{"id":4493,"date":"2024-04-08T14:38:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T14:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teamdynamix.com\/uncategorized\/considerations-when-shopping-for-itsm-software\/"},"modified":"2024-07-03T16:20:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T16:20:05","slug":"considerations-when-shopping-for-itsm-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamdynamix.com\/blog\/considerations-when-shopping-for-itsm-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Considerations When Shopping for ITSM Software"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Key Drivers for Searching for a New IT Service Management (ITSM) Software Platform<\/h2>\n

So you\u2019re shopping for\u00a0ITSM software<\/a>.\u00a0Typically, if you\u2019re in the market for a new IT Service Management (ITSM) platform, one of two scenarios is usually in place \u2013 either you are currently using a very rudimentary ticketing platform that doesn\u2019t truly encompass the full scope of IT Service Management or the opposite \u2013 the platform is very cumbersome, overly complex and requires 3-8 full-time resources to administer.<\/p>\n

When looking for the right vendor, you should strive to meet somewhere in the middle \u2013 in other words, you want to find an ITSM tool that is easy to use, own and operate, yet also offers a full array of functionality. But how do you find a vendor that fits your needs?<\/p>\n

Like their colleagues at other organizations, the IT infrastructure team for\u00a0Legacy Supply Chain Services<\/a>\u00a0must wear many hats. Responsible for supporting nearly 1,000 employees across 22 locations in North America with a staff of eleven people, the team is constantly on the go.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a familiar scenario found in companies across industries. IT teams need to work efficiently to support their business. To do that, they need the right tools and processes in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur previous tool worked great, but it was very limiting when it came to scaling our IT services and growing what we wanted to do,\u201d Keyon Farrier, service desk manager, said. \u201cWe really needed an ITSM tool that was an extension of our current IT infrastructure team. We wanted a system that could be self-sufficient and really act like an added member of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farrier said they began their search for a better, more structured tool using the services of Info-Tech, a technology consulting and research firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started our search with Info-Tech looking at just change management tool to add to our existing ITSM tool at the time, then realized we also wanted to find a tool that could help us automate processes,\u201d he said. \u201cInfo-Tech provided us with some great options, so we started the vetting process and found that TeamDynamix really fit our needs \u2013 not just for change management and automation, but for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first step when embarking on an ITSM tech refresh is to truly understand what\u2019s holding you back. By doing this you can better identify ITSM\/ESM vendors that offer products with features and functionalities that can solve those pain points – whether that\u2019s the automated routing of tickets, the ability to quickly spin up an easy-to-use self-service portal, dynamic forms or integration and automation capabilities that can help you save time and get rid of redundant, manual processes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk to your help desk employees,\u201d Farrier advised\u2014the people who are on the front lines of doing the IT work. \u201cGet their input into the challenges they\u2019re facing, and then come up with a plan that can help alleviate those challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

In looking for an IT Service Management (ITSM) platform that would help the team accomplish their goals, Farrier engaged his support staff in the search process, as \u201cthey\u2019re the ones who deal with the system daily,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey might sometimes be the forgotten folks, the ones who stay behind their laptop handling tickets. Yet, they\u2019re the ones who know what it will take to make the system better.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Jay Reymond, Senior Engineer in IT from B&I Contractors<\/a>, their existing ITSM tool simply could no longer support their business\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had outgrown the IT Service Management platform we were using, and quickly realized we needed to find a new tool that could support us,\u201d he said. So, they put together their list of pain points before starting their ITSM search.<\/p>\n

Reymond and his team knew they needed an ITSM tool that could help them streamline their processes and make things more efficient for them in the long run as they continue to scale their business, but they also needed that same platform to support their immediate ITSM needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to really dig through the tools that are available and figure out which ITSM software made the most sense for our business needs,\u201d he said. B&I ended up selecting\u00a0TeamDynamix<\/a>\u00a0as the new ITSM tool for the company.<\/p>\n

Asset management<\/a>\u00a0and contract renewal tracking were two big pain points they were trying to solve in IT with the new software, Reymond said, \u201cEmployees really needed to be able to track and report on these things very quickly \u2013 this was a huge pain point for us prior to TeamDynamix. Also, making any kind of customization in our old ITSM tool was a project in and of itself \u2013 they had poor documentation, and it would take days to complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

With TeamDynamix, Reymond can make changes in minutes, \u201cIt\u2019s so simple to use, it\u2019s been a huge change in how we function \u2013 it\u2019s so quick and easy, we\u2019re making massive strides. We absolutely love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how can you find success like B&I or Legacy Supply Chain Services? Below are a few questions to consider when evaluating ITSM tools for your organization.<\/p>\n

