Excellent IT Service Management at SMA

With detailed request types and automations for high-level IT operations

SMA is renowned for its long-lasting inverters and solar storage systems. In recent years, this pioneer in the solar energy sector has expanded its range to include services for energy management and monitoring, as well as e-mobility. These services and products require a high level of electrical engineering knowledge as well as extensive software expertise. To ensure its engineers are always able to carry out their work and to provide them with the appropriate support, SMA relies on a comprehensive ITSM system using Jira Service Management. With over 100 ticket types and nearly 70 automations, this enables SMA’s IT Operations to deliver a high standard of service.  

A quantum leap in efficiency Replacing the existing ticketing tool to improve adoption

Replacement of the old ITSM tool; Image: © SMA Technology AG

SMA was already using an ITSM tool. However, adapting this tool to meet the organisation’s growing needs would have required a significant amount of effort on the part of the IT team. In most cases, forms had to be customised externally. As SMA had already migrated its Atlassian applications to the cloud in 2023, Jira Service Management emerged as the preferred application during the preliminary project involving a proof of concept.

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These criteria were key to our decision to choose Jira Service Management:

Benefits of ITSM with Jira Service Management (JSM) Image: © SMA Technology AG

Stability

Even with very high visitor numbers

24/7 availability

Reliable availability of services

Ease of use

For end users & IT operations

Customisability

Without any development work

Automation

Ad-hoc provision of on-demand services

ISO capability

Information security and documentation

Implementation of the ITSM solution

In collaboration with Communardo, SMA developed its new IT service management solution in line with the current ITIL® standard. Within a year, the previous version was replaced and new features were added.


Jira Service Management guarantees seamless integration with SMA’s existing systems, such as Atlassian Assets and Azure AD. This enables, for example, the continuous synchronisation of staff details, whilst the more than 37,000 assets were also synchronised seamlessly. The scope of this ITSM solution is demonstrated by the fact that Communardo implemented five Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) and introduced over 100 ticket types in the service portal. In addition, 67 automation processes ensure that ITOps staff are not held up by repetitive tasks.

A view of one of the forms
A view of one of the forms
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Project Timeline

  1. Migration & Integration

    - Interfaces for transferring approximately 37,000 assets from the old ITSM solution to Atlassian Assets
    - Interfaces for synchronising over 5,000 employees and external users from Azure AD with Atlassian Assets

  2. Data Management & Optimisation

    - Implementation of five Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) in Atlassian Assets
    - Integration of two knowledge bases to improve the availability and use of information

  3. Processes

    - Introduction of a change management process, including a three-stage approval procedure
    - Implementation of an escalation procedure to deal effectively with critical situations

  4. Automation

    - Implementation of 67 automation processes
    - Use of Opsgenie for automatic ticket generation and alerting
    - Implementation of an email integration for the automatic creation of service requests
    - Introduction of incident management with automatic notifications to the relevant team

  5. Customer support

    - Introduction of 109 enquiry types on the service portal
    - Formation of 25 teams responsible for managing 27 services

An insight into SMA’s ITSM solution

One Portal: Accessing the Service Portal and selecting the various sections
One Portal: Accessing the Service Portal and selecting the various sections
Predefined request types
Pre-defined and detailed enquiry templates make it quick and easy to complete the form accurately
Form in Jira Service Management
One of the forms – with lots of pre-filled fields and quick-click buttons
Ticket Queue in Jira Service Management
Ticket Queue displays all incoming tickets along with the necessary metadata and relevant links
A view of one of the processes
Clear process visualisation within Jira Service Management
Martin Hesse, Head of Quality and Processes at SMA Solar Technology AG, on the ITSM project
Just three days after our ITSM solution went live, the follow-up work had been completed.
Martin Hesse, Head of Quality and Processes, SMA Solar Technology AG

Added value for SMA User experience and satisfaction with IT services

The benefits of a modern and flexible ITSM solution; Image: © SMA Technology AG

Thanks to the new ITSM system, with its automation features and well-defined services, SMA has seen a reduction in the time taken to resolve incidents. Thanks to the dedicated and detailed forms, staff can easily create requests in such a way that an automated process provides the service directly or an ITOps expert can process the ticket without needing to ask for further details. To this end, SMA and Communardo optimised the forms to ensure that all necessary information is requested and that the forms are as clear as possible.

The amount of manual work was significantly reduced, thereby boosting productivity within the IT team. Furthermore, the improved change management process fostered greater transparency and more effective control over changes within the IT department.

Martin Hesse, Head of Quality and Processes at SMA Solar Technology AG, on the potential of ITSM solutions with automation
Our new ITSM solution enables staff to have applications, hardware or virtual servers provisioned automatically at any time. All they need to do is fill in a simple request form on the online portal; provisioning is then carried out, in some cases, entirely automatically.
Martin Hesse, Head of Quality and Processes, SMA Solar Technology AG

About SMA Solar Technology

SMA relies on Communardo’s IT consultancy services; Image: © SMA Technology AG
  • Global specialist in photovoltaic system technology
  • Its core business comprises inverters and services for energy management and e-mobility
  • Head office and production facilities in North Hesse, with sales and service locations in 20 countries
  • SMA employs 4,000 people worldwide
Find out more about our client

Credits

The copyright for photographs 1 to 5 is held by SMA Technology AG. We would like to thank SMA for their kind permission. 

 ITIL® – ITIL® is a (registered) trade mark of Axelos Limited. All rights reserved.

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Marlen Kaiser, Team Leader Customer Acquisition bei Communardo Software GmbH

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