OCLC uses automation to boost its competitive edge

Shared services for libraries and researchers
OCLC^® is built on the power of collaboration and innovation. Its member libraries come together to share data, collections, services, and expertise with the goal of increasing access to knowledge. Through its technology products, original research, and community programs, OCLC empowers libraries to better serve their communities by solving critical problems, removing barriers to success, and inspiring breakthroughs.

Accelerating delivery times
Providing great services to subscribers means constantly evolving products to meet their latest needs and requirements, and for software providers like OCLC, accelerating delivery times is a shortcut to success.

“Automation gives you an edge over your competitors by eliminating time-consuming manual processes and enabling your team to focus on more valuable activities,” says Steve Driscoll, Lead Software Engineer at OCLC.

Adding value for libraries
For customers, automation means faster access to services and less complexity. OCLC WorldShare^®, for example, provides a complete set of library management applications and platform services built on a flexible, cloud-based platform.

A key component of OCLC’s support of customer-facing products such as OCLC WorldShare^® is the ability to automate communications around product changes, service-impacting incidents, and planned upgrades. This is done via an app built on the Now Platform^® App Engine that automates real-time reporting, so customers can view live system status dashboards.

Building automations
OCLC leveraged ServiceNow IT Service Management to create an automation framework to optimize internal processes and accelerate delivery of customer services. The team uses ServiceNow ITOM Discovery to populate the CMDB, creating a single source of truth and greater visibility of the IT environment.

This then formed the basis of its automation hub. “To automate a process, we visualize it in its simplest form to identify where to take the human touchpoints out, then we build the workflow in ServiceNow,” explains Steve.

One platform, unlimited opportunities
With ServiceNow, OCLC has a flexible and agile platform to optimize processes and free up the team for more satisfying activities. By embracing a culture of automation, OCLC can save operational costs, boost efficiency, and roll out cutting-edge services to customers faster, which helps libraries across the world to better serve their communities and advance research.

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