Case Study: Air-gapped network for Helpdesk and Job Order Management

Challenge:

As construction of the Corporate Office facility transitioned to the entire operation, occupancy skyrocketed to 70%. With the Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) still in development, a surge in service requests, complaints, and inaccuracies overwhelmed manual processes. Data privacy concerns further limited third-party involvement in digitalisation efforts.

 Information and data boundaries:

• Third-party collection of asset and employee-specific data was restricted due to privacy and security policies.

Solution:

 An air-gapped network, completely isolated from external connections, was designed to address these challenges. This ensured data security while enabling efficient service management.

 Approach to architecture framework and solutions:

• Target data and service
  • Building asset and locational data
  • Criticality and SLA-based classification of assets and services
  • Response and resolution information
  • Key Performance Indicators
    • Job Requests per month
    • Resolved Job Requests within SLA-based timeframes
    • Deferred and unresolved/unattended job requests
    • Resources, person-hours and costs associated per job request
    • Customer Satisfaction
  • Management
    • Software selection
      • Helpdesk ticketing and workflow management
      • Asset Management
      • Mobile applications
      • Interoperability with BMS, IWMS
      • User-friendly and customisable
      • Future upgrades
      • Associated costs – day one implementation, annual support, future upgrades
    • Software application
      • Asset criticality
      • Compliance with SLA and KPI-based analytics
      • Analytics to classify and indicate the real-time status of Job request
      • Location-based service capabilities and Geographic information system
    • Communication network
      • Network selection
        • Network coverage and reliability
        • Network bandwidth and latency
        • Scalability
        • Customer Support
        • Costs associated
      • Wired and Wireless Cellular network – 5G
      • Unlimited end-user interfaces on desktop and mobile handset
    • Knowledge Management Framework
      • Historical data-based trend analysis
      • Real-time data trending
      • Real-time dynamic information management
      • Predictive analysis
      • Forecasting demand energy, footfall, service requests
    • Resources
      • On-site SERVER
      • Helpdesk Operator to provide 24/7 coverage
    • Security
      • Private Cloud – Deployment of a dedicated on-site server for employee and asset-specific information.
      • Personally Identifiable Information and building asset data encryption, identity management, and role-based access control to the network.
      • Geo-fenced, access-controlled mobile/tablet application for the Facility Operations Service team.
      • Compliance and alignment with Information Security and Management Systems (ISMS standards – ISO 27000 family of standards and guidelines).

Project Assessment:

• Networking protocols:
  • Secure and standardised protocols minimised vulnerabilities.
• On-site data storage:
  • The private cloud ensures complete data control and security.
• Carrier choice:
  • Site-specific considerations like availability and latency informed carrier selection.
• Benefits:
  • Significant improvements in service quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness were observed, along with enhanced customer satisfaction.
• Challenges:
  • Execution complexities, Higher initial costs and ongoing management considerations exist.

Quantified Benefits:

• 25% reduction in average service response time
• 30% decrease in monthly service requests due to predictive maintenance
• 15% improvement in customer satisfaction scores

Conclusion:

Despite initial challenges, this air-gapped network transformed service management within the facility. Data security was preserved while achieving significant operational efficiencies and cost savings, demonstrating the effectiveness of innovative solutions in overcoming complex problems.