Help Desk Software 101 : Evaluating your IT Management Software

Many factors can influence your ultimate choice. High functionality is a must, but what about cost? Is the software portable and flexible? Is it user-friendly? Are there customization options for your specific needs? How long will it take to implement? It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish irrelevant factors from truly crucial ones. These considerations can be painstaking – after all, every IT management team dreads the risk of choosing the wrong software solution. Here are some essential criteria that industry experts have gathered to help you determine whether or not your software is getting the job done.

1) Quick installation and implementation
Installing your IT management software should require minimal time and resource investment. After installation, implementation should be a quick and seamless transition into immediate use. The processes of deployment, customization, and setting configurations should take no longer than a few hours. If a program is so cumbersome that it takes months to effectively implement, you’ll have wasted valuable time and energy that could have been channeled towards meaningful productivity.

2) Simple interface that facilitates ease-of-use
All too often, your purchase of IT management software is immediately followed by a new challenge: how does the thing even work? If your software does not provide a user-friendly interface, you’ll have to invest more time and resources into learning the program’s basics. Even worse, you might miss out on important functionalities simply because you can’t figure out how they work – or can’t find them in the program to begin with. Your program should offer an interface that is so intuitive that even your less technically-inclined end-users can use it without needing a user manual.

3) Modular and integrated structure for centralized access to information
Effective IT management encompasses a wide range of components: helpdesk, asset management, monitoring, reports, projects, tasks, problem management, change management, and CMDB. Combining multiple tools can be incredibly complex, and your IT management software solution must not consist of “stand-alone” modules that isolate data into silos of information. Your software must provide a comprehensive and completely integrated range of tools. This unified approach provides centralized access to information and facilitates your success.

4) Low maintenance and upgrade costs
When evaluating the cost-efficiency of your IT management software, the price of your initial purchase is only a small component of your long-term investment. Many tend to overlook the pressing issue of hidden costs: how much is maintaining your software going to cost you? Maintenance fees can be surprisingly expensive, and if the program is complicated, you may need to hire private consultants every time you want to upgrade your system. As the effectiveness of your software depends on continued maintenance, you should have to pay no more than a small percentage of your initial purchase on an annual basis for continued maintenance.

5) Intuitive customization options
Customization extends well beyond implementation into the ongoing maintenance of your system. Choose IT management software solution that provides you with as many customization options as possible, and these customization options must be simple and straight-forward. You shouldn’t have to hire a team of consultants every time you want to make a customization. The point of customization is for the product to cater to your needs, and if the process takes longer than a few minutes to do on your own, it’s too complicated. Remember, you shouldn’t have to work for your software – it should work for you!

6) Long-term support approach
In the months and years after you purchase, your software provider should demonstrate an unwavering commitment to your satisfaction. An excellent service experience means that every issue you report is taken seriously and quickly addressed. Personal attention should be more than lip-service – it should truly be a core tenet of your product provider’s support mission. Your purchase of an IT management software solution is largely motivated to by the desire to improve your IT service quality; why shouldn’t you expect the same quality of service from the company you purchase it from?

7) IT professional community
A true enhancement to any IT management software is access to an active online community of other IT professionals. Whether it is learning how to perform a remote reboot or how you can implement ITIL best practices in your organization, online community forums give you indispensable tools for better IT management. Your participating can help you get the most out of your software’s capabilities. An IT community also lets yourself compare yourself to other IT professionals – see what they’re up to, what they’re concerned about, and where you stand. Staying in-the-know on the latest trends is crucial in the ever-dynamic world of IT.

8) Strong references
A reliable indicator of your software package’s merit is what other customers have to say about it. When evaluating your IT management solution, ask for references and testimonials. Don’t hesitate to ask for references per industry or geography if this is meaningful to your evaluation. Feedback from other IT professionals is a trustworthy reference, and it can help you reach a conclusion about what the product can do for you. If they love it, ask why. A company that boasts an especially loyal customer base is doing something right – especially when those customers are IT pros, who don’t settle for anything less than excellence.

9) Commitment to feedback
As an IT professional, you know what tools and features you need to maximize your IT performance. The company that provides your IT management software should listen to your input and strive to implement your ideas in future releases. Your constructive feedback can – and should – help forge the future of the product, and you must feel that your ideas are valued. More than just demonstrating a commitment to user satisfaction, a company that incorporates your feedback into its product guarantees to deliver the kind of performance you need.

10) Strong vision and dynamic future
IT is a world of ever-evolving innovation and technological development. When evaluating your IT management software solution, you need to ask: is this company receptive to change and improvement? What is its past, and where is it going? How many new versions does it release a year? How many features does every new version introduce? Are these features significant additions to the product’s capabilities, or are they just minor patches and bug fixes? On the support page of your product’s website, check out its release history to evaluate its direction into the future.
You shouldn’t have to settle for anything less than a superior IT management software solution. Believe it or not, you don’t have to.

SOURCE

EmailWire.Com SEO Press Release Distribution Services on "Driving IT Help Desk Efficiency with Customer-Centric Remote Support"

(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 31, 2009) Houston, TX � Remote support software helps resolve technical issues and increases customer satisfaction. Today, the global newswire with unlimited SEO press release distribution services, EmailWire.Com, recommends a white paper on remote software support titled "Driving IT Help Desk Efficiency with Customer-Centric Remote Support:" http://groupweb.tradepub.com/free/w_ctr54/.

The IT help desk is a high-stress environment � and sometimes it can feel downright chaotic. While the obvious objective is to resolve technical issues, IT help desks also battle call length, employee dissatisfaction and low morale.

IDC (News - Alert) predicts that by 2011, 73 percent of the U.S. workforce will be mobile, inevitably increasing the pressure on the IT help desk. That's why more companies are turning to Web-based, customer-centric remote support to support a burgeoning remote workforce.

About EmailWire.Com Emailwire.com� is a online press release service with experience in SEO press release distribution and newswire services. Emailwire.com� uses Web 2.0, social media networking, co-branding, viral marketing, XML, RSS, FTP feeds and E-mail alerts to distribute SEO press releases to journalists, consumers, major newswires, syndication services, vertical and social media network news websites, blogs, news sites of radio and television stations; news sites of newspapers, magazines and trade publications. The company's press release distribution efforts does not only help clients reach their target audiences, but helps companies with search engine marketing (SEM) to achieve high ranking in search engine results pages (SERP).

EmailWire.com's press releases are archived and indexed by all major search engines for SERP displays. EmailWire.Com is online �Press Release distribution service with guaranteed results.(TM).� EmailWire.Com is also offers unlimited online press release distribution services and video news releases to private and public companies; for example: small to medium size companies, non-profit organizations, OTC BB, Pink Sheets companies. These press releases are distributed and published on Business, Investment, Finance or Stock sections of online news sites where investors enter ticker symbols to look for stock performances. Some of these news sites or newswire services are CBS Money Watch, UPI, Kiplinger, The Boston Globe, Google News (Nasdaq: GOOG), Yahoo(Nasdaq: YHOO), Bing (Nasdaq: MSFT), Bank.Com, AOL (News - Alert) Newsrunner, HPCWire. OTC BB and Pink Sheets press releases are also published on investment sections of newspapers, investment trade publications, investment or stock sections of radio and television stations throughout the United States. For a complete list investment sites that carry EmailWire.Com press releases, go to http://www.emailwire.com/press_release_service_otc_pink_sheets.php/.

Emailwire.com is a global newswire and a press release service of GroupWeb Media LLC.

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We need Bloomberg Help Desk

Last week, a boy flew away in a balloon, high over the skies of Colorado. That it later turned out there was no boy in the balloon hardly mattered — for those few intense hours, offices across America were gathered around their television screens, chatting, worrying, and making jokes. But some people, finance people in particular, couldn't leave their desks. They couldn't even discuss the upsetting matter with anyone online, because chat programs are banned at most big businesses, as is personal e-mail. This is how the below situation came to pass, when a worker at Natixis Bleichroeder Capital Management, toiling away alongside his Bloomberg terminal, just couldn't stop thinking about that little boy in the balloon.

15:21:03 NBCM WORKER: HI

15:21:03 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: Thank you for using Bloomberg HELP! We have received your question, and a live representative will be with you momentarily. Thank you for your patience.

15:21:09 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: hello

15:21:51 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: how can I assist?

15:22:03 NBCM WORKER: any ideas on how we can get this kid out of the hot air balloon over colorado?

15:22:08 NBCM WORKER: b/c i am totally consumed by this

15:22:22 NBCM WORKER: and noone at my work is offering anything sensible

15:23:07 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: I wish I knew of a simple solution

15:23:25 NBCM WORKER: i mean is this helium going to slowly leeak out?

15:23:36 NBCM WORKER: or should we send the seals in with some chutes?

15:24:01 NBCM WORKER: and where are the parents in all this. im sorry to be venting. i just feel like i dont have anyone to talk to

15:24:38 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: please talk to me about it

15:24:49 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: I feel the pain.. I wonder that the kid is thinking up there

15:25:00 NBCM WORKER: this issue is bigger than just kids in hot air balloons

15:25:12 NBCM WORKER: its a lack of parenting in this country, its dispicable

15:26:25 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: Im sure the parents will never leave the kid alone

15:26:47 NBCM WORKER: i mean what did they have this balloon tied down with? 4 lbs test berkely trilene?

15:26:56 NBCM WORKER: like i have on my trout rod?

15:28:58 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: im sure we will find a lot of answers once this situation is resolved

15:29:17 NBCM WORKER: 6 year olds cannot hardly wipe their own bums let alone climb in a homemade hot air balloon and friggin set it free

15:30:12 NBCM WORKER: in other news apparently the dad was on wife swap, so now things are adding up. the dad, as if building a hot air balloon like a boyscout isnt bad enough, is a scum bag

15:31:06 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: karma

15:35:16 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: Patrick, hopefully the kid will be fine and you can get back to work. Is there anything else I can assist you with?

15:35:47 NBCM WORKER: too much to handle in 25 mins before the bell. but i thank you, kindly

15:36:15 NBCM WORKER: HEY WE GOT IT DOWN!!!!!!

15:36:24 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: NICE

15:36:55 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: thats great news, hopefully the markets will close high

15:37:00 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: thank you for using bloomberg help!

15:37:01 NBCM WORKER: exactly

15:37:03 NBCM WORKER: TY

15:37:17 NBCM WORKER: you'd make a great psychiatrist

15:37:46 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK: thank you

Full disclosure — this exchange has been bouncing around the finance world this week, and the worker in question has been touting it on his Bloomberg header. If it's not real, we don't want to know.

SOURCE

PTFS Expands their RetrievalWare Maintenance, Support and Help Desk Services

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 16 -- PTFS has recently been awarded contracts by the FDA, Air Force, and a DoD agency to provide comprehensive RetrievalWare maintenance and help desk support for user, technical, and administrative requests. In addition, PTFS is providing manufacture supplied updates and patches for RetrievalWare and specific modules.

Microsoft recently announced plans to phase out maintenance and support for many RetrievalWare users by January 2010, and for all RetrievalWare users by January 2011.

Thanks to PTFS and their 14+ years of RetrievalWare experience, customers can still obtain maintenance, support and help desk services through June 2013. PTFS's comprehensive RetrievalWare OEM Agreement provides access to Microsoft personnel for diagnostic tools and new patches, and extends RetrievalWare's useful life well after Microsoft has eliminated maintenance and support for all versions.

For Government and commercial users who want to migrate their content repositories/collections (RetrievalWare Libraries) to a newer, more efficient content management platform, PTFS provides migration services to its flagship content management and search application: ArchivalWare. PTFS has developed a seamless and transparent migration path from RetrievalWare to ArchivalWare to preserve an organization's investment in metadata records and browse hierarchies (Filerooms in RetrievalWare) and enable additional functionality and features.

ArchivalWare utilizes the RetrievalWare search engine and shares the same basic architecture including search algorithms for Boolean, concept and pattern matching, and has been successfully deployed at 75+ customer sites. ArchivalWare was initially developed to provide an intuitive and easy to use interface along with more robust administrative and security features. In response to user requests, PTFS has taken a pro-active approach by adding functionalities to ArchivalWare including:

-- Spider Web Crawling

-- Google Earth interface for geospatial content management

-- Redaction for Declassification and FOIA

-- Language Tools; over 48 different languages supported

-- Workflow Management

-- Open Source Integrated Library System

Click links for more information on PTFS and on ArchivalWare®

New IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager

ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced a new service aimed at helping businesses automate the flow of
information across IT service desk operations, resulting in faster incident
management and issue resolution, higher employee productivity and lower
operational costs.


