Innovations that improve service delivery
10.1 SERVICE CALL CENTRE
The first Service Call Centre began in 1994. This formed part of the Customer Relationship function. Prior to this, clients would raise queries by calling MSU Ltd employees or leaving messages with reception. This was challenging given that, at that time, mobiles and email were not widely available. Indeed, the first email service within MITA only began in 1994. Between 1994 and 1996, the Call Centre took calls through telephone line 25992777. 2000 saw the re-establishment of the Service Call Centre (SCC), within Strategy and Relationship Management.
Within a year of its operation, the SCC commenced logging and handling 65% of clients’ contacts. Some clients were still contacting other individuals within MITTS Ltd to seek support but MITTS Ltd insisted all clients should use the SCC in order that there was traceability of all requests. A centralised call logging service was reintroduced. By the end of 2003, the SCC was handling approximately 30% of logged calls remotely, signifying a marked improvement in support services. During this period, MITTS Ltd also adopted the Microsoft Systems Management Server. This enabled remote troubleshooting, to resolve a high percentage of problems over the telephone, reducing the number of personnel sent out on site. SCC also had the mandate to monitor closely Internet and email services in order to ensure they were offered round the clock. During 2002, MITTS Ltd was subjected to an ISO audit. The international ISO auditors not only confirmed full compliance in the areas certified up until 2001, but also certified the service management delivery arm, including the call centre. Such an accomplishment was made possible through the drive of employees who not only re-engineered processes and documented ISO procedures but also managed to integrate Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Service Management methodology within the ISO framework and successfully implement it. 2003 saw the implementation of Marval v8.3 as a Service Management solution.
This system brought about a revamped service management culture, enabling a commitment to various Service Level Agreements with customers. By January 2003, ITIL methodology procedures were introduced, namely: incident; problem; change and service level management, enabling MITTS Ltd to extend the ISO 9001 certification in this area of business.
With the Networks Operation Centre operating 24x7 in 2005, MITA extended its call centre role to be able to service clients around the clock. Calls received outside the normal SCC office hours were handled by the NOC. In subsequent years, the Call Centre built momentum and improved services to its customers. In November 2017, MITA upgraded its Service Management solution to Marval v14 bringing about major functionality and usability improvements. Over the years, Key Performance Indicators were introduced, and improved upon, to ensure that the Call Centre kept operating and servicing clients on par with international standards. In 2019, MITA initiated the process to engage, through an open tender, third party call centre support services to complement its resources. This was necessary to be able to better manage the increased scope in service provision. Third party call centre agents were trained to offer the same level of support offered by inhouse personnel, with all collaborating together seamlessly to service client requests and support calls.
In 2008, the dominant client operating system across Government was Windows XP. This was also the
operating system which saw the first instances of Outlook, namely Microsoft Outlook 2003, supported by the Exchange 2003 at the backend. At this point email had become a critical service in Government communication. By 2010, Exchange 2003 was home to no less than 27,000 mailboxes, clearly demonstrating a huge take-up.
The technology was ageing, demand was growing and the user base was becoming savvier, expecting more utility, availability and capacity. It was time to grow. In 2014, MITA took up the challenge to upgrade the email infrastructure. A move to Exchange 2010 took place. It offered a more modern solution with better support from Microsoft, including increased security. MITA 30TH ANNIVERSARY 103 In 2018, came another upgrade with the successful migration of thousands of live mailboxes, seamlessly. Email is now running on a stable, supported and secure platform, processing millions of incoming and outgoing messages per month with security to protect against malware and other threats. It is a complex ecosystem yet is kept operating like clockwork by the dedication of staff.
Internet
By the early 2000s all knowledge workers within the Public Service had access to the Internet with increased richness of content. As a result, Internet bandwidth requirements grew exponentially. In 2013, MITA initiated a process to further increase the bandwidth to 1Gbps for all Government Internet browsing for its circa 24,000 users (MAGNET Users) that had access to the Internet, at a considerably lower cost than the previous contract. The 1Gbps is split as follows; 900Mbps for MAGNET users and 100Mbps used by Guest WiFi users (MITA Guest WiFi and WiFi in Ministry/Department Public Areas). The same year, MITA secured an advantageous contract with the University of Malta for the provision of Internet bandwidth for state schools and other educational institutions. MITA achieved a considerable decrease in recurrent costs, as well as a fourfold increase in the bandwidth provided, from 50Mbps to 200Mbps. In 2015, MITA undertook an initiative to provide a free WIFI service for reception areas within ministries and departments to benefit the general public. All costs related to the project were met by MITA. The Agency has also always been the Government’s web hosting provider of choice, given the secure and robust Internet infrastructure it has built and enhanced over the years. In fact, MITA hosts all ministry websites and those of most of the public entities. MITA ensures Government’s 24x7 online presence in this increasingly digitally connected world.