The complexity of the municipal application landscape

Municipalities work with an ever-increasing number of applications. In addition to the core environment with Microsoft Entra (Active Directory), TOPdesk, and an HR system such as AFAS, employees use various domain-specific systems daily.

Examples include:

• Zaaksysteem

• Rx.Mission

• Corsa

• ValidSign

• SmartDocuments

• iNavigator

All these systems have their own accounts and authorizations. This is precisely where a challenge arises for many municipalities.

In practice, accounts in these systems are still often created and managed manually.

In practice: onboarding via tickets

When a new employee starts at a municipality, onboarding usually proceeds as follows:

1. HR enters the employee into AFAS

2. IT creates an account in Microsoft Entra / Active Directory

3. The service desk receives requests for access to applications

For example:

• access to Zaaksysteem

• access to Rx.Mission

• permissions in Corsa

• an account in ValidSign

These requests often arrive via TOPdesk tickets.

The service desk must then create an account or assign permissions in each system individually. For larger municipalities, this can involve 5 to 10 systems per employee.

Why this is becoming increasingly problematic

Manual account creation may seem manageable, but as the number of applications grows, more risks emerge:

• delays in onboarding

• incorrect authorizations

• accounts that remain active after termination of employment

• limited insight into who has access to what

For municipalities working with sensitive information – such as personal data, permit files, and enforcement data – this can lead to compliance and governance issues.

Additionally, it simply takes up a lot of the service desk’s time.

Automation of account provisioning

More and more municipalities are therefore looking into automating account management.

The starting point is simple:
HR data is the source.

When an employee is created in AFAS or changes roles, a workflow can automatically start to manage accounts and permissions.

For example:

AFAS → workflow → provisioning to:

• Microsoft Entra

• Zaaksysteem

• Rx.Mission

• Corsa

• ValidSign

This turns account management into a streamlined process instead of manual work.

Conclusion

The number of applications within municipalities continues to grow. Without automation, the number of manual actions also increases.

By automating provisioning processes between systems such as AFAS, Microsoft Entra, TOPdesk, and municipal applications, IT departments can:

• accelerate onboarding

• reduce errors

• gain better insight into authorizations

• and improve compliance.

How does this work within your municipality?

Are accounts for applications such as Zaaksysteem or Rx.Mission still created manually, or is this already done automatically from HR or identity management?

We are curious about the issues you encounter regarding account management and automation.

Why SAS does more than just importing data

The standard Intune–TOPdesk integration is a good first step: it allows you to quickly import device data from Intune into TOPdesk. This provides immediate insight into assets and prevents manual entry.

For many organizations, this forms a valuable foundation for asset management within TOPdesk.

In practice, however, requirements often grow. For example, organizations also want:

• Continuously up-to-date and validated data

• Lifecycle management (onboarding, changes, decommissioning)

• Integration with HR and identity systems

• Audit trails and compliance support

• Integration with processes such as Incident and Change

SAS: extension of the standard integration

The SAS Intune solution builds on the standard integration between Intune and TOPdesk, adding additional automation and governance.

With SAS, organizations can, among other things:

• Continuous synchronization with Intune, Entra, and HR

• Built-in validation and error handling

• Lifecycle support

• Compliance by design (ISO, NIS2, BIO)

• End-to-end process automation

The result is continuous and reliable IT administration, where asset data is not only available in TOPdesk but is also actively used in processes and governance.

Functional comparison

The standard integration provides a solid foundation.
SAS turns it into a future-proof asset and governance solution.

Curious how your organization can take the step toward structural service automation?
Let’s get in touch.

Arts en Zorg Groep automates JML with SAS

New employees who can start immediately on their first working day, without waiting for accounts or access rights?

For Arts en Zorg Groep, this has been the new reality since the implementation of the JML solution within the Qixium Service Automation Suite (SAS).

The challenge

The Joiner, Mover, Leaver (JML) process was largely manual. Different teams performed separate steps, leading to delays, susceptibility to errors, and limited insight into progress.

The requirement: one integrated, demonstrable, and efficient process with TOPdesk as the central hub.

The solution

A phased approach was chosen together with Scope4mation.

Through an integration between AFAS (HR) and TOPdesk Change Management, HR mutations are now automatically translated into activities in TOPdesk. Accounts, access, and assets are centrally managed and tracked.

