When Rick Jordan took on the role of IT support manager at multicultural broadcaster SBS Australia he found the processes used by his team were "immature" and that their existing toolkit wasn't suited to providing a timely response to users.

After an "exhaustive" investigation of various options, he selected BMC FootPrints as it took just 10 minutes to go from a proof of concept to a working installation, and because the software was "ITIL compatible out of the box."

The old processes were largely manual, and Mr Jordan realised things were "falling through the cracks." But FootPrints automatically logs all requests made via email, and in the six months following the deployment of FootPrints the team recorded as many requests as they has in the previous four years.

Users are now confident that their requests will be attended to, and this helps customer satisfaction, said Mr Jordan.

Despite that massive increase in requests, "we haven't been able to put on more staff," he said, and the team still comprises five people on the support desk (four in Sydney and one in Melbourne) backed by four specialists.

FootPrints has helped meet the apparently increased workload by making it easier to determine the root cause of problems. For example, if a particular department is having problems, specific training can be delivered to reduce the number of support requests.

"We've been able to get some good wins," said Mr Jordan.

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Furthermore, "it's been a benefit for [my team's] day-to-day processes," he added, as the software helps them filter requests that can be dealt with quickly, and it allows the team to be more proactive by responding to any trends that become apparent.

And the web-based interface frees support staff from their desks: one of the key drivers is getting support staff out into the business, he explained.

"It [FootPrints] has given us the agility to respond to the business."

FootPrints has also proved valuable to other parts of SBS that have service-desk style operations, for example the corporate services group's occupational health and safety activities. It is also used to help ensure that SBS complies with certain requirements imposed by the broadcasting regulations, such as responding to complaints within mandated timeframes.

"IT is listening to the business and is able to provide a solution," said Mr Jordan.

That additional usage has meant paying for more licences, but there is flexibility in the licensing arrangements. "BMC has worked with us... they've been a really good partner."