BMC Remedyforce Service Desk Solution is the Fastest-Growing SaaS Platform, Significantly Outpacing Competitive Solutions

HOUSTON — BMC Software, the leader in IT Service Management (ITSM), today announced more than 100 enterprises have adopted its cloud-based Remedyforce Service Desk solution in 300 days, making it the fastest growing SaaS-based IT management solution in the industry.

Enterprises such as Basic Energy, Canadian North, Iron Bow Technologies and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are using the BMC Remedyforce Service Desk solution to automate their IT support process, from incident and change to analysis, while also reducing costs.

"Since 2007, there has been a strong growth in Gartner clients buying IT service desk tools utilizing the SaaS licensing and delivery model," said David Coyle, research vice president at Gartner. "The SaaS model for the IT service desk market is an attractive choice for several reasons, including the growth in the overall SaaS tool market, potential advantages around lower total costs, operating versus capital budget, predictability of costs, ease of implementation and the ease and timeliness of upgrades. However, the traditional perpetual licensing model is not going away. By 2015, Gartner predicts that 50 percent of all new IT service desk tool purchases will utilize the SaaS model."(1)

The business revolution being driven by the consumerization of IT has contributed to the Remedyforce Service Desk solution’s rapid adoption. As a cost-effective option for the modern IT support environment that also improves total cost of ownership, Remedyforce provides easy access to a breadth of capabilities, as well as a level of sophistication in ITSM that many organizations may have previously considered out of reach. Salesforce.com’s Force.com cloud platform enables consumer-friendly capabilities, such as mobility, and includes more sophisticated capabilities, such as visual tooling, that enable straightforward configuration without requiring IT support teams to learn a new skill – making the alignment of the Remedyforce Service Desk solution to the needs of the organization a matter of configuration not customization.

"We previously relied primarily on email for our help desk needs and, as expected, response times were slow and incidents were sometimes lost," said Corey Clark, IT systems manager, Basic Energy Services. "Remedyforce has proven to be an all-around efficient solution for our business needs, as we now leverage its incident, problem and change capabilities to manage our help desk activities. This has saved us time, money and has increased IT response times and employee productivity."

Consumers have unprecedented access to information on a growing number of devices at almost all times in their personal lives. This increased hyper-consumption of information is driving them to expect equal access in the workplace. In contrast to other offerings, the BMC Remedyforce platform supports the next generation requirements of the social enterprise with integrated social feeds, support for next-generation applications and mobility today.

"We chose Remedyforce to help us meet the growing demands of our service desk and enhance responsiveness to our customers and service network," said Lanre Omotayo, IT manager, Canadian North. "Overall, the platform will pay off generously, as there are no infrastructure costs and we can easily and consistently support remote users from anywhere, at any time."

"Remedyforce has helped IT departments of all sizes tap into the power of social and mobile cloud computing by providing the leading IT help desk app built on Force.com," said Ron Huddleston, senior vice president, ISV and Alliances, salesforce.com. "BMC and salesforce.com are committed to helping IT departments achieve greater success in the world of the social enterprise."

"With salesforce.com, we have created a unique solution that can help customers quickly address growing business trends, while also lessening their dependency on tying support personnel to the desktop. We are also giving them an easy-to-deploy option for replacing service desk products facing obsolescence," said Marc Ferrentino, CTO of SaaS, BMC. "We are pleased by Remedyforce’s popularity in the industry, which is the result of its ability to address the rapidly changing technology and business environment. Our nearest competitor took more than two years to reach the same level of adoption."

The BMC Remedyforce solution combines BMC’s 20-year proven record of experience, innovation and market leadership with salesforce.com’s proven cloud platform, Force.com. The result is the ultimate response to the needs of ITSM now and in the future. The BMC Remedyforce integration with Salesforce Chatter, enables users to communicate directly while addressing challenges. The solution is available on smartphones and tablets, allowing IT workers to respond anytime from anywhere to support their business stakeholders, and it is aligned to industry best practices.

About BMC Software

Business thrives when IT runs smarter, faster and stronger. That’s why the most demanding IT organizations in the world rely on BMC Software across distributed, mainframe, virtual and cloud environments. Recognized as the leader in Business Service Management, BMC offers a comprehensive approach and unified platform that helps IT organizations cut cost, reduce risk and drive business profit. For the four fiscal quarters ended September 30, 2011, BMC revenue was approximately $2.2 billion. Visit www.bmc.com for more information.

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

LANDesk research reveals increased pressure on service desk managers to handle mobile devices

London — In an increasingly tech-savvy society, it is no surprise that users are becoming heavily reliant on mobile devices as business tools. New research* by LANDesk reveals 96 per cent of users view laptops, smartphones and tablets as not only beneficial but vital to productivity.

