Supporting Alt HAN Co in optimising Service Management
Alt HAN Co (Alternative Home Area Network Company) is a not-for-profit company established in 2016, jointly owned by GB Energy Suppliers. It was formed to deliver an industry-wide solution ensuring all premises—including hard-to-reach homes and apartment blocks —can benefit from smart metering. Its mission focuses on overcoming connectivity challenges in approximately 5% of GB properties where standard smart meter communications are insufficient. This is achieved by deploying range-extending technologies, such as powerline networking, to enable reliable data transmission for accurate billing and energy management. To strengthen its internal operations and enhance its service management capabilities, Alt HAN Co sought a strategic partner to optimize its Atlassian environment, specifically focusing on Jira Service Management. This case study shares the challenges they faced, the solutions we built together, and the impact of our collaboration.
The challenge: enhancing Service Management and optimising Jira for evolving needs
Before we started working together, Alt HAN Co had already been using Jira, but the setup was built internally and hadn’t kept pace with their growing needs. As their projects became more complex and business-critical, it became clear they needed expert help to bring structure and consistency to how Jira was used across the team.
Glyn Merritt, IT Manager at Alt HAN Co, explained:
“Our Jira setup was originally put together by someone with real enthusiasm, but not specialist expertise. When they left, it created a gap that needed a more structured, scalable approach.”
They knew they didn’t just want someone to come in and take over. As Carl Musson from the tech team put it:
“We needed someone to help us—not just do the work for us, but to come in and provide hands-on guidance.”
They were looking for a partner who could bring best practices, guide their team, and help them build the skills and confidence to manage Jira themselves. What mattered most was a collaborative approach that would grow their internal capabilities alongside the platform itself.
The solution: a partnership built on expertise and collaboration
Alt HAN Co discovered us (then Clearvision) through online research and positive reviews. We took a hands-on, collaborative approach from the start, beginning with a full review of their existing Jira setup and sharing clear, tailored recommendations. Eficode's approach focused on understanding Alt HAN Co's specific needs and providing continuous, hands-on support.
- Since March 2023, Alt HAN Co has been one of our Total Support (TS) customers. Through this premium support package, we’ve helped them build out a complete internal service management solution. It now covers everything from IT support and compliance to key internal processes like traveling with business equipment.
As part of this work, we helped Alt HAN Co define and build a service catalog tailored to their business needs. This now covers a wide range of internal processes, including:
- Joiners, movers, and leavers management
- Gift and event invite tracking with approval workflows
- Travel requests involving company assets
- Office maintenance and support
- Purchase and procurement with built-in approval stages
- Compliance assurance and audit findings
- Display screen equipment assessments
- Recruitment, sabbaticals, and training requests
- Reporting of accidents, near misses, and IT incidents
This structure has helped standardize how requests are submitted and handled, improving visibility, accountability, and consistency across the business.
The Alt HAN Co team has consistently highlighted the value of our support:
"We’ve been working with Eficode to support our use of Jira, and their input has been dependable. They’ve helped us address platform issues, set up new Jira projects, and provided training that’s relevant to our needs. Overall, it’s been a constructive working relationship"
A big part of this success is our close working relationship with their team, especially with our consultant, Steve Hawes.
One particular challenge was that Alt HAN Co’s Jira Service Management plan didn’t include Atlassian Assets, which are only available on the Premium tier. That meant we had to find creative ways to meet asset-related use cases, without access to the built-in asset management features.
Steve worked closely with the team to design custom fields, issue linking, and workflow logic that mimicked asset tracking within the limits of the Standard plan. Using these inventive techniques, we were able to support use cases like equipment tracking for travel, approval workflows, and compliance audits—all without needing to upgrade licenses.
This creative approach meant Alt HAN Co could meet its goals efficiently while staying on a cost-effective plan.
"The Team at Alt HAN Co are fantastic to work with, and due to our strong and positive working relationship, we have been able to openly discuss many industry-specific compliance rules and regulations and then spend time working together to agree and implement a “To specification” delivery approach.
Over the years, it has been a genuine pleasure and a rich experience working with Alt HAN Co, tackling various challenges and use case requirements. Our initial collaboration focused on implementing Quality Assurance and integrating it with Jira Service Management. Subsequently, we established Alt HAN Co's Internal Service Project, which provides comprehensive support to employees across Incident, Change, Service Request, and Problem Management practices.
The Service Catalogue for this project facilitates the submission and handling of requests such as reporting service and hardware incidents, and reporting accidents and near misses to the Secretariat team. External visitor management, both on and off-site, is also managed through the project. This includes daily notifications to reception about expected external visitors for the following day, with their personal details subsequently removed from the system at a pre-agreed schedule to ensure data compliance.”
Steve Hawes - Eficode consultant
They’ve told us they value not just our technical expertise but also how we listen, adapt, and work with them. That collaborative spirit has helped build a strong, trusted relationship and has made a real difference in how their systems evolve.
The impact: enhanced operational efficiency and strategic growth
Working together has transformed the way Alt HAN Co runs its internal services. Since our partnership began, they’ve seen real improvements in how efficiently their teams operate and manage service delivery.
Glyn and Carl have shared how different their Jira environment feels today—more structured, more capable, and better aligned with how their business works.
One of the most significant shifts has been a sense of shared ownership. Instead of just receiving support, Alt HAN Co feels like they’re growing alongside us:
"They [Eficode] don't feel like an external company, but more like a team within Alt HAN Co that is extremely accessible and want to help move us forward."
That close collaboration has led to some big wins:
- Smarter Jira management – With more structure and visibility, their Jira setup now supports a more professional and scalable way of working.
- Proactive support – We help them stay ahead of issues with regular monitoring and reports that highlight areas for improvement.
- Flexible licensing – With our help, they moved to a monthly cloud model, so they only pay for what they use and can scale up or down as needed.
And they’re not stopping there.
Next, Alt HAN Co is planning to expand its use of Confluence to create self-service guides for customers. It’s also exploring new Jira features, including AI-powered tools, to automate processes and increase efficiency even further.
Conclusion
Our work with Alt HAN Co shows what’s possible when you combine technical know-how with a genuinely collaborative approach. Together, we’ve improved how their teams work, streamlined their Jira setup, and built the foundation for long-term service success.
By focusing on their real needs and supporting them every step of the way, we’ve helped Alt HAN Co feel more in control of their tools and more confident in what’s next. In doing so, we’ve supported their broader mission: helping every household in GB benefit from smart meters.
We’re proud of the journey so far and even prouder that Alt HAN Co chose to share its story through this case study.
