The Challenge

With over 45,000 students and 5,000 staff spread across 16 sites and six world-renowned colleges, the University of the Arts London (UAL) faced a complex challenge: how to deliver consistent, high-quality IT support across a diverse and decentralised organisation.

Each college operated with a degree of autonomy, making it difficult to standardise processes and ensure equitable service levels. The IT Services Department, responsible for everything from network infrastructure to software deployment and long-term strategy, needed a solution that could unify operations, improve efficiency, and enhance the student and staff experience.

The Solution

UAL selected Marval MSM, a web-based, ITIL-aligned service management platform, after evaluating several options. The decision was backed not only by IT but also by other support teams, thanks to MSM’s comprehensive functionality, ease of configuration, and flexibility to meet UAL’s evolving needs.

Implementation was swift, with less than 30 days from scoping to a fully operational system. A standout achievement was the launch of ‘MySupport’, UAL’s customised self-service portal. Designed for intuitive navigation and engagement, it allowed users to track, update, and provide feedback on their requests, significantly improving transparency and satisfaction.

The platform’s success led to widespread adoption beyond IT. Six support teams were actively using MSM, with plans to onboard four more, including Human Resources, Procurement, and Estates. In one year alone, UAL processed over 65,000 service requests, spanning both IT and non-IT functions.

The Results

The impact of Marval MSM was transformative:

• First Line Resolution Rates increased from 45% to 75%

• First Time Fix rates jumped from 55% to 90%

• Self-Service Usage rose from 2% to 12%

• Requests Solved Within SLA improved from 65% to 84%

• Customer Satisfaction consistently reached around 90%

Jon Lucas, Head of IT Engagement at UAL, reflected:

“Marval MSM is intuitive and helps us be more proactive. It’s working well for us and we’re excited to keep evolving.”