Haaga-Helia's Hanna Kosteila and Netum's Tero Hietanen work opposite each other as the persons responsible for the maintenance of the Peppi system.
Case: Haaga-Helia changed the administrator of the Peppi system: “With Netum, we have a common goal of achieving the best result”
At the end of 2020, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences called for tenders for the maintenance of its Peppi information system, and Netum was selected as the new administrator. As a result of the change of supplier, cooperation and understanding of the customer’s needs have improved significantly. The service is now of uniform quality, and the development of the system is moving in the right direction.
Peppi is an information system designed to serve universities, universities of applied sciences and upper secondary schools. It combines the tasks of students, teachers and study administration under the same service. At Haaga-Helia, the Peppi system has been in use since 2018.
At the moment, the maintenance of Peppi works smoothly. The change of administrator has improved cooperation and transparency in the system’s technical development work.
Smoother cooperation and more consistent service with a new administrator
- Our previous contract had been made in cooperation with a few other universities of applied sciences, and we had not been able to take all the things we wanted into account in the tender. For this reason, we decided not to use the option year and called for tenders for the maintenance again, says Hanna Kosteila, Head of Education Services at Haaga-Helia.
- In addition, we wanted to get better visibility into the source code and response times. Here at Haaga-Helia, we have a competent IT team but not enough resources for maintenance work.
Netum has solid experience in the maintenance of public information systems.
- We offer supplier-independent and transparent Peppi services. It enables the customer to use the best possible methods, components and suppliers in different phases of the life cycle of the Peppi system. With this model, our customers receive high-quality and cost-effective service, says Tero Hietanen, Peppi Service Manager at Netum.
- In addition to technical experts, Netum employs Peppi content experts. We also work closely with the software company Studyo. It has solid Peppi expertise.
In addition to Tero Hietanen, Netum’s Peppi team assigned to Haaga-Helia includes system experts Nora Heiska and Akseli Teeri. Nora has content expertise regarding the Peppi system, and Akseli knows the technical side of Peppi.
The transition to the new Peppi version was smooth despite the tight schedule
When changing the administrator, a new Peppi installation must first be made alongside the Peppi system already in use. The time frame for Netum’s project was strict, as Haaga-Helia’s previous maintenance contract was about to expire. However, the transition to the Peppi version maintained by Netum was made as planned at the beginning of April 2021.
– We had meetings with the customer up to three times a week, but the transition went well in the end, says Tero.
– The success became evident when, for the first time, Peppi did not crash due to a large number of users when the spring course registrations started, says Hanna.
Netum is praised for its agile and solution-oriented attitude
Netum’s role as the maintenance provider of Peppi is to ensure that everything works and to answer customer questions and support requests. Netum has other Peppi customers, which is an advantage for Haaga-Helia.
– We are constantly accumulating information that we can utilise when solving other customers’ Peppi challenges. After the change, Haaga-Helia has not experienced any major problems or unscheduled downtime periods, Tero says.
– In this partnership, we especially appreciate how Netum understands and listens to its customers. Flexibility and a solution-oriented approach are very important to us, says Hanna.
– The quality of the service is now stable, and the technical side is especially active and development-oriented. Issues are tackled quickly, she adds.
According to Tero Hietanen, the agility of the work is facilitated by the fact that Netum is a low-hierarchical organisation.
– If I need help from a developer who works in another unit, I can contact them and ask for an expert to work on Peppi for a couple of days. We don’t have unnecessary bureaucracy.
Hanna Kosteila is pleased with how Netum has taken into account Haaga-Helia’s wishes.
Cooperation will continue closely based on development needs
According to Hanna Kosteila, cooperation with Netum has been open and regular. The communication works well.
– Our cooperation with Netum is focused on achieving uniform quality in the entire service: discussions, plans, solving tickets and so on.
Alongside maintenance, Peppi’s development continues. The Peppi consortium is responsible for the development of the system as a whole, and its activities focus on member organisations, i.e. educational institutions where Peppi is used. Together, they decide what changes and new functionalities are to be added to Peppi.
– Sometimes we need to get a repair done quickly without having to wait for the consortium’s system development package. In such situations, Netum will make customer-specific changes for us, says Hanna.
– Of course, it would be ideal if the customisations made for us were also included in the general version of Peppi. This way, they would not have to be rebuilt with every version update. Our long-term goal is to make Peppi easier to manage and maintain, and this is the direction in which we are heading, says Hanna.
The takeover project also an opportunity for something new
Based on her experience, Hanna says that the Peppi system takeover project should be thought through carefully, and enough time should be reserved for it, as it is also a turning point with an opportunity to rethink solutions.
– As big as the takeover project sounds, it is not an unreasonable challenge in the long run.