Case Study: University of Pretoria achieves streamlined remote support for 132,000 users with OpenText

AI-powered service desk and automation transform student experiences and ensure business continuity when crisis hits

University of Pretoria faced the challenge of supporting 132,000 students, alumni, and applicants with limited IT resources, while modernizing service management and keeping support efficient. Working with OpenText and using SMAX plus Operations Orchestration (OO), the university sought to streamline ITSM, automate requests, and extend support beyond IT to other departments.

OpenText implemented SMAX, OO automation, and related tools to consolidate services, automate processes, and accelerate remote support. The results were significant: University of Pretoria handled a 11-fold surge in VPN requests, provisioned access in seconds, and used automation to process up to 400 laptop orders a day during COVID-19. With OpenText, the university also reduced training effort by about three months per year and supported its large user base with just eight service agents.

University of Pretoria

Charl Joubert

Change and Configuration Manager