The Powerful Impact of Service Desk in Action

In today’s fast-paced digital world, reliable IT support isn’t just a convenience—it’s critical. From resolving technical issues to ensuring a positive user experience, help desk teams keep organizations moving. But as user demands rise and resources remain limited, maintaining high-quality support becomes a daunting challenge.

Now imagine that challenge magnified in a public service environment—supporting a nationwide network of firefighters and emergency responders, where every second counts and every interaction matters. That’s the reality one organization faced—until Navisite, Part of Accenture, stepped in to help transform their help deskinto a mission-driven, high-performing support system.

Read on to see how Navisite empowered a national emergency initiative to deliver fast, empathetic, and scalable IT support to the everyday heroes who depend on it.

The Need for Scaling Support

In late 2024, the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) was launched to modernize how incident data is collected and to deliver critical intelligence to fire departments across the United States. Born from a collaborative effort between the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI)—a part of UL Research Institutes—the U.S. Fire Administration, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, and the broader American fire and EMS community, NERIS marks a step forward in public safety.

At the helm of NERIS support is Craig Weinschenk, director of research at FSRI. In the project’s early days, Craig and his team handled support requests directly. However, with an ambitious goal of onboarding and supporting more than 27,000 fire departments nationwide, it quickly became clear that their existing support model wasn’t sustainable.  

If even a fraction of those 27,000 departments has two or three NERIS users, we’re quickly talking about a user base in the six figures,” Craig said. “That kind of scale made it clear we couldn’t rely on internal resources alone—we needed a partner built to handle this growth, and fast.

The Right Partner, Not Just a Vendor

Given the scale of the initiative and its public service focus, Craig and his team knew they needed more than a traditional technical support vendor—they needed a trusted extension of the NERIS team. The ideal partner would not only provide responsive, high-quality support, but also:

• Understand the NERIS user base and the unique nature of incoming IT support requests
• Communicate effectively with first responders in a way that is clear, respectful, and aligned with the mission
• Operate as a true extension of the internal team—sharing their commitment to public service

After an extensive selection process, Navisite emerged as the clear choice, officially joining to provide support for the NERIS project in late 2024.

Service Desk, Elevated with a Human Touch

Navisite hit the ground running, implementing its fully managed, cutting-edge Service Desk Services, leveraging JIRA for day-to-day support operations and integrating with ServiceNow for advanced reporting and metrics tracking. The company quickly became an integrated extension of the NERIS team—taking on responsibility for IT ticket resolution and frontline user support.

According to Craig, Navisite brings a powerful combination of technical expertise and a personal, mission-aware approach to every interaction, delivering an experience that resonates deeply with U.S. firefighters and emergency responders, driving high user satisfaction and trust.

“The Navisite team took the time to understand the United States Fire Service, which has been important for our users,” said Craig. “Their staff are the first point of contact for support, and their ability to resolve issues quickly and effectively—while keeping interactions personal—has helped us build trust with our users. They’ve become a reliable partner in supporting the fire service community.

Support with Intention

With Navisite at the helm of daily support operations, NERIS has scaled rapidly—onboarding 2,000 fire departments in April 2025 alone, with another 5,000 on track for June. Despite the rapid expansion, the team maintains a 4.9 out of 5.0 satisfaction rating—a testament to their responsiveness, empathy, and commitment to quality.

 “Their support team works in step with our users,” Craig said. “They deliver help that’s fast, on point, and thoughtful.” 

In addition to delivering a positive user experience, Navisite has helped free Craig and his team from the burden of daily support requests—allowing them to focus on what matters most: innovation and serving the broader fire service community.

Your Help Desk, Transformed

Navisite’s impact on NERIS is proof of what’s possible when technical expertise meets mission-driven support.Leveraging tools like JIRA for support management and ServiceNow for robust reporting, Navisite delivers world-class help desk services that don’t just solve problems – they build trust, strengthen organizations, and empower the people who depend on them. 

Let us help you reimagine your help desk. Partner with Navisite to deliver faster resolutions, better user experiences, and scalable support that’s built to last.

Contact us today to get started.