Northern Beaches Council

From IT chaos to clarity: How Northern Beaches Council built modern service delivery foundations with SMS & uplifted IT + HR services.

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The Challenge

When Northern Beaches Council (NBC) was formed through the amalgamation of three legacy councils, its IT services inherited a patchwork of processes, tools, and cultures.  Staff struggled to find the services they needed, processes were heavily reliant on individuals, and the IT team often “over-serviced” requests to keep customers happy - but at a high cost and with no scalability. 

Tools were outdated and fragmented, training was informal and responsibility for improvement was left to individuals. IT services were stable but inefficient, leaving leaders with no clear plan for uplift or alignment to the council’s strategic direction.

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Why Change Now

A new CIO recognised the urgent need to fix the basics and build Service Delivery foundations capable of supporting NBC’s digital transformation strategy.


The council required:

➡️ A clear view of its IT maturity.
➡️ A roadmap for improvement aligned with strategic priorities.
➡️ A stronger way of leveraging its existing Ivanti ITSM platform.
➡️ A cultural shift to unify teams and create consistency across IT and the business.

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The Journey with SMS

Phase 1: Discovery & Strategy

Through the SMS Transformation Foundations program, we:
➡️ Conducted a current-state ITSM maturity scan (baseline 1.4–1.7).
➡️ Interviewed stakeholders, reviewed 91 existing processes and analysed Ivanti configuration.
➡️Identified inefficiencies, bottlenecks and gaps across Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Service Catalogue and Configuration.
➡️ Delivered an actionable ITSM uplift roadmap and executive presentation.

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Phase 2: ITSM Uplift & Service Catalogue

Building on the roadmap, SMS worked with NBC to:
➡️ Refresh and formalise processes across Incident, Change, Service Catalogue and Knowledge.
➡️ Uplift Ivanti configuration to reduce inefficiencies and improve adoption.
➡️  Deliver a modernised Service Catalogue and Self-Service Portal for staff.
➡️ Embed governance, RACI ownership and an improvement culture within the IT team.

Phase 3: HR & Payroll Service Delivery

With IT foundations established, NBC extended SMS’s support to HR and Payroll service delivery:
➡️ Designed case management for HR, WHS and Payroll.
➡️ Implemented a centralised HR Service Catalogue and knowledge repository.
➡️ Introduced dashboards for actionable insights.
➡️ Delivered the first phase of a HR Self-Service Portal, integrated into the same platform as IT services.

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The Results

NBC has transformed its service delivery capability:
• A clear uplift from baseline maturity (from 1.5) towards a target of 2.5 across key processes.
• Unified, repeatable processes reduced reliance on individuals.
• Staff adoption of a modern self-service experience for IT and HR.
• A cultural shift across IT, moving from firefighting to proactive service delivery.
• Enterprise alignment by extending Ivanti to HR & Payroll, delivering a single platform of record.


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“If you ever require ITSM preparedness, Kirk Penn and his team are the best in the industry. I’ve had the opportunity to work with him - and he is the best in this industry.”

Naren Gangavarapu, CIO, Northern Beaches Council

Next Steps

 NBC’s journey demonstrates how fixing the basics can create momentum for wider transformation.
➡️  If yourorganisation wants clarity, a practical roadmap and the momentum to improve service delivery, book your free clarity call with SMS today.
Visit: www.https://www.servicemanagementspecialists.com/call