ITSM Podcast covering Latest Solutions & Best Practices

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, Workato, Zapier, BMC Remedy.  Any use of the software product names is descriptive of the fact that we have experience with the mentioned ITSM and CRM products Although the term Integration Platform as a Service was invited in 2011, the first such services didn't surface in the Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM world until about 5 years ago with Zapier, a company that provides integrations for web applications. At that time API was, and to a degree still is, very difficult and time-consuming to implement and maintain, so Zapier was touted as a great solution and possibly the future of integrations. However, a lack of features (at least in the Ivanti universe) as well as cost were the main factors for its fizzling out. I have to say that I was really impressed by the Workato integration that Ivanti demonstrated on a recent show-and-tell webinar.

If you would have asked that question 28 years ago, the answer would likely have been quite different. You see ITSM has come a long way since the early Helpdesk days. Back then most helpdesk systems were very basic ticket systems that recorded employee information, symptoms, ticket categories, and allowed you to prioritize and assign tickets. Sure you had some basic business automations like alerts and escalations, and perhaps even some scheduled reports.

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, ServiceNow, Remedy, Infor, or Sage. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. FAQ Do you really need a dedicated Ivanti Consultant? How important is Ivanti Certification? What time zone are you in? What is the better approach, onsite or remote implementation? What is the typical time frame of an Ivanti ITSM Project? What is your approach? What are your rates?

Back in the day before Zoom, before Goto Meeting, before the Internet, onsite visits were the only approach. Nowadays you hardly find anyone requiring an onsite and if you do. You really need to ask yourself, why?

Lately on various Social Media Sites there have been quite a few proud posts of Ivanti "Consultants" getting their Certification for Ivanti ITSM. What is Ivanti Certification? And is it important?

Ivanti ITSM has come a long way in the 27+ years I have implemented the various products from HEAT, HEAT ITSM, Ivanti Service Manager, Ivanti Asset Manager, and now Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM. Surprisingly the Ivanti Professional Services approach has also changed. From in-house consultants, now outsourced to Ivanti Business partners. Is that good, is it bad? How many consultants/developers do you really need for your ITSM Project?

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. ChatGPT by definition is a large language model trained by OpenAI based on the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) architecture, designed to understand and generate human-like language, which allows ChatGPT to have conversations with people and answer their questions on a wide range of topics. The purpose of ChatGPT is to assist and provide helpful responses to users. On the surface it looks very promising, but as you dig deeper you will find there are still quite a few glitches and it's more of a glorified search engine, not unlike using Google Voice, Alexa, or Siri to search for information. Visit the ITSM/ITAM/ESM BLOG!

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, ServiceNow, Remedy, Infor, or Sage. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. Short Answer is NO, you don't need a project manager. In fact, one of the most common mistakes made by companies implementing Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM aka Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT) is to assign a Project Manager. Don't get me wrong, there are many great project managers out there and there is a need for project manage for many hardware type of implementations and large scale software development.  For Ivanti HEAT Neurons ITSM however, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is assigning a Project Manager. From 26+ years Implementation experience and 100+ ITSM implementations, with products such as but not limited to Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager, Saleslogix CRM, HEAT, globally for Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies in the UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, and the USA, I can tell you without a doubt that less is more, and 99% of the time, project managers are not needed and typically get in the way of getting things done.

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, ServiceNow, Remedy, Infor, or Sage. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. One of the most common Ivanti HEAT Neurons Implementation challenges identified by clients is "Admin Training".  What seems like an easy quick fix is actually more complicated.  It takes more than just Ivanti Training Academy access, Ivanti Business Partner training, and guidance from a seasoned professional.   With 26+ years Implementation experience and 100+ ITSM implementations, with products such as but not limited to Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager, Saleslogix CRM, HEAT, globally for Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies in the UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, and the USA, the topic of Ivanti HEAT Administration and Training is one that I've seen change over the years and encounter on a regular basis. DISCLAIMER: I have never been employed by Ivanti. "Ivanti Consultant", and "Ivanti Developer" refer to job description, experience, and skill set with Ivanti's products. Also, note that I have never been directly employed by Ivanti, however, I have been employed by and sub-contracted for Frontrange Business Partners and sub-contracted for Ivanti Business Partners to work with Ivanti Project Managers and/or Ivanti Implementations. Why Ivanti? It's my ITSM product of choice!

DISCLAIMER: "Ivanti Consultant", and "Ivanti Developer" refer to job description, experience, and skill set with Ivanti's products. There is a very important distinction between Ivanti HEAT ITSM Developers, Consultants, and Architects, and of course there are Ivanti Freelancers too.  You also need to evaluate competency vs skill and number of years experience and number of Ivanti HEAT Implementations.

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, ServiceNow, Remedy, Infor, or Sage. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. Ivanti is an IT powerhouse and supply software systems that require professional services. That is not the same as a professional service provider. Ivanti is in the sales business straight and simple.  This should matter to you.  Tune in to find out why

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, ServiceNow, Remedy, Infor, or Sage. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. Meet your Podcaster CV: Gregor has been providing ITSM Best Practices, Latest Solutions, Development, Consulting, Architecture, and Design since 1996, that's 27+ years, 100+ ITSM implementations, worldwide, in the UK, Europe, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, USA with products such as but not limited to Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager, Saleslogix CRM, HEAT ITSM. Plus some ServiceNow, