Oregon Liquor Control Commission

Background

Oregon is one of 18 control states in the U.S. that oversees the distribution of liquor through a State Liquor Control Commission. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) dictates and regulates state liquor licenses, permits, liquor store pricing, and statewide distribution in general. The commission is comprised of 205 agency staff, with 12 individuals in Information Services.

The Problem

The OLCC IT staff was experiencing a high volume of typical technical support requests and was being inundated with queries ranging from application installation, and workstation problems to simple questions like, “How can I find this folder?” The staff had no means of tracking and recording how each request was obtained and resolved. They knew they were doing far more work than what they were able to show.

The OLCC IS staff previously had a functional solution, however, as its information systems grew and adapted to the increasing technology environment, maintenance of this system became incredibly expensive – and therefore unrealistic. OLCC then tried to satisfy its needs with a Microsoft solution—this would have been sufficient, but the need for a web-based solution proved to be paramount.

Ultimately the OLCC needed a helpdesk solution that would provide them with the means to categorize and track events, provide the convenience and resourcefulness of web-based access, and integrate with an established Novell GroupWise system, allowing the implementation of call tickets.

The Solution

Roger Deming is the Information Services Manager for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. After researching the market thoroughly, Deming said he kept coming back to GroupLink’s HelpDesk. “We researched several other packages, but we were always pulled back to GroupLink because of a few significant reasons: the tie-in to Novell GroupWise was critical, the ability to capitalize on the functionality of file attachments and history details was something that had been escaping us, and the ability for email notifications for any / all tasks and processes was very appealing—GroupLink’s HelpDesk provided for all of these needs,” said Deming.

As is the case with many IT/IS departments, OLCC IS staff was always dealing with “drive-by” and telephone requests. By relating technical information in these casual forums, the IS department had no means of tracking and recording the processes. “With GroupLink’s HelpDesk, end-users are now able to understand what is needed from them to submit call tickets,” said Deming. “The accessibility that stems from a web-based application makes this very simple. And, equally important, my staff is now getting recognition for all of their efforts.”

GroupLink’s HelpDesk enables IT/IS personnel to view everything that is taking place on all processes in an easily accessible single location. “We now know where we with everything our team is working on,” said Deming.

“While the implementation of HelpDesk has given us a total change in our situation, it was crucial for us to be able to implement without changing our entire process, said Deming. “The seamless integration of GroupLink’s HelpDesk with Novell GroupWise meant we were able to integrate with virtually no disruption whatsoever.”

Conclusion

With the implementation of GroupLink’s HelpDesk, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission was able to enhance its information services in every category necessary. The seamless tie-in to Novell GroupWise represented maximizing the existing Novell investment, while expanding the operating system to levels previously unattainable. “Perhaps the biggest benefit for us comes from the availability of information. We no longer have to go back to find resolutions to problems; we are able to deal with problems as they come in, said Deming. “The advantages of GroupLink HelpDesk are noticeable on every level – and we are able to see each and every one centrally.”