The Success Story Of AgenturAdmin

The Challenge

We've been using ticketing systems for 20 years. Most recently we became more and more dissatisfied with OTRS, too complex, too old and it just didn't feel nice" tells Jann Sebastian Heider, founder, and CEO of AgenturAdmin. "We then looked at many other systems and with our open source-first philosophy, we came across Zammad.

Zammad had a modern, clean interface and as ex-OTRS users, we had a lot of trust in Martin. When we installed the 1.0 version for testing and played around a bit, we immediately fell in love and saw great potential.

"We were happy to have finally found a system that has a nice look and feel and which, in contrast to the Jira helpdesk, is easy and intuitive to use without much training. Hosting was also a must for us, due to data protection and IT security" explains Heider.

How Did Such A Diverse Use Of Zammad Come About?

"We were driven by the customer itself. It turned out that the helpdesk was the easiest communication channel for the customer. With that, he always has exactly one way of contacting us and does not have to search for the right contact point. In addition, central communication is also the best for us. All requests go in there. ALL OF THEM" emphasizes Heider.

Also the individual fields, as well as evaluation, were crucial points. These made it possible to use Zammad for sales and projects. We also use Zammad instead of a CRM, as these have to be maintained manually and are therefore often not well maintained. With Zammad, this is automated and therefore always up-to-date," explains Heider. "Even in our accounting department, all activities run through Zammad.

When Did You Know That A Change Was Needed?

IT:
"OTRS was getting old, UI and UX were poor, and there was no longer internal acceptance. The team was no longer convinced by the old solution and there was a lot of negativity. That's when it became increasingly clear that something new was needed." recalls Heider.

Sales:
In Sales, our growth not only meant more sales activities but also more agreements between Sales, Technology, and our customers. It quickly became clear to us that we needed a solution that could map everything and where everyone could see the status if necessary.

It had to be a central software for communication with everyone. We wanted to move away from classic e-mail communication, as in case of illness or vacations important topics are always left behind or can't be retrieved.

Project Management:
For our Agile way of working, a rigid large project management software, in which all tasks are planned down to the smallest detail, is too oversized" explains Heider. "We needed a PM software for the higher-level tasks on one hand and some kind of to-do software for the individual tasks that derive from them on the other.

But we didn't want to have 10 different software for each type of task, so now the project tasks all end up in Zammad. This has greatly improved our workflow and we were really surprised at how well it works.

The Main Goals With Zammad

IT:
Our main goal for IT is maximum customer satisfaction and fast communication. According to that, finding quick solutions to our customers and their problems or requirements. Also, the ease of passing tasks around our team was one of the main goals with Zammad. A ticket can be quickly and easily assigned to someone at the 2nd or 3rd level.

Sales:
In Sales, we needed a single place for all customers to turn to. Whether it's help from IT, licensing requirements, or buying new hardware, these issues often go hand in hand in agile work these days," Heider points out.

If a user reports a broken monitor, that can quickly become a sales issue as well, while a sales issue can just as quickly lead to implementation at the help desk, for example, when purchasing software licenses for a user. With Zammad as a central point of communication, tickets can be handled hand-in-hand across all departments.

Project Management:
Individual tasks in projects quickly become confusing in project management software, especially small tasks. Technically, therefore it makes more sense for us to map and distribute these tasks in the ticket system.

This allows us to identify free capacities more quickly, even in the case of last-minute changes such as illness, vacation, etc., and to reschedule more flexibly and quickly. Employees can support each other better as a result. For example, if my appointment is canceled and I have some time over, I can grab another task right away and help out.

What Was The Change Like?

As an IT company, the switch was pretty easy for us, we were happy with the intuitive user interface and so fired up to switch that we didn't have the time or inclination for training. We first used our internal Zammad as a playground, where each employee could spend an hour a day.

With the motto of learning by doing, we were able to make the switch without training. Employees also helped each other. On the day of the live conversion, we didn't have any projects or other work scheduled, so everyone had enough time to handle the incoming tickets.

IT:
In IT, we needed a clean cut because we didn't want to take any old luggage with us. We let OTRS expire and worked through the tickets that remained there. New tickets only came into Zammad.

Sales:
Previously, a mix of Excel, notes, and emails in combination with our commercial software was used here. The changeover was easy and relieving, especially for queries from customers and our own technology. Before, for example, the technical requirements of licensing were a pure email nightmare.

Project Management
„The switch was also easy in project management. We simply switched off OpenProject and all projects and tasks were then transferred accordingly. Currently, we work hand in hand with Asana and Zammad.“

How Have Your Colleagues Reacted To The Change?

IT:
"How should I say...relief, wow, OTRS finally gone, it was about time, why did it take so long...those were about the quotes on it," says Heider with a big smile.

Sales:
We were happy to have a central solution and it was perceived very positively. Initially, there were concerns that the issues would become so intermingled with IT tickets that things would be left undone, overlooked, or that responsibilities would not be taken into account. However, the concerns did not become reality and with groups and views, we can solve this easily in Zammad.

Project Management:
Just like IT, colleagues have been very happy. To-dos for the day don't have to be checked in 2 different systems and end up missing something. The initial concerns that employees would quickly lose the overview due to a high ticket load were also quickly eliminated since we can build everything as we need it with objects, overviews, and groups.

How Does Zammad Affect Day-To-Day Work?

We are faster and more organized in all areas. Agreements and coordination between employees are easier. In particular, communication between the individual departments IT, Sales, and PM runs more hand in hand.

We were able to increase our reaction speed, which is noticeable with significantly more satisfaction among our customers. Meetings also run faster and we always have all customer-relevant topics at hand quickly thanks to the good search.

For example, the helpdesk can also view sales topics and quickly retrieve and pass on the status when a call comes in. Also, a 2nd level employee can see that the replacement switch has already been purchased and there is even a shipment number from the manufacturer already. With that, he can give feedback to impatient customers faster without waiting for feedback from Sales.

How Has Corporate Communication Changed?

Our external communication is highly valued by all parties. Customers like having one point of contact, whether it's for Sales, PM, or IT Helpdesk.

Our internal communication has improved significantly in all three areas. There are no longer confusing bulks of emails, but everything takes place in Zammad in a comprehensible way for all colleagues. This is much faster and easier, especially in case of illness or vacation. Even if you have a lot on your plate at the moment, you can easily hand in tasks.

In general, a significant time saving is noticeable in the team and it is very much appreciated that everything is transparent for everyone.

The Future With Zammad

We want to continue to grow and build more specialized teams. This is where we see Zammad as key so that all teams can work together in the best possible way.

"In IT, there are always intersections. Colleagues who look after the Linux servers need someone from the network team, if something doesn't work, the Windows team sometimes needs someone from the Azure cloud team and everyone needs the PM and sales colleagues" says Heider with a smile.

Very importantly, the customer always needs to be able to reach us easily through the help desk, no matter what they want from us, and with Zammad they can.

About AgenturAdmin

AgenturAdmin believes in business success through good IT and wants to inspire IT users.

AgenturAdmin is a full-service IT provider that works in partnership with its customers at eye level. With IT solutions in the areas of Cloud, Apple, Windows, and Linux, AgenturAdmin can proactively support customers in a targeted manner, even today in the New Work age.

Working with AgenturAdmin feels like an internal IT department and offers solution-oriented IT solutions at any time. Throughout Germany and in Wiesbaden, Mainz, Frankfurt, and surrounding areas, AgenturAdmin stands by its customers as a partner and looks forward to working together successfully every day.