March 7, 2026

Summary

A global enterprise undergoing corporate divestiture needed a unified service desk capability while more than 1,500 users, devices, and permissions were being separated from the seller’s estate and moved into a newly established environment spanning the UK and Asia.

The immediate requirement was to give users a dependable central support channel during the transition, stabilise incident handling, and create a documented handover path into the long-term support model without interrupting the wider migration programme.

Challenge

The primary challenge was the absence of a centralised or scalable service desk system. IT support was managed through ad hoc, localised processes that could not provide the consistency, visibility, or control required for a global user base. During a high-stakes divestiture, this posed a significant risk to operational continuity. The organisation needed to rapidly establish a professional, unified incident management capability to support all users through the transition and beyond.

Objectives

The project was guided by several key objectives:

• To design and implement a new, cloud-based global service desk platform.
• To replace fragmented, informal support channels with a single, unified system for incident management.
• To standardise support processes for all users across the UK and multiple Asian territories.
• To ensure the platform could scale to support the entire organisation post-divestiture.
• To provide robust, uninterrupted IT support during the critical migration of users, devices, and data.

Approach and Delivery

A pragmatic two-phase approach was used to reduce risk and get support under control quickly. An initial SharePoint-based service desk was designed and deployed to provide a single operational support channel during the most disruptive stages of the divestiture.

Once the transition had stabilised, the focus shifted to formal handover. Processes, documentation, reporting, and operational context were packaged so the longer-term enterprise ITSM function could be taken forward by an external senior managed services provider. Progress throughout the programme was tracked through Power BI reporting for senior stakeholders.

Technical Implementation

Microsoft SharePoint was used to stand up the initial service desk capability quickly, integrated with the new Microsoft 365 environment and Azure AD for user access and operational control.

The wider programme also included tenant-to-tenant data migration, device migration, identity separation, and structured documentation. Service desk processes, escalation paths, and reporting artefacts were formalised so the onward transition into the external long-term operating model could happen with minimal disruption.

Outcome

The project established a central support capability at the point it was most needed, giving the newly separated organisation a dependable route for incidents and service issues during the divestiture.

The SharePoint-based service desk stabilised support operations, and the accompanying documentation and handover pack enabled the longer-term ITSM function to be transferred to the incoming external provider without losing operational context.

Risks, Controls and Governance

Operational disruption during the divestiture was the primary risk. This was controlled by using a rapid first-phase service desk implementation so a support channel was always available while migration activity was underway.

Data integrity and access continuity were governed through structured validation of permissions, accounts, and files, with progress reported through Power BI dashboards for senior management. A full documentation and handover pack reduced the risk of knowledge loss as the long-term service desk responsibility moved to the incoming external provider.

Key Lessons

A phased implementation, starting with a tactical solution before moving to a strategic platform, can be an effective strategy for de-risking complex technology transformations during periods of significant business change. For any global organisation, a centralised ITSM platform is not a luxury but a necessity for providing consistent, scalable, and measurable support. Integrating the service desk with the core identity platform from day one is fundamental to providing a secure and seamless user experience. Finally, the project reinforced the importance of creating detailed documentation and executing a formal handover to ensure new platforms are effectively managed post-launch.

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