ManageEngine announced a managed services edition of their help desk software – ServiceDesk Plus. The new release is a complete web-based integrated package, including incident and service request management, self-service portal, knowledge base, IT asset management, even purchase and contract management. The new software is available in either a Standard Edition, providing the full range of basic help desk management functions, with a knowledge base and self service portal; or Professional Edition, which includes all the features found in the Standard Edition plus complete asset management.
Managed services allow organizations outsource …

Spiceworks, the Austin-based free IT management software vendor, is making strides with the release of a new version of its software. The new version – the 17th release from the company – comes with support for larger networks (upt0 1000 computers). To put this in perspective, the previous version supported networks with fewer than 500 computers. Other key feature additions in this version include real-time SQL Server monitoring, enhanced scan scheduling, editable network maps, help desk queues and SSL support.
For the uninitiated, Spiceworks offers free IT management software that lets …

In our ITSM Consulting Practice, we regularly work with customers on the implementation of service desk tools.  One of the common misconceived requests we receive is…  “Can you implement the ITIL (name one) process in our service desk tool?”   What follows is that we need to educate the customer that you can’t implement a process in a tool; we can only implement a workflow, and documentation.  The process is larger than that.
Last week, we saw “Bridging the Gap – Part 1: Process and the …

This is interesting. I just made my post yesterday about Social Networking and the help desk and I hear about a vendor who has integrated some sort of social media into a help desk software product. In this case, ManageEngine integrated Twitter with the customer help desk software.
A little background first. When customers feel satisfied or frustrated, they generally vent out their feelings and opinions by calling support or emailing them. If they don’t get any response, they blog about their experiences. With Twitter, it just became easier. 140 characters …

What would happen if our regular help desk integrated with social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, etc. Would it be possible? Will it be useful? Will it increase the load on the help desk or reduce it? Will it help the end user or hamper him?
ITIL itself defines the help desk as a “single point of contact”. Social networking talks about collaboration – multiple points of contact. Aren’t they really paradoxical?
Let’s look at how organizations function. They have multiple end users, an IT department with a support team  …

HDI Announces the 2009 Annual Practices & Salary Report, Presents an Overall Look at the State of the IT Support Industry

HDI, the world’s largest membership association for help desk and IT service and support professionals and the premier certification body for the industry, today announced the 2009 Annual Practices & Salary Report, a comprehensive study that presents an overall look at the state of the IT support industry. The report shows that the technical support industry is working hard to maintain its commitment to the service and support of end-users …

I teach the ITIL V3 Foundations Course at least monthly, and without fail a student will ask me a question like “So… How exactly do I set up the incident management process in my help desk system?” at which point I have a discussion with the class about the difference between process and workflow.
This is part 1 of a three part series discussing how to “Bridge the Gap” between Service Desks, IT Processes, and Workflow.  In Part 1, I will describe the role IT …

AUSTIN, Texas – (Business Wire) Spiceworks™, Inc. released a new plug-in for its free social IT management software application, which enables IT professionals to automatically regulate the power consumption of networked computers. The downloadable Power Manager plug-in – developed in cooperation with Intel Corporation – is designed to link everyday network and systems management tasks with green IT initiatives. Spiceworks estimates that if half its 800,000 users worldwide deploy the new power management plug-in, they could save more than $500 million in annual electricity costs and eliminate 3 million tons …

We are closer to 2010 and the recession seems to have slowed down. But everyone is careful. Companies are still trying to keep costs low. Every expense needs to be justified. And that affects the IT department too. Technology is used to keep those costs down. The IT department needs to make the right choices in getting efficient technologies that will reduce the cost of IT.
Apart from the help desk that is implemented to keep track of requests, there are tools out there that can help the IT manager reduce …

Survey responses collected from ITSM professionals visiting the InteQ booth at the itSMF Fusion 2009 Conference indicate ‘ease of adoption’ as their most important factor when choosing a service desk solutions provider

BEDFORD, MA, November 17, 2009 – InteQ, a leading provider of SaaS and On Demand IT Service Management solutions, has released the survey results of a study conducted at the itSMF Fusion Conference in Dallas last month which polled visitors to their booth on the most important factor when considering a service desk application. Nearly 82% of …