23
Sat, Nov
1 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. News
  4. Cloud News
  5. Managed Services / SaaS
  6. IBM's New Cloud Offering May Help Companies Improve IT Service Desk Operations

IBM's New Cloud Offering May Help Companies Improve IT Service Desk Operations

Managed Services / SaaS
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

The idea is to let clients immediately solve their service management issues with an easy solution but no lock-in that also provides a pathway to greater enterprise IT automation down the road.

IBM today announced the availability of new online software services based on the same on-premise solutions used by clients today--now delivered as a monthly subscription offering--that enables better automation and control of IT Service Desk functions. This new service adds to IBM's software-as-a-service offerings that help automate a range of IT services critical to maintaining business operations.

Even small and mid-size companies deal with labor-intensive services for employees such as resolving IT issues, fixing laptops and onboarding new hires. Many companies struggle with slow, inefficient service request handling because at the core their networking, facilities, application support and IT assets aren't integrated and typically depend on manual updates. For example, IBM estimates that only five percent of service and support issues are resolved by self-service, making automation and integration crucial for service management.

To help meet the demand of automating IT functions, IBM Tivoli Live - service manager allows clients to start with IT Service Desk functionality, for instance, and grow into more extensive IT automation services as a company's needs change -- such as change management, asset management and other IT management areas.  

Since Tivoli Live - service manager is delivered on the IBM Cloud and based on a subscription model, the service reduces the upfront capital investment, complexity and management required by on-premise deployment. There is no need to purchase hardware, software licenses or engage in extensive software configuration. The service is based on a common platform and architecture that thousands of IBM clients use today as on-premise software. Unlike competitors, IBM offers flexible delivery options in the form of on-premise software and software-as-a-service that allows the customers to evolve from one to the other as their business needs change, or use them simultaneously in combination with one another for different IBM solutions.

"IBM gives clients the choice to rent, buy or 'mix and match' our software for automating IT," said Al Zollar, general manager, IBM Tivoli. "With today's news, IBM lets clients solve their service management issues with a quick and easy on-ramp that also provides a pathway to greater enterprise IT automation down the road -- without lock in.  This is part of IBM's overall strategy of growing our software-as-a-service initiative."

IBM's Tivoli Live - service manager provides a portfolio of automated functions for IT service management. For example, when a manager onboards a new employee, an online service catalog helps the manager set up the employee's items such as an office space, laptop, network access, email identification, etc.  If an employee inquires about a down database the service agent can quickly understand the business impact using the application topology and appropriately assign priority to the "trouble ticket." This improves response time, resource allocation and data availability.

This is IBM's second offering in the software-as-a-service Tivoli Live portfolio. Announced a year ago, Tivoli Live – monitoring service helps clients manages the health and performance of IT resources, including operating systems, virtualized servers, middleware and software. Customers can use these cloud-based, software-as-a-service offerings in combination with highly-configured on-premise deployment of other IBM software solutions, with the assurance that they work together regardless of the consumption model. Clients can also integrate both Tivoli Live services for a broader service management environment.

IBM's Tivoli Live - service manager includes this comprehensive suite of integrated services:

  • Incident and problem management: Helps automate and manage service desk operations and provide quick resolutions to requests such as laptop problems and other requests. Knowledge management capabilities takes the strategies and best practices of individuals or organizational processes to help meet business objectives such as improving performance, gaining competitive advantage, sharing lessons learned, and better integration within the company.
  • IT asset management: Manages the lifecycle of IT assets, including software and hardware such as servers, networking equipment, laptops, etc. This feature streamlines the process and improves the control of managing these assets. As a result, accountability of inventory is increased to ensure compliance and provide better performance for users. Risk is also reduced through standardization, proper documentation and loss detection.  
  • Service catalog: Provides users with a single portal for requesting standard IT and non-IT services such as requesting a new laptop, change in benefits, resetting passwords, adding or removing an employee to a department, resetting printer toner, etc. Built-in tools enable capabilities to create and publish service offerings in the portal and define manual or automated request fulfillment plans.  
  • Change, configuration and release management: Provides comprehensive change management capabilities to manage system configuration change requests from the initial request to the final review.

The service will offer 24x7 phone and email support, and will have extensive self-help content to get running quickly.

More information on IBM Tivoli Live - service manager is available at http://www.ibm.com/software/tivoli/solutions/tivoli-live/.

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.

For more information, visit: www.ibm.com.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: