Private education leader ADvTECH harnesses Analytics to ace proactive service management with Freshservice

Please click here to read the original article at Freshworks.com


Transformation Highlights:

  • Africa’s largest private education provider, ADvTECH was previously using a service desk with limitations, so they sought a customizable solution that could seamlessly expand into their various teams and brands to ensure excellent service delivery to their tens of thousands of school and university students in South Africa and the rest of Africa. 
  • The search for a new solution began and ended with Freshdesk for ADvTECH’s students and parents and Freshservice for their employees.
  • With Freshservice, ADvTECH found an easy-to-use, one-stop ITSM solution that allowed all their teams to work together. 
  • They use Analytics extensively to get insights across key performance metrics, which then helps them make data-backed business decisions.
  • Workflow Automator, Self-Service Portal, Ticket Forms, and Change Management are some of the Freshservice features that have proved extremely pivotal for the group.


About ADvTECH Group

ADvTECH Group leads the private sector in Africa in school and tertiary education and resourcing, contributing meaningfully towards sustainable human capacity development in South Africa by providing the highest quality education, training, skills development, and career placement services.

The ADvTECH Group has a tertiary education division, a schools division, and a properties division. They also have a centralized support office, their head office in Sandton, where the IT team, Group Shared Services (centralized finance team for schools), and the Properties team also sit. 

In April 2022, ADvTECH embarked on finding an easy-to-use and customizable one-stop solution service desk that teams across functionalities, brands, and divisions could use. We spoke to the ICT Manager of the Service Desk at ADvTECH to understand how they chose Freshservice to empower digital transformation across the organization.


Moving to a scalable service desk for a fast-growing organization

The IT team at ADvTECH Group was using a different service desk earlier. As the organization grew, they wanted to find a scalable tool that helped collaborate with context. 

ADvTECH also felt they needed an easily configurable and customizable solution that did not require coding knowledge. They were looking to extend this solution across different brands and departments. They wanted to seamlessly move tickets between departments, configure metrics and filters, and derive meaningful insights. 

ADvTECH was looking to expand the scope of offerings of a service desk and extend it to all teams in schools, tertiary institutions, and administrative offices. They also wanted deeper visibility into their organization, so they decided to move forward with Freshservice.


Freshservice’s easy-to-use UI and no-code interface

Moving to Freshservice was an administrative game-changer for ADvTECH. They found a tool that could be used by anyone and across departments. They had already used Freshdesk for a few years, primarily as a customer-facing tool for parents and students. With Freshservice coming in, ADvTECH’s employee experience was positively impacted. Freshservice is now used by their centralized support office to support all their employees.


Leveraging in-depth Analytics to make better business decisions


“As soon as I got involved in Freshdesk, I started looking at the data and building insights with Analytics. And to be honest with you, when I started understanding Freshdesk Analytics, I didn't even bother looking at the other solutions we were planning to look at. We knew we wanted Freshservice.”

ICT Manager of the Service Desk


One of the primary reasons ADvTECH started using Freshservice was how much value they saw in Analytics while using Freshdesk. Insights from Analytics have been game-changing for ADvTECH as they improved agent performance across response and resolution time SLAs.

They have a very systematic approach to tracking performance by creating curated reports for each of their individual tertiary entities. They were further able to drill down data based on tickets raised by each student, ensuring they address students with maximum open tickets and improve their user experience. They also created different reports to track agent performance and incentivize them based on parameters like the highest number of tickets handled and best resolution times. These improvements ensured and will continue to ensure a greater customer experience for students, enabling them to focus even more on their core aim of excellence in education rather than administrative logistics.

ADvTECH has also used Analytics to understand various pain points and improve efficiency across the organization. They created reports for senior management to understand what tickets get logged from their campuses to the centralized support office. After analyzing the results, they made changes like expanding their support teams, upskilling them, and also increasing the limit of tickets handled per agent from 10 to 100. All these initiatives helped them improve their business efficiency and provide a delightful experience to their customers and employees.


Managing high ticket volumes with bucketing, Canned Responses, and Knowledge-base articles

Twice every year, the support office teams at ADvTECH go through their busiest times, once during registration and then during graduation. To tackle this, ADvTECH created a Student Information System (SIS) registration dashboard with various customized widgets to bring granular data into the platform. This helped them better classify tickets into buckets and make resolution more efficient. This bucket view gives them clearer visibility of the main problem areas and allows them to take suitable action.

Along with bucketing, ADvTECH also uses canned responses and solution articles to reduce the workload for their agents. For instance, if an agent needs to help a student change an incorrect date of birth on their registration form, all the agent needs to do is log a ticket. The rep at the support office will connect with them and send them a solution article to help the student in under 30 minutes.


Extending Freshservice experience with Freshworks Marketplace

The ADvTECH team uses a host of apps from Freshworks Marketplace that allows them to drive key integrations with Freshservice and do more with it. Azure Active Directory Provisioning (SCIM) is an integration that helps drive agent productivity through access management.


Tapping into key Freshservice features

The ADvTECH Group pointed out four pivotal benefits they saw with using Freshservice features

  • Better automation and smart workflows: Automation is at the core of ADvTECH’s move to Freshservice. When they made the switch, they worked to mandate automation across as many business processes as possible. The Workflow Automator has been very helpful in simplifying and eliminating the physical need for managing tickets by agents. ADvTECH also uses automation for routing specific tickets to certain agents and to populate a category/subcategory on the agent’s side. ADvTECH has improved its process efficiency and service agility by automating repetitive tasks with powerful workflow automation. 
  • Unified support across teams via the Self-service Portal: ADvTECH has implemented the portal directly for several support teams without having to create separate email addresses for them. This has helped them provide a one-stop shop for all their employees to avail support services from multiple teams. The tickets raised via the portal are all logged using customized forms, which ensures clean data entry for each workstream. The use of the support portal has greatly reduced resolution times across teams. 
  • Efficient data collection with customizable ticket forms: The organization uses forms to capture accurate information from users raising tickets. Earlier, when the teams at ADvTECH relied on email, none of the essential information would get captured, and it would waste a lot of time. Freshservice’s ticket forms have customizable fields and can be modified as needed. ADvTECH has modified these form templates to suit each department and function, which ensures that only relevant information is captured for various tasks. Using ticket logging forms, they have provided their business with important insights and captured in-depth information from users. They get access to 90% of the required information to resolve a ticket more efficiently and within SLA.
  • Automated approvals via Change Management: ADvTECH has optimized its systems and processes using Freshservice – from notifications to track change requests to monitoring and reporting. ADvTECH uses intelligent workflows that facilitate ticket routing based on system, priority, and category. For instance, if a change request comes in that needs approvals, a notification will go out to the relevant agents, and once the approvals have come in, the change will automatically be facilitated, concluding the change lifecycle. Within ADvTECH’s IT division, many departments have access to change control, such as the Security team, the Cyber Security team, the Desktop team, the Enterprise team, the Data Enterprise team, and the SIS team.


Looking ahead

ADvTECH is investigating the possibility of more applications for bots to lessen the workload on agents by focusing on deflecting most tickets. They are also keen to further seamlessly tie Freshdesk and Freshservice together to optimize their efficiencies and create a unified system. Their long-term vision is to expand Freshdesk and Freshservice to smaller teams within each individual brand under the ADvTECH Group.


“What I love most about Freshservice is that it’s customizable and very user-friendly. We have been able to expand our service desk across colleges and different teams across the group. It’s a tool that can be used by anybody.”


ADvTECH ICT Manager: Service Desk


Advtech Updates

Advtech at the Reggio Emilia Conference: Learning Where an Inspiring Global Philosophy Meets Classroom Practice

By Tamara Thomas • April 28, 2026
In April, Advtech was represented at the Reggio Emilia International Conference in Italy, represented alongside delegates from 47 countries and more than 360 participants from across the globe. This gathering offered a powerful opportunity to engage deeply with the Reggio Emilia philosophy at its source and to reflect on its relevance and resonance within Advtech schools. The Reggio Emilia approach, particularly within the Early Years (infant, toddler, preschool, and primary phases), is grounded in the belief that children are capable, curious, and rich in potential. It offers inclusive learning environments that support students’ wellbeing, encourage meaningful social interaction, and foster a strong sense of belonging. Central to this approach is a shared responsibility to the community, one that embraces diversity, promotes collaboration, and nourishes a creative culture for teaching and learning. At the heart of the Reggio Emilia approach lies the understanding that education is not self-sufficient. Learning does not happen in isolation; it emerges through resources, experiences, theories, dialogue, and relationships. Children do not learn by themselves, but through interaction with others and through engagement with thoughtfully designed environments. As a result, classroom spaces are intentionally equipped to reflect what is being taught, ensuring that the environment itself becomes an active participant in learning, often referred to as the “third teacher.” Advtech’s Early Years approach aligns strongly with this philosophy, where the “Hundred Languages of Children” is deeply valued. This metaphor, introduced by Loris Malaguzzi, recognises that children express their thinking, understanding, and creativity in many different ways, through art, movement, speech, construction, play, and inquiry. Children are seen as natural researchers who explore ideas through encounters with peers, materials, and experiences. Through thinking, acting, listening, and questioning with curious minds, they co-construct knowledge together. Accessible, everyday materials, such as paper, natural objects, and recycled resources play an important role in these learning experiences. These materials invite creativity, exploration, and critical thinking. Students engage in practices such as observational drawing, while teachers carefully document learning through photographs, notes, and displays. Documentation makes thinking visible and honours children’s learning journeys, allowing reflection for both learners and educators. A key principle of the Reggio Emilia approach is seeing each child as an individual with rights, resulting in personalised learning being evident in every classroom. The teacher’s role shifts from instructor to guide, listener, and co-learner, creating space for each child’s voice to be heard. As Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, famously stated: “There is no learning without joy.”  Learning, therefore, should be joyful, playful, and filled with discovery. Children should experience learning as pleasurable, stimulating, and meaningful. Visiting Reggio Emilia schools demonstrated how this philosophy comes alive through rotational group teaching, flexible learning environments, and classroom spaces that change in response to children’s interests and inquiries. Importantly, learning in Reggio Emilia is a collective journey. Teachers, teaching assistants, and support staff all play an integral role in nurturing each child’s development. Even at a young age, children are encouraged to engage in research, which supports divergent thinking and honours the fact that no two learners are the same. Listening carefully to children’s ideas and theories becomes a fundamental act of respect.

Dealings in Securities by Directors, a Director of a Major Subsidiary, Prescribed Officers and the Group Company Secretary

By Tamara Thomas • April 22, 2026
Advtech Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number 1990/001119/06) Share code: ADH ISIN: ZAE000031035 (“Advtech” or “the Company”) DEALINGS IN SECURITIES BY DIRECTORS, A DIRECTOR OF A MAJOR SUBSIDIARY, PRESCRIBED OFFICERS AND THE GROUP COMPANY SECRETARY In terms of paragraphs 6.77 to 6.90 of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements (“JSE Listings Requirements”), the following transactions, in respect of which prior written approval pursuant to paragraph 6.83 of the JSE Listings Requirements have been obtained, is hereby disclosed.

Dealings in securities by the Advtech Management Share Incentive Plan 2026 (“MSI scheme”)

By Tamara Thomas • April 21, 2026
Advtech Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number 1990/001119/06) Share code: ADH ISIN: ZAE000031035 (“Advtech” or “the Company”) Dealings in securities by the Advtech Management Share Incentive Plan 2026 (“MSI scheme”) In compliance with paragraphs 6.77 – 6.90 of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements the following information is disclosed in respect of dealings in Advtech securities by the MSI Scheme:

Publication of Annual Integrated Report

By Tamara Thomas • April 21, 2026
Advtech Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number 1990/001119/06) Share code: ADH ISIN: ZAE000031035 (“the Company” or “Advtech”) PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL INTEGRATED REPORT, NO CHANGE STATEMENT, NOTICE OF VIRTUAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, AND AVAILABILITY OF B-BBEE COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE Publication of Annual Integrated Report Shareholders are advised that the Advtech 2025 Annual Integrated Report (“Integrated Report”) and the Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Report have been published today. Electronic versions of the Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 (“AFS”) and Ernst & Young Incorporated’s unqualified audit report are available on the Company’s website at: https://www.groupadvtech.com/financial-results and on the JSE Cloudlink at: https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2026/JSE/ISSE/ADH/AFSYE2025.PDF The Integrated Report and ESG Report are available on the Company’s website at www.groupadvtech.com No Change Statement The consolidated AFS contain no modifications to the financial information published on SENS on 23 March 2026. Notice of Virtual Annual General Meeting Notice is hereby given that the virtual annual general meeting (“AGM”) of shareholders of the Company will be accessible on an interactive electronic platform, in order to facilitate participation and voting by shareholders, as permitted by the JSE Limited, the provisions of the Companies Act and the Company's Memorandum of Incorporation, on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 at 10h00, to consider and, if deemed fit, to pass with or without modification all of the ordinary and special resolutions set out in the notice of AGM to be distributed to shareholders on or before 21 April 2026. To this end, the Company has retained the services of The Meeting Specialist Proprietary Limited (“TMS”) to host the AGM on an interactive electronic platform, in order to facilitate participation and voting by shareholders. Our transfer secretaries, JSE Investor Services Proprietary Limited, will act as scrutineer. Shareholders who wish to participate in and/or vote at the AGM are required to contact TMS on proxy@tmsmeetings.co.za or alternatively contact them on 081 711 4255 / 084 433 4836 / 061 440 0654 as soon as possible, but in any event no later than 10h00 on Monday, 25 May 2026.  Shareholders are strongly encouraged to submit votes by proxy before the meeting. If shareholders wish to participate in the AGM, they should instruct their Central Securities Depository Participant (CSDP) or Broker to issue them with the necessary letter of representation to participate in the AGM, in the manner stipulated in their custody agreement. These instructions must be provided to the CSDP or broker by the cut-off time and date advised by the CSDP or broker, to accommodate such requests. SALIENT DATES The record date for the purposes of determining the shareholders of the Company entitled to receive the AGM notice is Friday, 10 April 2026. The record date for purposes of determining which shareholders of the Company are entitled to attend, participate in, and to vote at the AGM is Friday, 22 May 2026. Accordingly, the last date to trade in the Company’s shares on JSE Limited in order to be eligible to attend, participate in and vote at the AGM is Tuesday, 19 May 2026. AVAILABILITY OF B-BBEE COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE In compliance with paragraph 12.7(g) and Appendix 1 to section 6 of the JSE Listing Requirements, shareholders are advised that the Company’s annual compliance certificate in terms of section 13G(2) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment Act, No 46 of 2013, is available on the Company’s website at https://www.groupadvtech.com . 21 April 2026 Johannesburg Sponsor: Bridge Capital Advisors Proprietary Limited

Education: Why Parents Should Approach It As A Long-term Investment

By Tamara Thomas • April 15, 2026
Choosing a school for your child will be one of the most complex and consequential decisions parents will ever make. When parents choose a school for their child, the decision is often shaped by immediate needs: convenience, reputation, or results in the senior years. Yet schooling is not a short-term decision. It is one of the longest and most formative investments a family will ever make, stretching over 12 to 15 years or more, from early childhood development through to Matric and further study. Darren Purdon, Head of Advtech Schools Academics, says the real value of education lies not in isolated moments of achievement, but in the intentional construction of learning over time, and that parents should approach their child’s educational journey intentionally, from start to finish. “Education depends on interconnected building blocks, each phase deliberately designed to prepare learners for the next,” he says. Parents should therefore carefully consider the elements that underpin a successful, lifelong educational journey before making this important decision. FOUNDATIONS MATTER Learning does not begin in Grade 1. It starts far earlier, in Grade 000 and Grade 00, where children develop the cognitive, social, emotional, and language skills that will underpin their entire academic journey, Purdon says. “When these early years are thoughtfully planned, children are more likely to arrive in the Foundation Phase confident, curious, and ready to learn. When they are not, gaps emerge that can widen over time. If the foundations are secure, progress accelerates, as we see in our Advtech Schools where we utilise international best practices and benchmarks to personalise early learning.” THE IMPORTANCE OF BELONGING Academic success is deeply connected to emotional safety and a sense of belonging. Children learn best when they feel comfortable at school, when they feel seen, supported and happy. And when teachers are supported, engaged, and professionally fulfilled, that sense of wellbeing naturally filters into the classroom. When students are excited about going to school, engagement increases, persistence improves and learning deepens. Social and emotional learning and supportive classroom environments with caring teachers underpin deep learning. Advtech schools include experienced psycho-social specialists to continually ensure teachers are upskilled in managing diverse classrooms. RESPONSIVE TEACHING AND TECH Effective education is not defined by what has been taught, but by what has been learned. “At Advtech schools, there is a growing shift toward instructional models that prioritise responsiveness. If learners have not grasped a concept, the expectation is not to move on regardless, but to re-teach using different strategies until understanding is achieved,” Purdon says. Additionally, technology has become a powerful enabler of this responsiveness, but not as a replacement for teachers. “AI-assisted tools, and classroom digital platforms such as Advlearn, increasingly act as classroom assistants, helping teachers identify learning gaps quickly and accurately. These tools provide insight into where students are struggling, allowing teachers to personalise support and adjust instruction accordingly.” INTENTIONAL SUBJECT PATHWAYS Consistency and coherence across subjects are another critical component of long-term value creation in education. “Take Mathematics as an example. Mathematical competence is not built in isolated units or single phases, it requires a carefully sequenced programme that develops conceptual understanding, fluency and confidence year after year,” says Purdon. “An intentional approach ensures that each phase prepares students for what follows, creating a golden thread that runs from early numeracy through to advanced problem-solving in the senior years. Gaps are far harder to close when this thread is broken.” The same principle applies across subjects: literacy, science, languages, and beyond. “Strategic curriculum alignment therefore ensures that learning compounds rather than resets each year, and parents should keep this in mind when strategising their child’s educational journey.” CHOOSING A SCHOOL WITH THE LONG VIEW For parents, the key question should not only be “Is this a good school now?”, but rather “Is this a school that understands the full journey, as well as understands where my child excels and needs support in each subject?” “Advtech Schools value long-term academic growth, student wellbeing, teacher development, and intentional curriculum design offers far more than short-term results. It offers continuity, stability, and a clear vision of success from the earliest years through to matric,” Purdon says.  “And in an education landscape that continues to evolve, the most trusted institutions are those that recognise schooling not as a series of isolated years, but as a curated journey, using regular academic data to personalise learning and shape student success for life.”