(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )


Many large enterprises have several IT service desks to support both internal
and external organizations, sometimes spanning multiple divisions and
geographies. One service desk might handle reports of IT incidents related to
the broader IT infrastructure of a company, while another may manage specific
business applications. This IT environment often requires manual processes to
route incidents to the right organizations.


IBM is addressing this issue for users of IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager
and the IT service desk of the SAP® Solution Manager application management
solution. The new offering from IBM Software Services for Tivoli helps
customers design and implement a complete incident management strategy. As
part of the service, customers can use IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager
version 7.1 software, now SAP-certified for integration with SAP Solution
Manager 7.0 via the service desk interface scenario (SMG-SDI 4.0), to
automatically route incidents to the appropriate groups across the enterprise,
regardless of the environment in which the incident originated.


As a result, the new services can provide a quicker resolution to incidents
related to the SAP environment, improving its availability and the quality of
related business services. The services can also help companies reduce
operating costs through centralized support coordination and data
consolidation.


"Businesses are looking for new ways to improve the effectiveness of their IT
service delivery organizations and lower costs," said Al Zollar, general
manager, IBM Tivoli Software. "The use of IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager
integrated and used in combination with the service desk software from SAP can
help our joint clients respond to their customers' needs faster, eliminate
manual processes, and drive more value out of service desk data."


Customers who currently use Tivoli Service Request Manager and the IT service
desk of SAP Solution Manager can take advantage of this new service. For
example, if an incident opened in Tivoli Service Request Manager pertains to
an application in the SAP environment, all the information about the incident
will be automatically sent to the IT service desk that handles those issues in
SAP Solution Manager. The issue can be tracked and managed centrally; there
is no re-entry of data, and no manual hand-off between the groups.


"The certified integration of IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager with the IT
service desk of SAP Solution Manager is a significant step forward for our
joint customers," said Dr. Matthias Melich, vice president, Application
Lifecycle Management, SAP Active Global Support. "The integration allows
Tivoli users to also benefit from the integration of SAP Solution Manager with
SAP's support infrastructure, which in turn provides fast access to SAP's
world-class global network of support consultants. The results are tangible:
Joint SAP and IBM Tivoli customers receive higher support quality and faster
responses through the integration if problems occur."


IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager provides an integrated service desk and
catalog for a "one touch" IT experience. This integrated service desk software
unifies and automates key service support and asset management processes. This
level of integration is made possible by IBM and SAP taking a leadership role
in the development of open architectures.


The SAP Solution Manager application management solution facilitates lifecycle
support for heterogeneous SAP solutions, with functionality that covers all
key aspects of solution deployment, operation, and continuous improvement. SAP
Solution Manager combines tools, content, and direct access to SAP support
services to increase the reliability of solutions and lower total cost of
ownership.


For more than 35 years, IBM and SAP have collaborated to bring joint customers
offerings to improve business efficiency at more than 13,000 client sites for
their millions of users.


For more information, visit www.ibm.com/software/tivoli/services/consulting.


SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in
Germany and in several other countries.


All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their
respective companies.


SAP Forward-looking Statement
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project,"
"predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP
are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All
forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations The factors
that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in
SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"),
including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of their dates.


Leigh Ann Schmidt
IBM Media Relations
914-766-1362
leighanns@us.ibm.com





SOURCE IBM

Leigh Ann Schmidt of IBM Media Relations, +1-914-766-1362,
leighanns@us.ibm.com

This article is from www.reuters.com

Does a Help Desk Has a Future?

With the rapid development of service desk ‘self help’ tools and the even faster adoption of ‘community’ web sites by many users to help them work things out is the help desk on the slippery slope to becoming a thing of the past? If desktop virtualisation takes off does that mean the end of the help desk as we know it? Or are there still 1001 things that users think of doing that require a human being to help them out of a mess?

Users employing search engines and community sites to seek advice or guidance on how to fix things when they go wrong has been picked up on by a number of service desk vendors. Many are building links between them and their own systems. ‘Self-help’, especially for the ever-popular password reset request, has also now become well established in most help desk systems.

