ETITC

ETITC (5:40)

Switching from on-site to remote support

Escuela Tecnológica Instituto Técnico Central (ETITC) is an educational institution founded in 1904 that specializes in the training of technical professionals in Colombia, offering a wide range of higher education courses in the fields of techniques, technology and engineering. The main building in Bogotá is considered a cultural and historical heritage of the country and the city.

The pandemic marked the before and after in the ETITC's IT department and, in particular, in the support processes of the facility. Before, support was always provided on-site. Users from the various administrative and academic departments contacted the help desk by phone, and the support technician traveled to analyze the case. After the pandemic, the ETITC experienced a sharp increase in enrollment, and the IT department promoted new digitization strategies for some processes. One of the goals was to make the help desk more efficient. "When we returned to face-to-face teaching, we needed to look for tools that would support not only the institute's administrative staff, but the entire educational community. That's when we came across ISL Online. We wanted to get closer to our end users, and be able to solve any problem in real time," says Jair Alejandro Contreras Parra, IT director of ETITC.

Search for simplicity without sacrificing security

One of the biggest challenges for the ETITC was to ensure that the transition from on-site assistance to remote support software did not result in a frustrating experience for users. This was especially true for elderly users who had little knowledge of how to use the technology. Therefore, it was necessary to provide them with a very easy-to-use tool to ensure a good experience for the entire community.

"The tool is very intuitive and makes it much easier for us to engage with end users. Some of our users are eldery people who have difficulties with some systems. Therefore, it is an important advantage to have a tool that makes it easier for us to communicate with them and is very easy to use."

Security was also an important requirement. The goal was to protect remote access to all computers and labs as much as possible, since they contain personal facility data. ISL Online guarantees that all connections are encrypted end-to-end and provides the ability to audit any remote access to the IT infrastructure.

"Since we are a public institution, we have to work with licensed or open-source software. However, if I choose to use an open-source tool, there's a chance I will not get the same information security guarantee as I do with ISL Online."

A real saving of time and energy

Currently, ETITC's Level 1 support team assists approximately 300 administrators. The most common cases are application support and configuration, but often it is also necessary to show them how to find and use certain features of their work applications. "All in all, it makes our job a lot easier. It saves us travel, saves us support time, and helps administrative and academic staff to stay productive."

There are about 30 computer labs at universities, each with 20 computers. The most common use cases for lab support are problems with licensing and maintenance of the equipment. One of the features of ISL Online that makes the ETITC support team's job easier, is turning computers on and off remotely, which not only helps them to work more efficiently, but also saves energy. "The infrastructure of the Institute is very large, and the ability to turn the equipment on and off and restart remotely is invaluable to us. It saves us travel and even energy."

"Another benefit is the support we have received from ISL Online. We have been using the tool for three years and felt accompanied at all times," Jair appreciates the response times and support provided by ISL Online.