DEALINGS IN SECURITIES BY A DIRECTOR

By Tamara Thomas • April 8, 2026
Advtech Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number 1990/001119/06) Share code: ADH ISIN: ZAE000031035 (“ Advtech ” or “ the Group ”) DEALINGS IN SECURITIES BY A DIRECTOR In compliance with paragraphs 6.77 to 6.90 of the JSE Limited (“ JSE ”) Listings Requirements, the following transaction relating to dealings by a director is hereby disclosed pursuant to the provisions of the ADvTECH Management Share Incentive Scheme (“ MSIS ”). As set out in the SENS announcement published on 6 May 2025, the director had been awarded 730 459 shares in terms of his employment contract, which shares ceased to be forfeitable vested on 1 May 2025 and were subsequently committed by the director to be held in escrow for a period of 12 months towards meeting his minimum shareholding requirements in terms of the Minimum Shareholding Requirement (“ MSR ”) Policy of the Group. The director has on 8 April 2026 re-committed the aforementioned shares to be held in escrow for a further holding period of 12 months towards meeting his minimum shareholding requirements in terms of the MSR Policy of the Group.

Digital Literacy In SA Education Must Go Beyond “Computer Skills”

By Tamara Thomas • April 8, 2026
Key to increasing access to quality education

Dealings In Securities By The Advtech Management Share Incentive Plan 2026 (“MSI Scheme”)

By Tamara Thomas • March 27, 2026
Advtech Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number 1990/001119/06) Share code: ADH ISIN: ZAE000031035 (“Advtech” or “the Company”) DEALINGS IN SECURITIES BY THE ADVTECH MANAGEMENT SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN 2026 (“MSI Scheme”) In compliance with paragraphs 6.77 – 6.90 of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements the following information is disclosed in respect of dealings in Advtech securities by the MSI Scheme:

Dealings In Securities By The Advtech Management Share Incentive Plan 2026 (“MSI Scheme”)

By Tamara Thomas • March 26, 2026
ADvTECH Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number 1990/001119/06) Share code: ADH ISIN: ZAE000031035 (“ADvTECH” or “the Company”) DEALINGS IN SECURITIES BY THE ADVTECH MANAGEMENT SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN 2026 (“MSI Scheme”) In compliance with paragraphs 6.77 – 6.90 of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements the following information is disclosed in respect of dealings in ADvTECH securities by the MSI Scheme:

Advtech Posts Two Billion Rand Operating Profit

By Tamara Thomas • March 23, 2026
Double digit revenue growth and margin improvement deliver a 17% increase in earnings