Furthermore, the virtualisation vendors are also hopeful that the increasing range of desktop virtualisation products available will help to tackle many well known challenges associated with keeping PCs operational. The hope is that rather than having to fix many of the software and configuration related problems that have bedevilled PC support for the last 20 years, the option of just reloading the user’s master desktop VDI image will solve a majority of problems at the click of a mouse.

So, will there be anything left for real people to tackle on the help desk? Oh yes.

While self help and automatic deployment options reduce today’s simple ‘fault fix’ problems, users will be able to spend more time using their business applications more effectively and efficiently. This is almost certain to lead to an increasing demand for application and process support type issues. Given that the implementation of even packaged applications varies considerably, organisation by organisation, such ‘education’ calls will be difficult for any centralised vendor support system to field. Equally, business managers will not want their more skilled ‘super users’ turning into unpaid support staff.

So the help desk will continue to do what it has always done: support users and the business processes that keep the organisation ticking over successfully. The exact nature of their tasks will change over time, but that is the way of IT, and indeed life in general. We will even wager a bet that the task of resetting user passwords will not vanish from the call log records. Many other service requests will continue to flow through the support desk even as system repair and automation become embedded in systems and eventually in the psyche of users.

Beyond this, and as acknowledged a few times by The Register readers during this workshop, we believe that the support desk can fill an important role in helping to align business with IT. The desk can act as a focal point for collecting ideas for how things might change, new service opportunities that IT can support and generally acting as a weather vane on service quality monitoring. The latter is a role that many support desks already undertake and the sophistication of such monitoring and service supervision will grow.

At the same time it is likely that the support desk will also become the main conduit for resource allocation and the charge back of resource consumption. Given such high profile roles the help desk could become not just the face of IT, but also - as we pondered here - it’s primary user communication and marketing awareness channel. Is this the way forward? Is the help desk ready to wither or set to flourish?

SOURCE

Help Desk Software Announces Integration With Microsoft SCCM and SMS

Fremont, CA - Web Help Desk, a leading provider of practical, flexible and comprehensive ITSM help desk software, announces out-of-the-box integration with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), formerly Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS). The seamless integration delivers scheduled imports of hardware and software asset discovery data from Microsoft SCCM or SMS to the Web Help Desk database, providing instant access to up-to-date SCCM asset data within the Web Help Desk browser-based interface.

This unique approach to out-of-the-box integration conserves IT budget resources by removing the need to purchase expensive, proprietary discovery modules from the help desk vendor. The availability of validated asset data directly within a service request ticket creates an efficient "one stop shop" for ITSM fulfillment.

Joel Gibby, Systems Specialist with Camas School District #117 in Camas, Washington proclaimed, "The Web Help Desk SMS integration setup couldn't be easier. We simply put in our SMS server IP, database name, username and password. The level of integration is great - if an asset discovered by SMS has a last logged on user, it will show up under that user's assets in Web Help Desk." Mr. Gibby continued, "All installed software on an asset is listed, along with IP, MAC, model number, serial number, disk and memory usage. Web Help Desk even tell you how to setup RC.EXE, so that you can launch SMS Remote Tools directly from the help desk software. I'm impressed. This level of integration really jump-started our use of the asset management features within Web Help Desk."

The inclusion of Microsoft SCCM and SMS integration into the application's feature set solidifies Web Help Desk's commitment to cross platform compatibility and vendor neutrality. Web Help Desk currently provides support for all modern web browsers, virtually any server-side operating system and most major databases. This flexibility allows organizations to maximize their existing infrastructure and provides peace of mind that any future infrastructure changes will not disrupt their Web Help Desk deployment.

"This hardware and software data is already available in your SCCM or SMS deployment. Why not make it easily accessible to your service desk tickets, where it's most needed?" explained Terry Siddall, VP at Web Help Desk. "Having this asset information within the service request ticket makes perfect sense, but buying another help desk vendor's discovery system to provide the same information you've already paid for does not."

Microsoft SCCM integration is available to on-premise licenses running on Windows Server, Mac OS X, Linux or Unix, and on Web Help Desk SaaS hosted plans as well.

SOURCE : prmac.com