Result:

• Fewer manual actions

• Better data quality

• Full insight into status and progress

• Faster employee onboarding

“We are satisfied with the collaboration and the outcome. It was possible to switch quickly and flexibly.”
— Thomas Greuter, Application Manager Arts en Zorg Groep

The impact

After phase 1, Arts en Zorg Groep is immediately seeing the benefits:

• More control over the JML process

• Higher efficiency between departments

• Reliable account and rights management

• Shorter lead times

In the coming period, the process will be further expanded, including automated asset management.

Curious about how your organization can automate JML with SAS?
Please contact us using the form below.

Managed Service Providers and their customers share one goal: stable, predictable, and efficient IT service delivery. In practice, however, they often work in separate worlds. The customer in their own ITSM tool, the MSP in their own TOPdesk environment. Without proper alignment, this inevitably leads to duplicate work, higher costs, and a loss of control.

The solution does not lie in forcing a single system, but in creating an integrated service chain, where both parties continue to work in their own ITSM tool while processes, tickets, and statuses are automatically connected.

The hidden costs of non-integrated collaboration

Many MSPs recognize this pattern:

• Tickets are manually transferred or forwarded

• Status updates are copied between systems

• SLA agreements are difficult to monitor across the chain

• Reporting requires additional consolidation

What is often less visible, but weighs at least as heavily, are the financial and administrative consequences of the ITSM licensing model.

Duplicate licenses and duplicate users

Due to the business model of many ITSM vendors, including TOPdesk, this situation quickly arises without integration:

• Customer administrators must be registered as operators in the MSP’s TOPdesk environment

• Those same individuals are also operators in the customer’s own ITSM environment

• Both environments require separate licenses

The result:

• double licensing costs

• additional user management

• increased complexity during offboarding and audits

For MSPs with multiple customers or co-managed IT models, this adds up quickly.

One chain, without duplicate accounts

In an integrated service chain, this is not necessary.

By synchronizing incidents, service requests, and changes system-to-system:

• Customers continue to work in their own TOPdesk, Ultimo, or Freshworks environment

• MSP teams work exclusively in their own TOPdesk

• Tickets are automatically created, updated, and closed

• There is no need to register users twice

Collaboration happens at the process level, not through shared accounts.

Not just TOPdesk: also Ultimo and Freshworks

This chain model is widely applicable.

• TOPdesk ↔ TOPdesk for MSPs and customers who both use TOPdesk

• TOPdesk ↔ Ultimo, including an existing connection via the TOPdesk Marketplace

• TOPdesk ↔ Freshworks, ideal for MSPs with a diverse customer portfolio

This creates one consistent service chain across IT, facility, and support, without parties having to abandon their own tooling.

Why service automation makes the difference

Integration alone is not enough. The real value arises when integration is combined with service automation:

• Automatic routing and prioritization

• Chain-wide SLA monitoring

• Standardized handling of common requests

• Automatic feedback to the customer

• Fewer handovers and fewer errors

This makes MSP service delivery scalable, without the organization growing in complexity.

Professional automation instead of managing scripts

In practice, we see that many integrations are built with custom work, scripts, and action sequences. This may seem flexible, but it carries risks:

• Scripts are dependent on specific individuals

• Maintenance requires time and specialized knowledge

• Updates in APIs or processes cause fragility

• Compliance and logging are difficult to ensure consistently

With Qixium iPaaS for Cloud Integrations and Service Automation, MSPs choose a different approach: professional engineering instead of constant manual tinkering.

Qixium offers:

• standardized, reusable integrations

• configurable process logic without scripting

• central logging, monitoring, and error handling

• scalability without technical customization

The result: lower management burden, more control, and a future-proof integration architecture.

What does this deliver in concrete terms?

For MSPs:

• lower licensing and management costs

• better SLA compliance

• easier scaling

• less dependency on specific employees

For customers:

• working in their own familiar ITSM tool

• full insight into status and progress

• professional collaboration without extra complexity

Conclusion

The future of managed services lies not in a single shared system, but in smart, automated chains. By connecting ITSM tools such as TOPdesk, Ultimo, and Freshworks via a professional iPaaS platform, an efficient, scalable, and cost-effective way of working is created.

No duplicate licenses. No script chaos. Instead: control, transparency, and speed.

Curious about how this looks in your situation?

Schedule a short, no-obligation appointment where we show how you can use the Qixium iPaaS platform for Cloud Integrations and Service Automation to:

• eliminate duplicate costs

• accelerate support processes

• and automate professionally without custom work

In 30 minutes, you will gain clear insight into the possibilities for your MSP and customers.