Executive Summary
When the WILM Consortium’s existing help desk system approached end of life, the organization faced an urgent need to transition to a new platform while ensuring continuity of support services across three Wisconsin technical colleges.
With less than two weeks to plan, execute, and deploy the replacement solution, Smart IS Consultant Hamid Malik led the WILM Help Desk migration project. The initiative included preserving historical ticket data, developing searchable access to legacy support information through SharePoint and Power BI, implementing a new help desk platform, training support personnel, and managing communication and change activities across the consortium.
Despite the compressed timeline, the new Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk platform successfully went live on July 30, 2026, one day ahead of schedule. The project was completed with minimal disruption to users while maintaining access to historical support information and ensuring continuity of operations.
The successful transition earned recognition from Bradley Russell, Chair of the WILM Board and Vice President of Information Technology, Facilities and Safety & Security at Mid-State Technical College.
About the WILM Consortium
The WILM Consortium is a shared-services partnership among three Wisconsin technical colleges:
- Northwood Technical College (formerly Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College)
- Lakeshore College
- Mid-State Technical College
The WILM Board consists of leaders from the three member institutions and oversees the consortium’s shared technology environment.
WILM operates as a collaborative IT and administrative services organization that manages and supports shared enterprise systems, infrastructure, and technology initiatives for its member colleges.
Key responsibilities include:
- PeopleSoft enterprise applications (HCM, Financials, and Campus Solutions)
- Business intelligence and reporting
- System administration and lifecycle management
- Cybersecurity and regulatory compliance
- Data management and governance
- Infrastructure, disaster recovery, and business continuity
- Process automation and system integrations
The Challenge
WILM’s existing HappyFox help desk system was approaching end of life, creating an urgent need for a replacement platform. However, the initiative involved more than deploying a new help desk application.
The organization needed to maintain access to years of support information, ensure continuity of support services, and transition users across all three colleges to a new support platform within an extremely limited timeframe.
With less than two weeks available, the project required:
- Preserving historical data from the legacy HappyFox environment
- Making historical ticket information searchable and accessible
- Evaluating and validating a replacement help desk platform
- Configuring and deploying the new solution
- Training support personnel
- Managing communication and rollout activities across three colleges
- Maintaining support for PeopleSoft, Cognos, and Perceptive Content users throughout the transition
The timeline demanded rapid decision-making, effective stakeholder coordination, and disciplined project execution.
Smart IS Systems Thinking
Smart IS Consultant Hamid Malik served as the overall project lead and was responsible for the end-to-end planning, execution, and successful delivery of the WILM Help Desk migration project.
While several replacement solutions were considered, Spiceworks emerged as the preferred option based on functionality and cost. Hamid led the evaluation process, migration strategy, historical data preservation approach, and overall implementation oversight.
A key objective was ensuring that years of support knowledge remained available after the transition while enabling the organization to transform its help desk platform.
Preserving Historical Data
Historical ticket information was extracted from HappyFox using APIs and preserved for ongoing access.
To ensure the WILM team could continue utilizing legacy support information, Power BI dashboards and reports were developed alongside SharePoint-based access to historical ticket records. This approach enabled users to search and reference previous support information after the migration was completed.
Evaluating and Implementing the New Platform
Following the evaluation process, Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk was selected as the replacement platform.
After validating the solution, Hamid provided overall implementation direction and oversight, ensuring the platform aligned with operational requirements and project objectives.
Technical configuration, documentation, and training activities were carried out by members of the infrastructure team under project leadership and governance controls established for the initiative.
Project Leadership and Governance
As project lead, Hamid was responsible for:
- Overall project leadership and accountability
- Solution evaluation and selection oversight
- HappyFox data extraction and migration strategy
- API-based historical data preservation
- Development of searchable Power BI dashboards and reports
- Creation of SharePoint-based access to legacy support information
- Oversight of Spiceworks implementation and configuration
- Daily project reviews, mentoring, and quality assurance
- Stakeholder communication and change management
- Coordination of documentation, training, and production deployment
Daily working sessions, implementation reviews, and ongoing decision-making support helped ensure the project remained aligned with business and operational requirements throughout the transition.
Supporting Business Continuity
The migration maintained support for PeopleSoft, Cognos, and Perceptive Content users throughout the transition from HappyFox to Spiceworks.
This approach enabled WILM to transforming its help desk environment while maintaining access to historical support information and supporting uninterrupted operations.
Successful Go-Live — D-Day -1
The new WILM Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk system successfully went live on July 30, 2026.
Users were provided with a new support email address and web portal through which they could:
- Submit support tickets
- Track ticket status
- View updates and responses
- Access ticket history
The previous HappyFox support email address was retired, and users were directed to the new Spiceworks support channels.
Most importantly, the migration was completed one day ahead of schedule while maintaining continuity of support operations.
Business Impact
The successful migration enabled WILM to:
- Transition from its legacy HappyFox help desk platform
- Preserve years of historical support data
- Maintain access to legacy support information through Power BI and SharePoint
- Deploy Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk as the new support platform
- Provide users with a new support portal and email channel
- Train and prepare support personnel for ongoing operations
- Roll out the new solution across three Wisconsin technical colleges
- Maintain support services for PeopleSoft, Cognos, and Perceptive Content users throughout the transition
- Complete the migration one day ahead of schedule
- Minimize disruption during a highly compressed technology transition
- Reduce ongoing licensing costs
Client Recognition
The successful project earned recognition from Bradley Russell, Chair of the WILM Board and Vice President of Information Technology, Facilities and Safety & Security at Mid-State Technical College.
Bradley Russell wrote:
“I had the pleasure of working with Hamid during a critical transition of WILM’s helpdesk ticketing system. When our existing solution was coming to an end, Hamid stepped up and successfully migrated the helpdesk to a new platform in less than two weeks.”
He also recognized Hamid’s ability to rapidly assess requirements, implement the new solution, and maintain momentum under a demanding timeline, noting the project’s successful execution.
He concluded:
“A job well done, Hamid. I highly recommend him to any organization looking for a capable and dependable IT professional.”
Why Smart IS
At Smart IS, we help organizations navigate complex technology transitions with confidence.
Our consultants combine technical expertise with a practical, business-focused approach to support system migrations, technology modernization, enterprise platforms, and critical IT initiatives.
Whether the challenge involves a legacy system reaching end of life, a compressed deployment timeline, or the need to preserve critical business data during a transition, Smart IS works closely with clients to deliver solutions that minimize risk, maintain business continuity, and support long-term operational success.
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Contact Smart IS to learn how our consultants can help your organization navigate complex technology transitions, modernize critical systems, and deliver successful outcomes under demanding timelines.