However, the role of the service desk in maintaining this influx of technology is overlooked, and consequently they are overloaded with calls to support mobile devices and under-equipped to deal with them. The survey found that a massive 76 per cent of service desks claim that the extra support required has had a negative impact. This is due to the fact that the uptake of new devices has necessitated a rapid accumulation of knowledge and expertise to support them.

The survey also revealed that even though 86 per cent of service desks have seen an increase in the number of mobile devices they are being asked to support, the majority of respondents were asked to support them before the service desk was ready, and only 57 per cent were consulted before the company procured mobile devices, causing a negative impact on the running of the service desk as a whole.

‘‘The inundation of service desks with these devices has resulted in undue strain. There is a belief that it is the duty of service desks to support mobile devices – yet they have little involvement in decisions that directly affect the service they can provide,’’ said Ian Aitchison, Director of Product Management, LANDesk. Moreover, the risks of data leaving the network as well as viruses and malware entering the network are also borne by the service desk, resulting in a dramatically increased workload.’’

The report indicates that the main issue is the lack of training provided to service desks, as mobile devices are difficult to support, mainly due to the sheer volume of different devices users are introducing, along with the growing trend of working remotely. 

‘‘The majority of service desks view mobile device usage as an inevitable and beneficial development within businesses– however it is clear that more support and consideration is due to service desks and their limitations,’’ Aitchison advises. ‘‘There must be specific policies, integrated solutions and training systems in place to keep up with the wealth of new technology in order for these devices to provide the greatest benefit to their users and the company.’’

About LANDesk Software

LANDesk Software is a leading provider of systems lifecycle management, endpoint security, and IT service management solutions for desktops, servers and mobile devices across the enterprise. LANDesk enables IT to deliver business value by gaining control of end-user computing with a single console, light infrastructure, and ITIL solutions that deliver significant ROI for thousands of customers worldwide. LANDesk is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, with offices located in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, and can be found at www.landesk.com.

*The survey was conducted amongst service desk managers and incorporates findings from research LANDesk carried out with the SDI (Service Desk Institute). Click here for a full copy of the report.

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

If you are now quite sure what ITIL is all about, here are 4 quick videos from www.itsmsolutions.com.

The 4th one on the list is the meat and potatoes for ITIL, which I recommend viewing (see embedded video, below).

These video introduces the student to the key concepts of ITIL v3 and its Service Lifecycle.

if you are running an IT shop full of IT Cowboys and Cowgirls, then it’s time to look at some formal processes, and a better way of doing things.

For more information along with its corresponding online self-paced ITIL V3 certification classes (Foundation, Lifecycle Specialist, Capability Specialist and Expert) please visit www.itsmsolutions.com

• ITIL® V3 Introduction – 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgtgcNsqmjw 
• ITIL® V3 Introduction – 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjrfkn5G9Zk
• ITIL® V3 Introduction – 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zoUPyOywVg 
• ITIL® V3 Introduction – 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U1K3KmSDeI

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

I cannot stress the importance of a proper Helpdesk or Service desk implementation, preferable with ITIL.

There are way too many incidents that do not get logged properly in the system.  We call them “drive-by’s” (though this isn’t funny in some major US cities).  All incidents should be logged via an online web form, email, or telephone.

That being said, I can break down the top 7 issues that Helpdesk centers get on a regular basis, with the top 2 reason accounting for over 80% of ALL tickets.

1. forgotten passwords (especially with 2 factor authentication)
2. can’t access email, email not working (especially for those with mobile devices like Blackberry)
3. problems with connectivity to VPN
4. Hardware failure
5. Application problems
6. Slow PC, slow network, slow everything…
7. Printer not working

As you can see from the above list, you have a combination of incidents and problems.  And let’s not forget about the IT Cowboys who do changes on the server which can result in these incidents and problems in the first place!

That is why you need ITIL ready functionalities: Incident management, Problem management, Change management and Configuration management database.

But it’s not as simple as that, either.

Why?

Here is my take on the top 3 issues for helpdesk departments:

1. Having no or poor knowledge of customers
2. Managing the complexity of change
3. The pressure to handle increased call volumes, faster, across multiple departments in different time zones.

The 3rd item is the important one, and a proper helpdesk software can be the key to the success of your department and overall respect and reputation for the IT department.

It’s also an item that you have full control over, and making the right choice in software is important, whether you choose an on premise solution or a cloud based solution.

To be continued…

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

If you are self-studying the ITIL V3 exam, and did a few practice exams, it will be fairly clear where your area of weakness are.

Thus, here are some good short videos from www.ITILTrainingZone.com  that will help clarify some of the points. 

For some reason, Lesson 1 and 4 are yanked off, but the rest are still intact.

These videos are all under 10 minutes, so hopefully you won’t get bored and keep your attention span.

