional effects of the Azure Automation app has been that all roles, rights to roles and owners of roles are now in a matrix,” explains Henrik Abildgaard. “If the finance department approves that an employee in the finance department must have access to SAP, then the employee is granted access. The IT department is no longer an intermediary.”

Effective management of external consultants’ system access

Henrik Abildgaard says that the Azure Automation app is also used to manage external consultants’ system access.

“When we use external consultants at VIKING, they have a maximum of three months of access to our systems - after that they are closed down. If the consultant needs an additional three months of access to, for example, SAP, then the request is automatically sent for approval to the person who has hired the consultant, after which the consultant once again gains access to SAP.”

Managing software licenses may be the next step

Henrik Abildgaard talks about the plans with the Azure Automation app: “Using the Azure Automation app will be an obvious way to assign software to users based on rights and licenses. This could, for example, be a request for Power BI, which brings about an approval and issuance of a license. For example, if three months have gone by where the user has not used Power BI, the license is automatically removed - or we can make a button ‘Remove my license’.”

Further development of the app – without being tied to Automize as a consulting service

“Automize’s Azure Automation app is really good for all kinds of tasks where a user requests something and something has to be done manually in other systems - e.g. a request calls a program in Azure, which does some things,” says Henrik Abildgaard.

“One of the strengths of Automize’s Azure Automation app is that it can be used as it is and that we can continuously develop the app – without having to go out and buy a lot of extra stuff or commit to Automize as a consulting service. Designing of workflows is more about configuration work than hardcoding. It‘s point and click – what you see, is what you get – and that‘s the strength!”

Available on the Servicenow Store, without expensive Servicenow licenses

Automize‘s Azure Automation app is available on the ServiceNow Store, where it is the only one of its kind at the time of writing.

“We do not have to pay ServiceNow licenses to use the app – when it is on the ServiceNow Store, it is approved without ServiceNow licenses,” explains Henrik Abildgaard and simply concludes: “Automize’s Azure Automation app is incredibly smart, and it just works!”

About VIKING

Danish VIKING Life-Saving Equipment manufactures and services various types of survival equipment for ships and the offshore industry. Founded in 1960, the company employs more than 2,800 people worldwide. VIKING has nine production facilities globally, including in Denmark, Norway and Thailand.

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Henrik Abildgaard, Global IT Manager at VIKING

”The primary benefit is the time saved by users. With Automize’s Azure Automation app, we can provide faster service to users and the business.”

Henrik Abildgaard, Global IT Manager at VIKING

”Automize’s Azure Automation app is really good for all kinds of tasks where a user requests something and something manual has to be done in other systems.”

Henrik Abildgaard, Global IT Manager at VIKING

”Automize’s Azure Automation app is incredibly smart, and it just works!”

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