Austrian broadcasting company uses ITSM software to monitor transmitters at nearly 450 sites nationwide

ORS has chosen iET ITSM to monitor its national transmitter network and keep its TV and radio broadcasting running smoothly.

June 18, 2013 - ORS, (Austrian Broadcasting Services) has chosen IT service management software developed by iET Solutions to centralize all the information needed to monitor and manage its national network of transmitter stations at around 450 locations. The iET ITSM software was chosen for its flexibility. Today ORS manages around 80,000 data records using a configuration management database and broadcasting database, which was implemented using software from iET Solutions.

Norbert Grill, ORS Managing Director said: "ORS is responsible for almost all TV and radio programme providers in Austria, as well as for digital television. Our systems have to run as smoothly as the broadcasting of our TV programmes." iET Solutions' Austrian partner, softpoint electronic, implemented the IT service management software, iET ITSM, within a year. The system went live in the middle of 2012. "This project involved us having to represent the infrastructure and terminology from radio and TV programme providers in a solution that was primarily designed to be used in the IT sector. The flexibility offered by iET ITSM enabled us to represent the infrastructure at ORS accurately, without having to abandon the concepts used in broadcasting technology," adds Klaus Hörl, the project manager from softpoint electronic. Using iET ITSM ORS was able to centralize and optimize the presentation, quality and documentation of its information. iET ITSM is the central platform used for mapping the location information and technical infrastructure. On the rare occasions when there is disruption or loss of transmission from a transmission station, it is documented in the system. Maintenance work on the transmitters is also planned using this system. A transmitter database provides information about frequency and transmitter planning, together with history. Site management using the Configuration Management Database Currently, ORS manages approximately 11,000 active configuration items (CI) in its configuration management database (CMDB). The entire technical infrastructure of ORS, consisting of technical equipment, radio and television programmes as well as signals for programme transfer, is displayed in the CMDB. All inactive or planned signal CIs are managed in the transmitter database, which currently contains around 70,000 records of past and planned activities. The transmitter database is based on the iET Developer's Studio from iET Solutions and has an interface to the CMDB. CMDB map application is used to provide a clear overview In the graphical CMDB all configuration items are visualized, together with their relationships to each other. For this purpose, a digital map application was added to the graphical CMDB. This displays the links and dependencies between the individual transmitter stations using the web-based Open Street Map and Google satellite applications. The map application shows the current status of the whole network and is also used for planning the network’s expansion. Technicians can use the application to display the location of transmitter stations, in order to plan their journey, for example. The management team at ORS uses the Maps view to get a quick overview of the transmission network. If necessary, they can access further information by drilling down to more detail. Incident and Change Management iET ITSM is used for the detection of faults on transmitter stations and programmes using an impact analysis feature specially developed for ORS. This allows the company to determine the impact of any disruption on the entire country, to test backup scenarios and to take appropriate measures. The impact analysis uses the data collected in the CMDB about the radio and television programs and their interdependencies. A dynamic email management facility identifies - via the impact analysis - the sites and contacts affected by a fault, as well as their subsidiary sites. Notifications and warnings can be sent automatically as required. Change management is used for planning and documentation of the maintenance and assembly of transmitter stations. The multi-stage authorization process which is part of iET ITSM helps ORS comply with documentation guidelines. ITIL® accelerated the project The team at ORS and softpoint electronic succeeded in completing the complex, high profile project in just one year. A successful implementation within the tight timeframe was possible thanks to the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), which ORS views as a "positive side effect". About the ORS Group The ORS Group consists of Austrian Broadcasting Services GmbH & Co KG (ORS) and its subsidiary ORS comm GmbH & Co KG (ORS comm). ORS was formed in early 2005 from the Broadcast Engineering division of ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) and is 60 % owned by ORF and 40 % owned by Medicur Sendeanlagen GmbH, which is part of the Raffeisen Group. ORS comm is 100 % owned by ORS and provides technical services for broadcasting audiovisual media services and online services via external organisations. The ORS Group is responsible for developing and operating the technical infrastructure for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial (DVB-T and DVB-T2) in Austria. As the leading analogue and digital broadcaster in Austria, the ORS Group operates an extensive network of transmitters to service its customers, located at almost 450 sites. The ORS Group also provides technical services supporting digital satellite television. ORS and ORS comm include leading companies among their customer base from the following sectors: television (e.g. ORF, ATV, PULS 4, ServusTV, goTV, sixx, DAF), radio (e.g. Ö1, Ö2, Ö3, Kronehit Radio, Lounge FM), mobile telephony (e.g. A1, Orange, tele.ring) and energy (e.g. EVN). www.ors.at About simpliTV simpliTV is a TV-product of simpli services GmbH & Co KG. simpli services a subsidary of Austrian Broadcasting Services (ORS comm). ORS comm is responsible for construction and establishment of DVB-T and DVB-T2 in Austria. simpliTV is responsible for sales to the end-consumer. About 90 % of all Austrians in state capital, big city and their neighbourhood can see simpliTV with indoor-, outdoor- and roof-antenna. For using simpliTV, customers need a set-top-box or a CI+ Modul TV set which are HD-able. With the right receiving-sets the TV-customer can watch 40 great TV-programs, nine of them in HD-quality. Customers can watch ORF eins HD, ORF 2 HD and ServusTV HD for free, they only have to register. The customers can also watch up to 12 TV-programs in Austria for free. For further information visit the website About softpoint electronic The software development house softpoint electronic, with its head office in Steyregg near Linz, Austria, was set up in 1987 and currently employs 29 staff. Its activities are focused on implementing IT service management solutions and on implementing and operating IT systems. Regular staff training and accreditation (e.g. ITIL) guarantee that its customers’ stringent quality requirements are met. The company’s target group in the ITSM business sector includes industrial, commercial, banking and public enterprises in Austria. www.softpoint.at