Remember, you need 26 out of 40 questions to pass the exam.  That should be enough motivation.

• Lesson 2 – Service Management as a Practice 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JtvWXQ0eEI
• Lesson 3 – The Service Lifecycle
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaKB9CzUGJY
• Lesson 5 – Service Strategy
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihqDr_rD_A8
• Lesson 6 – Service Design
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk8Bi4DMl8g
• Lesson 7 – Service Transition
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnLJ3oOd90k
• Lesson 8 – Service Operation
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTLWPrvYEvQ
• Lesson 9 – Continual Service Improvement
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6O42Ym6v2o

These ITIL Training Video shows sample clips from the Online ITIL V3 Foundation Training Course. For More Free Videos and Full Course Details – Visit www.ITILTrainingZone.com – the home of Online ITIL Training.  Created by ITIL Experts for future ITIL Experts.

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

If you enjoy doing exams similar to a “TV Game show”, you’ll enjoy this video.  That is, of course, if you get the answers right.  Getting them wrong will certainly leave you feeling dejected, and possibly in panic mode.

Here are 10 Q&A for the ITIL V3 Foundation from the www.itilsecrets.com site.

YOU’LL NEED TO PAUSE AND RESUME THIS VIDEO , as it is way to fast to read the questions and answer them correctly.  (Unless, of course, you are Ernie Miller)

Remember, in the real exam, you need to correctly answer 26 out of 40 questions to pass.

Here is the video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/oVz3YtEQ86U

Good luck!

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

Good overall tips

Some suggestions to help you pass the ITIL version 3 Foundation-level Certification Exam

http://youtu.be/R1s6kGa97iE

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

This video animation on Introduction to ITIL is very well done.  It brings back memories of my IT years, and all the “in the trenches” stories that go along with it. 

I love the late nights and eating pizza analogies. 

This video explains why ITIL Change Management is needed through the eyes of Joe the IT Guy working with SysAid

From http://youtu.be/M7w3bjSbMrg

You can see more videos from SysAid from their YouTube channel.

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

Here is a a fun way of learning the differences between ITIL v3 and ITIL v2.

Service Management according to ITIL has never been more fun.

In this video, it gives good unique analogies in defining the terms resource, capability, value, utility (fit for purpose) and warranty (fit for use)

I wish this person would upload more videos, as everyone has different ways of learning (reading, classroom, online video, etc)

From http://youtu.be/u0OqNl7YNXE (part 2, very short, is here)

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.

LiveTime expands ITSM leadership as it adds rich user experience, report builder, and multi-tenancy to its cloud based ITSM solution.

Newport Beach, CA – LiveTime Software, a leading provider of On-Premise and SaaS based Service Management (ITSM) solutions, today announced the release of LiveTime 6.5 based on HTML5. With more than 100 new features and 200 customer requests, LiveTime 6.5 defines the next generation of Cloud based ITSM solutions based around HTML 5. LiveTime 6.5 also includes a new report builder, localization in 11 languages and multi-tenancy for managed service providers (MSP’s).

LiveTime continues to drive open standards and increase user productivity by offering unrivaled ease of use for an ITIL 3 certified application with seamless integration to over 30 enterprise products.

LiveTime’s new report builder enables any organization to develop customized reports without requiring a third party solution. Reports can be designed and inserted into any report menu and shared with colleagues based on user role. Reports, including charts, can be edited as needed.

In addition, LiveTime 6.5 includes localization in 11 languages, including a spellchecker and new rich text editor. It also includes an editor to modify outbound message templates and key terms throughout the application and across each locale.

LiveTime 6.5 includes multi-tenancy across all partner roles so that MSP’s can use a single instance of LiveTime to provide support across multiple organizations as if each had their own service management solution. This includes full rollup to the master organization when using leveraged technicians.

New features include:

• HTML 5 based user interface
• Report Builder
• Localization in 11 languages
• Partner Multi-tenancy
• Rich Text editor
• International Spell Checker
• Custom CSS editor
• OpenID authentication
• Style Sheet editor
• CI snapshot auto association
• CI Type response templates
• .NET friendly web services
• Outbound Web Services

Available On Demand (SaaS) or On Premise (software, hardware or virtual appliance), LiveTime is based on open standards and supports any operating system, any browser, and any database. LiveTime is used by many global 2000 companies such as Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deloitte, and Disney.

About LiveTime Software

Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, LiveTime Software, Inc. is a vendor of cloud based, ITIL service management, service desk and help desk software for medium to large enterprises. Many global 2000 organizations and educational institutions use LiveTime’s vendor-neutral solutions to lower their costs and improve customer satisfaction. Founded in 1999, LiveTime Software is a privately held firm with offices in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. For more information visit www.livetime.com

Copyright ® 2011 by CRM HELP DESK Software .com. All Rights Reserved.