Ivanti Neurons Go-Live

In advance of go-live on 25th March 2026, the Service Operations team recently brought together teams from across Technology and Transformation (TT). The event showcased the Ivanti Neurons for IT Service Management upgrade, and the launch of the new National Service Desk front page and advanced user interface. This TT collaborative event highlighted the scale of work undertaken, the innovative solutions developed, and the collective effort required to deliver a modern, resilient, and user-friendly platform that supports 24/7 healthcare operations.

This transition represents far more than a system upgrade - it signals a strategic shift toward a modern, resilient, and intelligent service management environment that will support our organisation today and in the future.

James Lee, Head of Service Operations, opened the event by welcoming everyone and invited members of the Senior Management Team to say a few words. Helen Coughlan, Chief Technology Officer, thanked the team for the opportunity to contribute and praised the HSE National Service Desk and Service Operations for its consistently high-quality support, which plays a key role in shaping IT's reputation.

Helen highlighted major improvements in service delivery, including better-aligned processes, self-service options, and the Ivanti platform. She described the move to Ivanti Neurons as a significant step forward, providing a modern, resilient foundation for future service desk delivery and digital care. The teams were commended for their collaboration and resilience in reaching go-live.

Darach Glennon, Director of Customer Service Experience, highlighted the critical importance of this programme in maintaining a resilient, always-on health service. While often behind the scenes, the work underpins major digital initiatives including EHR implementations, and ensures the HSE can operate 24/7. The department's strong performance and staff engagement demonstrate that TT is well positioned to support HSE's strategic goals in the years ahead.

Neal Mullen, Chief Information Security Officer, reflected on the past 18 months, during which a robust cyber security and incident response capability was developed in partnership with Service Operations. Through live incidents and over 35 cyber simulations nationwide, this collaboration has built confidence, trust, and predictable outcomes. The next phase focuses on resilience: recovery, forensics, and continuity across all stages of a cyber incident.

Welcome and Agenda

James Lee opened the session by walking through the journey to date, including why the project was initiated, the scale of the transformation, and where it has brought us. He outlined opportunities for improved queue management, support for six new organisations, alignment with new regional structures, planning for a future 24x7x365 service model, endpoint modernisation, communications and training plans, and what the first few weeks post go-live would look like. His message was clear: stabilisation and collaboration are critical to early success.

History and Influencers

James also reflected on over 25 years of service desk evolution, from Royalblue, to Touchpaper, to LANDesk, later rebranded as Ivanti Service Desk. He referenced the May 2021 cyberattack as a defining moment, reinforcing the importance of resilience and cloud adoption. With the on-premise solution no longer under development, the organisation explored upgrading to Ivanti Neurons for ITSM, offering automation, enhanced reporting, self-service, and a resilient SaaS model.

Scale of the Project

Keith Riordan, Project and Technical Lead, outlined the technical depth and complexity of the transformation. Key challenges included migration to a structurally different database and application, transition from on-premise infrastructure to SaaS cloud, loss of familiarisation with the legacy system, and a big bang approach integrating Incident, Service Request, Problem, Knowledge and Change modules. Unlike the 2018 migration, which impacted analyst staff only, this transformation affected the wider organisation due to deep module integrations and the dependency of the Service Reporting function.

Where Has the Project Brought Us?

Tim Murray, National Service Request Manager and Project Lead, reflected on the outcomes of the programme and what the transformation means for service delivery. He positioned the project as a shift from maintaining legacy processes to enabling intelligent, proactive service management aligned with the organisation's TT strategy. Tim also framed the project within the broader Digital for Care agenda, highlighting the scale and collaborative effort, with involvement from approximately 40 different teams including HSE, CSE, TO, CISO, and external partners.

Endpoint Modernisation

Kieran Herron, Head of End User Technology, connected the ITSM transformation to broader endpoint modernisation efforts. The new platform integrates with device management and automation strategies, ensuring that service management supports modern workplace technologies effectively. He emphasised the opportunities created by Ivanti Neurons for ITSM to integrate previously siloed systems, including device lifecycle management, security, applications, and user provisioning. Integration with tools like Microsoft Intune allows analysts to remotely manage devices, automate issue resolution, and improve operational efficiency.

Teams and Services in 2026

Paul Moore, National Service Desk Manager, outlined how teams and services will operate in 2026, aligning new structures, regional models, and service lines to the enhanced capabilities of the new ITSM platform. He emphasised operational readiness, consistency of service delivery, and adapting to support six new organisations within the evolving structure.

Communication Plan

Valerie Lyons, Service Request Manager, outlined the communication strategy supporting go-live. This included awareness campaigns, stakeholder engagement, structured updates, user guidance materials, and promotion of the new Self Service landing page. Clear communication, she emphasised, is essential to adoption and stabilisation.

Training

Gary Murphy, NSD Training and Quality Team Leader, detailed the training programme to be delivered ahead of go-live. This included demonstrations of ticket creation, assignment, updating and closure, an overview of self-service capabilities, role-based training materials, and support documentation. The objective was to ensure confidence and capability, targeting 120,000 users and 850 system analysts.

Post Go-Live Support

Keith Riordan closed by outlining the stabilisation model, which included a dedicated Ivanti support technician onsite for the first 24 hours, upgraded premium vendor support including 24/7 coverage, continued BAU support from the Application Support team, and a clearly defined RACI structure. These measures are designed to ensure a smooth transition and rapid resolution of any early issues.

Conclusion

The go-live of Ivanti Neurons for ITSM marks a defining moment in our service transformation journey. It strengthens resilience, enhances automation, enables real-time insights, and prepares us for 24x7x365 service delivery. The event showcased immense collaboration across Technology and Transformation teams and external partners, delivering a modern, resilient, and user-friendly platform while laying the foundation for ongoing digital transformation across the HSE.

Together, we are building a modern, intelligent, and future-ready service management capability.

Follow-Up: Ivanti Neurons Go-Live Success - March 25th

Following the successful launch of Ivanti Neurons for ITSM, we are delighted to confirm that the system went live as planned at 8:00am on March 25th, marking a significant milestone in our service transformation journey.

The transition to the new platform was executed smoothly, reflecting the extensive preparation, collaboration, and dedication of teams across Service Operations, Technology and Transformation, and our delivery partners. Early indications show strong system stability, with core services operating as expected and users actively engaging with the enhanced interface and self-service capabilities.

This successful go-live is a testament to the collective effort behind the programme, from technical implementation and data migration to communications, training, and operational readiness. The “big bang” approach, while ambitious, has positioned the organisation to immediately benefit from integrated workflows, improved visibility, and modern service management practices.

In the days following go-live, the focus has remained firmly on stabilisation and support. With enhanced vendor coverage, on-site expertise, and dedicated internal support structures in place, any early issues have been addressed quickly and effectively. Feedback from users and analysts has been encouraging, particularly around usability improvements and the potential for automation.

This achievement represents more than a successful system launch - it demonstrates our readiness to operate within a modern, resilient, and intelligent service environment. It also reinforces our ability to deliver large-scale transformation initiatives that directly support 24×7 healthcare operations.

As we move forward, attention will turn to optimisation, adoption, and continuous improvement - ensuring we fully realise the benefits of the platform and continue to enhance service delivery across the organisation.

Thank you once again to everyone involved in making this a success. This milestone reflects what can be achieved through strong collaboration, shared purpose, and a commitment to excellence.