Does It Offer a Self-Service Portal and Knowledge Base?<\/h2>\n

Having a self-service portal that is branded to your organization will allow you to offer your\u00a0end-users a central point of entry<\/a>.\u00a0For many organizations, this will encompass more than just IT. IT could be a service portal that allows end-users to come and search for help or request service in IT, Human Resources, Facilities or Marketing \u2013 in other words, full Enterprise Service Management (ESM).<\/p>\n

These are the four things to look for in an ITSM self-service portal for end-users:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Can I create a portal with my own branding?<\/strong> Can I have multiple client portals \u2013 for instance, if the HR team wants its own portal \u2013 can that be done? Or if we have multiple sites \u2013 can each site or entity have its own portal, yet funnel into a single, centralized service management platform? How easy is it to change colors, add images and arrange the widgets? The portal should allow for branding and design without requiring HTML or technical resources to code the content. It should be easy to manage across multiple departments and entities, allowing for individualized branding.<\/li>\n
  2. Does it interface with a knowledge base and offer automation?<\/strong> The self-service portal needs to offer the ability to deploy a knowledge base that can search across articles using natural language and tagging.\u00a0Finding information and having that information be relevant and accurate is key to success. If your end-users perceive the articles to be erroneous or outdated, then adoption of the self-service platform will be very difficult to promote.<\/li>\n
  3. Can you manage the content easily?\u00a0<\/strong>You should have the ability to manage publication dates and evaluate usage.\u00a0The knowledge base also needs to accommodate a feedback loop, taking comments, or even net new content, and pushing that through an iterative review process. This is called\u00a0Knowledge-Centered Service<\/a> (KCS).\u00a0The knowledge base must support this framework so that you can stay current.\u00a0If an end-user cannot resolve their issue from the portal, there needs to be an \u201ceasy button\u201d \u2013 a quick way to submit a ticket or a request and to have that route directly to the appropriate technician or departmental resource.<\/li>\n
  4. Is the portal WCAG 2.0 AA Compliant?<\/strong> Accessibility is a very important topic, and in order to adhere to strict standards, it is best to deploy an end-user portal that is already WCAG 2.0 AA compliant\u00a0out of the box<\/a>.\u00a0This means that you can create new content and present services without the additional worry that your portal is not compliant or usable. WCAG 2.0 AA compliant out-of-the-box is a critical factor, particularly if you are servicing end-users in education or the public sector.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Save Time with Integrated Asset Management<\/h2>\n

    For organizations that are seeking to improve the overall maturity of their ITSM software, it is important to look for additional functionality beyond ticketing and a knowledge base.\u00a0For instance, does it offer asset management as part of the core platform?<\/p>\n

    Think about a scenario where a technician asks, \u201cWhat version of Windows are you using?\u201d or \u201cWhat is your tag ID?\u201d and the end-user goes blank, with no response. Rather than rely on end-users for critical asset information, it\u2019s recommended that you house it in an asset management system that\u2019s fully integrated with your IT support or ticketing platform.\u00a0When a ticket comes in for a specific end-user, it will come with all of the asset details.<\/p>\n

    Does It Include Asset Discovery Services?<\/h2>\n

    Asset Discovery Services uses active scanning and\/or Windows-based agents to gather information about the assets in your network, and then relay that information to the core asset management system. The asset manager will then be able to review the results of the scan and approve the discovery process to update assets within the Assets\/CIs application.<\/p>\n

    Asset Discovery provides a simple way to integrate your asset information with ticketing, making it easy to work with assets from other areas of the system.\u00a0One platform, one view.<\/p>\n

    Does It Offer Automation and Integration?<\/h2>\n

    By using an ITSM tool that includes integration and automation, you can free up your resources by automating the everyday, mundane tasks they normally have to complete before working on bigger projects \u2013 things like system name changes, resetting passwords, or granting certain permissions to software. All of these, and more, can be automated with workflows using iPaaS with your ITSM.<\/p>\n

    By combining iPaaS (integration platform as a service) with ITSM and PPM on a single platform you can automate both complex and simple tasks, as well as connect disparate systems throughout your organization.<\/p>\n

    If you choose a codeless platform for this, you get the added benefit of anyone being able to use these tools \u2013 not just IT. By allowing lines of business to create their own workflows you can free up your IT resources to work on larger projects and eliminate the logjam when it comes to integrations within your organization.<\/p>\n

    Here are a few other ways\u00a0iPaaS with ITSM<\/a>\u00a0can help reduce IT drain on an organization:<\/p>\n