About Canterbury Christ Church University
Based in the south east of England, Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) has over 15,000 students across three campuses in Kent and Medway and partnerships with other academic institutions around the UK and the world.
For over 60 years it has been a major contributor to regional skills and innovation, delivering excellence in education and research. It’s wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the next generation of students, and that its highly skilled graduates contribute to a modern workforce driving economic growth.
Renowned for its strong vocational programmes, including education and healthcare, CCCU has continues to develop its academic curriculum and in recent years has expanded with a focus on engineering, technology and the creative arts. It has also partnered with the University of Kent to establish Kent’s first ever medical school, Kent and Medway medical School. The region’s first doctors will graduate in 2025.
The university is committed to opening-up access to education; demonstrating the transformative power of education to change individuals, enrich communities and build sustainable futures. Its research aims to deliver impact and solve real-world issues. In the latest Research Excellence Framework, 85% of its research was recognised as world leading and internationally excellent.
Using a ‘cloud-first’ approach to modern digital tools and infrastructure, the University aims to enhance the experience for both students and staff.
The Challenge
CCCU experienced challenges due to a dated and labour-intensive manual IT service processes. In a rapidly evolving higher education environment this had the potential to become unsustainable, especially as the IT Service Desk would also receive a high volume of support requests. A lack of self-service options compounded issues and users were reliant on phone calls, emails, and face-to-face interactions, with emails requiring manual conversion into tickets. A process that had the potential to create delays and stretch the capacity of the IT team.
The absence of a service catalogue also further complicated matters, leaving users unaware of available services and opportunities for inefficiencies. Asset management was similarly challenging, with over 25,000 hardware assets tracked via a basic Excel spreadsheet. This approach lacked visibility for users and prevented effective incident logging or resolution tied to specific assets.
The university’s previous ITSM tool did not have the necessary ITIL support, advanced reporting capabilities, and the low-code self-service flexibility required for modern service management. This limited the IT team’s ability to track performance, identify trends, and make informed decisions.
“Implementing the Halo Service Management tool has transformed IT service delivery for our staff. The IT staff have benefited from detailed, real-time information about users and their IT equipment, which accelerates response times and enhances the quality of support provided. Halo’s in-house development flexibility has allowed us to continually refine and expand its use to better meet our evolving needs. We’re now rolling Halo out to more departments and plan to extend it across all of Corporate Services. This will offer staff a unified point of contact for any help or assistance, streamlining support and fostering an even more efficient service environment.”
Sarah Beavon, Chief Information Officer
The Solution
Recognising the need for an enhanced user experience, CCCU set clear objectives for a new ITSM platform, empowering users with self-service capabilities, streamlining asset management, and enabling data-driven decision-making. After thoroughly evaluating available options and drawing inspiration from other universities’ successful transitions, CCCU selected HaloITSM as their solution.
Under the innovative leadership of Gareth Stears, Director of Digital Services, CCCU embarked on a comprehensive transformation of its IT service operations and delivery. From assessing the market space and defining the vision for shift-left and self-service, Gareth guided the digital transformation through university governance, procurement, design, and implementation phases. With a strong focus on achieving long-term benefits, Gareth ensured that the project aligned with strategic goals while maintaining a commitment to sustainable outcomes. Throughout the process, user experience was a top priority, ensuring that both staff and students benefited from a more intuitive and efficient service management system.
HaloITSM’s low-code platform allowed CCCU to modernise its IT service management processes without requiring extensive development or ongoing maintenance. The platform’s integrated self-service portal empowered students and staff to resolve common issues independently, significantly reducing the burden on the IT Service Desk.
Robust reporting and analytics tools provided actionable insights, enabling the IT team to continuously improve service delivery. HaloITSM’s asset management features have simplified the administration of over 25,000 hardware assets, offering users visibility into their assigned resources and simplifying incident reporting.
Unlike competing solutions, HaloITSM delivered these capabilities through a single, unified licence. Its flexibility and seamless integration with existing systems ensured that CCCU’s IT services could evolve in step with the university’s changing needs. The implementation process was smooth, with Halo’s proactive support ensuring minimal disruption to daily operations and enabling CCCU to quickly realise the benefits of the new system.
“By leveraging HaloITSM’s advanced features, CCCU has upgraded its IT processes, improved incident response times, and elevated the overall user experience for staff and students alike. The flexibility of HaloITSM has allowed CCCU to tailor workflows to meet the unique needs of its diverse user base, ensuring seamless support for the university’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. The result is a modern, responsive, and reliable IT service offering that supports CCCU’s commitment to excellence in education and operational innovation.”
Paulina Terziyska, Service Delivery Manager
The Results
The adoption of HaloITSM has been transformative for CCCU. Automated ticket workflows and the introduction of self-service options have freed up significant staff time, reducing the IT Service Desk by 38% (3.0 FTE) and enabling the team to focus on more complex issues. Managing over 25,000 assets is now streamlined, with users able to view assigned resources and log incidents directly.
Comprehensive reporting and dashboards have empowered the IT team to make data-driven decisions. Over the past three months, the 1st line support team has achieved 98% incident compliance and 99% request compliance. Detailed analytics, such as breakdowns of classroom assistance issues, have improved SLA adherence and operational planning.
The self-service portal has been particularly impactful, with request volumes tripling as routine support demands shift to this centralised hub. The portal now includes IT services, external links, and resources, enhancing accessibility for users. CCCU hopes to transition all requests to the portal, reserving phone support exclusively for staff engaged in active teaching, ensuring they receive immediate assistance when needed. Since adopting HaloITSM, customer satisfaction has reached a record high of 98%, reflecting the improved user experience.
Encouraged by these successes, CCCU is extending HaloITSM to other departments, starting with HR, with the aim of creating a fully integrated Enterprise Service Management (ESM) tool across the university.
Broader Impact
Beyond CCCU’s internal transformation, the university’s success has had a sector-wide impact. By hosting dozens of reference calls with major universities, Gareth Stears and his team have openly shared their journey, showcasing the outcomes and benefits of adopting HaloITSM. This collaborative approach has inspired many institutions to follow CCCU’s lead, with several universities adopting HaloITSM for their own service management needs after learning from CCCU’s experience.
With HaloITSM, CCCU has set a new sector-leading standard for digital service delivery, empowering its community with tools that meet the demands of today’s digital-first environment.
