The communication infrastructure and its functioning

• Pages: 13-15

Report on the VIS 13

Looking more in details in terms of average processing time for some specific operations, the system is

performing very well:

 the average processing time for retrieval of a visa application by its number or visa-sticker number was

0.24 seconds in 2019 and 0.32 seconds in 2018  the SLA in this case is 30 s econds;

 the average processing time for alphanumeric searches was 0.78 seconds in 2019 and 0.89 seconds in

2018  the SLA is set at 30 seconds;

 the average processing time for fingerprint verification (operation performed mainly at the borders) was

1.87 seconds in 2019 and 1.46 seconds in 2018  the SLA is 3 seconds;

 the average processing time for CUD operations (create/update/delete), for exam ple, for visa

application and visa issuance, was 2.24 seconds in 2019 and 4.41 seconds in 2018  the SLA for CUD is

30 minutes.

The eu-LISA first-level support team 挑 operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week  monitors the central system,

and the traffic for each Member State connected to the VIS, carrying out analyses and assessing the business

impact of any incident. The team is the entry point for users reports of incidents or to request a service. During

the reporting period30 3 625 tickets related to the VIS, including incidents31 were registered. Based on the initial

analysis, impact, urgency and priority are defined , the relevant assistance is provided and functional and/or

managerial escalation is triggered. Following IT best practice, eu-LISA has implemented IT service management

(ITSM) processes32 to ensure quality of service and to cope better with

incidents and service requests. This is a continuous exercise to ensu re

efficient and cost-effective management of the VIS by continuously

monitoring and developing operational processes.

From October 2017, the VIS MWO started using SM9 to handle all kind of

tickets (incidents, request, problems and changes). Allowing all tickets to be

handled in one unique tool streamlined the communication and eventually

improved the performance of the technical teams significantly. Prior to this,

tickets were logged in two different tools33. In mid-2018, the VIS operation

manual was also updated. The new version included, in particular, revisions

of some procedures and communication channels.

Every year, the Agency carries out a customer satisfaction survey covering the performance of eu-LISAs

first-line s upport, incident and problem management, operational communi cation, technical assistance and

support for national activities. The participation of the VIS community was stable in 2017 and 2018, but dropped

from 80% in 2018 to 55% in 2019 34. Nevertheless, the satisfaction rat e remained very high (over 91%).

Improvements were deemed necessarily in particular for the test environment used by Member States (for the

support model, governance and communication about the periods for maintenance). The results of the survey

were analysed, lessons were learned and improvements were regularly applie d.

3. The communication infrastructure and its functioning

In accordance with Article 1(2) of Council Decision 2004/512/EC35 and the parallel provision in A rticle 2 of the

Annex to Commission Decision 2008/602/EC36, one of the three elements comprising the VIS is a

communication infrastructure between the VIS central system and the national interfaces (NI- VIS). The

30 From 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2019.

31 From the total incidents during the 24-month of the reporting period, 0.5% in cidents were classified as critical.

32 ITSM processes currently implemented include: Incident management, Request Fulfilment, Problem management, Change management, Test management,

Release and Deployment management, Access management, Service Level managemen t, Service Catalogue management, Configuration managemen t. The

Agency is finalizing the implementation of Availability management, Capacity managemen t, Knowledge management and Continual Service Improvement .

33 SM9 for internal use and JIRA for communication with the contractors.

34 Data was collected in the first quarter of 2020, and the COVID crisis might have affected the response rate.

35 Council Decision of 8 June 2004 establishing the Visa Information System (VIS), OJ L 213, 15.6.2004

36 Commission Decision of 17 June 2008 laying down the physical architecture an d requirements of the national interfaces and of the communication

infrastructure between the central VIS and the national interfaces for the developmen t phase, OJ L 194, 23.7.2008.