"I had never been part of such a large ICT project in my career, and the timeline added extra pressure."

Efecte x Elmo: ICT outsourcing and two-way partnership of two E’s

Efecte is a software company whose ITSM solution helps organizations digitize and automate their processes. The growth story from a small Finnish IT service management company to a top name in Europe has been impressive. To ensure growth, Efecte took on Elmo as its ICT partner.

”Costs down and data security up”

Efecte’s growth has been strong in recent years: the SaaS business has grown by 20 percent per year, the number of personnel has doubled and the business has spread to five countries. The last big move was seen in April, when the German software company Matrix 42 bought all of Efecte’s shares and the companies merged.

Efecte had reviewed the ICT partner annually. In the fall of 2022, attention was drawn even more to information security and the total costs of ICT.

We mapped ICT houses from familiar stakeholders. Elmo was already our customer, and the house was convinced by ISO certificates, The Elmo Way culture and famous references such as Patria. Elmo was also the right size, explains Efecte’s information security director Marko Mantere.

In addition to Service Desk speed, ICT costs were included in the target metrics: unit costs were wanted down and the goal was that ICT costs would not increase, even if the number of personnel increased by 50.

At the end were the old service provider and Elmo. In the overall assessment, Elmo took a longer course. ICT outsourcing included the basic information technology of internal IT, servers, licenses, domains and Service Desk. The challenge was that the outsourcing should be carried out in just two months.

”Cheers to the key players who went the extra mile and worked long hours.”

On Efecte’s side, the main responsibility for the ICT outsourcing was carried by Mantere. He admits that he felt nervous at the start.

I had never been part of such a large ICT project in my career, and the timeline added extra pressure. I reserved two full months of my work calendar for this project.

The transition progressed rapidly, although a number of previous technical configurations, unknown at the outset, caused delays. Additionally, the international nature of operations had to be considered, including system integrations and device deliveries to countries such as Poland.

Despite the long workdays and intense joint effort, the goals were achieved, and Elmo services launched in March 2023. Mantere doesn’t hesitate when asked what made the success possible.

Elmo brought in the best players for the job, and sufficient resources were allocated. From my perspective, this was a highly successful outsourcing.

Mantere’s special thanks go to Elmo’s network designers, who exceeded expectations: the transfer of corporate networks was completed without interruptions.

The Service Desk accumulates knowledge capital

When the Service Desk transitions to new hands, a strong onboarding process can accelerate the resolution speed of service requests. This includes familiarizing new team members with the company’s ICT environment, terminology, and ticket history.

In Efecte’s case, the transition started at such a rapid pace that both sides acknowledged from the start that the resolution speed might initially fall short of target levels. However, as recurring requests emerged and organizational knowledge grew, resolution times naturally improved.

Mantere has a tip for others planning a fast-paced ICT outsourcing.

I requested that every submitted ticket send a notification to my email. This allowed me to explain our internal terminology to Elmo and filter out tickets that were not Elmo’s responsibility to resolve.

While this arrangement did create extra work for Mantere, it also helped in the smooth launch of the service.

Predictability and savings in ICT costs

As ICT operations have stabilized, a more strategic layer has emerged between Efecte and Elmo. The two-way partnership provides the foundation to examine the ’your, mine, and ours’ in service experiences and processes. These are discussed and refined in the quarterly meetings between Efecte and Elmo.

Efecte’s strategic directions are tied to four main objectives.

We are focusing on organic growth, investing in product development such as AI features, continuing to make considered acquisitions, and prioritizing corporate culture, which aligns closely with Elmo’s,’ says CEO Niilo Fredriksson, and adds:

We’ve had great years of growth behind us, and we’ve created immense value for our customers. Elmo has been a key support in our growth story.