Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications and BMC Software Announce Significant Improvements in Customer Service Delivery

Business Wire, June 24, 2009

BMC Software Enables Citywide Service Desk to Better Detect, Diagnose and Assign Technology Issues for Resolution, Contributing to Enhanced Customer Service and Cost Savings.

NEW YORK -- Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) Commissioner Paul J. Cosgrave and BMC Software (NYSE:BMC) Chairman and CEO Bob Beauchamp today announced marked improvement in Citywide Service Desk performance since 2008, resulting in better service delivery to customers through enhanced IT infrastructure management.

DoITT’s implementation of BMC’s IT Service Management (ITSM) software and integration of automated monitoring tools has produced dramatic improvements in interagency communication and streamlined City services with considerable cost avoidance. The ITSM solution helps DoITT track Citywide Service Desk tickets, approve changes and detect IT issues more accurately and efficiently.

“As New York City’s technology agency, we’re always pursuing cost-savings and cost-reduction measures that can be realized by the more efficient delivery of the IT services we provide our sister agencies – and that’s as important than ever in these challenging fiscal times,” said DoITT Commissioner Paul J. Cosgrave. “Consistent with the goals described in PlanIT, our aim is to extend DoITT’s current capabilities and proven methodologies to maximize fiscal investment, increase performance and recognize economies of scale through process consolidation. To this end, BMC Software helps us to better allocate resources to address priority items – as well as reduce or eliminate redundant incidents entirely.”

DoITT’s adoption of BMC’s Business Service Management (BSM) principles has proven a critical factor in aligning IT activities with the goals of PlanIT, the City’s comprehensive technology strategy. The gains already achieved through these innovative approaches provide DoITT the ability to continue improving the government's efficiency through targeted technology deployment.

“DoITT has taken a sophisticated approach to managing the City’s IT infrastructure and service delivery while minimizing human error, improving compliance and delivering services faster to its customers,” said Bob Beauchamp, BMC’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Doing all this while reducing cost and improving customer satisfaction proves once again why the ‘Big Apple’ is among the greatest cities in the world.”

As part of its efforts toward a consolidated IT infrastructure, DoITT provides email, data center, network, voice and data, Citywide Service Desk and application support services for dozens of City agencies. Removing the traditional agency silos in IT infrastructure management helps create a customer-centric service model that supports Mayor Bloomberg’s vision to deliver more accessible, transparent and accountable government services to New Yorkers.

“For years, New York City agencies maintained their own IT systems, which led to a great deal of redundancy and inefficiency citywide,” said Michael Bimonte, DoITT’s Deputy Commissioner for IT Services. “Implementing a complete ITSM strategy, including the BMC Remedy solution, has allowed us to improve service delivery resulting in increased access to a broad spectrum of DoITT-supported services. One-stop infrastructure management has also helped us reduce outages caused by complex infrastructure changes or hardware failures. Be it call response time, interacting with applications or obtaining forms online, the increased system availability and response has improved service delivery to the agencies that serve New York City’s residents, visitors and businesses.”

The gains made in service delivery for agencies whose IT is supported by DoITT translate directly into improved service delivery to New Yorkers. DoITT’s Citywide Service Desk, for example, provides 24x7 technical support and assistance for more than 100 City agencies, boards and offices. Affording these customers a single-point-of-contact for significant IT issues, the Service Desk monitors, troubleshoots and coordinates user accounts for various applications on the City’s network, as well as provides alert notifications regarding planned outages, maintenance or security vulnerability alerts. BMC’s Remedy solution allows the Citywide Service Desk to automatically generate and prioritize the over 100,000 trouble tickets it receives each year, enabling the City to drastically reduce the time it takes to resolve issues. Since 2008, for example, the average time to resolve issues has been reduced from 2.13 days to 1.65 days – a 23% decrease – despite a 92% increase in issues reported.