ITSM Integrations: From “Compatible” To “Interoperable”
So, you are about to elevate your service delivery by investing in a brand new or existing ITSM tool. Before jumping into your next investment, here are a few things to consider.
By Harry Newman, Technical Consultant, Marval
Just a few years ago, customer service was a straight-forward ticket management process. Help desk operatives would log tickets and work towards a quick resolution. Things were plain, simple, effortless and only related to IT, which was supporting a single, homogeneous environment.
As organizations have grown, many of their operations have become dependent on technology and the role of the IT department has also evolved. Today, most help desks have overgrown their administrative function and become dynamic service desks that represent and define the organizational culture. It’s not just about IT anymore, it’s about multiple operations and functions within the organization involving numerous systems and business applications.
ERP and logistics applications, CRM and business analytics tools, directory services, HRMS, payroll systems and an ever expanding range of peripheral, desktop and mobile devices are just a few examples of the mixed, multi-operational and more complicated environment to deal with; not to mention the probable heterogeneity of the underpinning infrastructure (networks, security systems, data centres, middleware etc.) It is obvious that the ITSM tool has to be able to support the sophisticated, extensive needs of IT operations. It has to be smoothly integrated in the IT environment, fully compatible with these systems and effectively interoperable with several business applications.
Since most organizations are looking for real value (and a quick return on investment) from their software investments, automated compatibility tests have become a common practice for software providers as a tested and proven method to evaluate and ensure their product is fully functional and operational with different environments and applications. At Marval, we run regular compatibility tests, both automated and manual, on a long list of platforms, protocols and plugins, as we want our customers to make the most of their investment in Marval MSM with a smooth and rapid integration. We pride ourselves on our ability to perform successful integrations faster than many of our competitors.
Our global team has performed numerous successful integrations with business applications; not only industry standard examples such as Active Directory and Office365 but also with less known or even in-house applications. Interoperability is one of our strengths. We know that Marval MSM can share, exchange and utilise information from a broad range of business applications; a fact that is proven by effective deployments in several industries and markets across the globe.
With many different applications and platforms broadly deployed in a modern business environment, the fact that Marval MSM is proven to be compatible, interoperable and easily integrated can yield a number of significant benefits, including:
- Lower implementation costs
- Increased functionality and reduced complexity of the IT infrastructure
- Reduced OPEX
- Increased stability and availability of the ITSM tool and other business applications
- Advancement of current investments in applications, by maximizing their use
- Faster return on investment (ROI)
Customer Service is defined by changing expectations. Help desks have become service desks. Service Management is not simply ticket management any more, but an elaborative business process that requires effective technology to deliver upon pre-agreed business and operational goals. Having established the compatibility and interoperability of their ITSM solution, organizations ensure they make the most of their investment in Service Management. It’s what we do at Marval, aiming to help our customers achieve real, consistent value from a smooth and successful integration that will provide rapid, evident results.
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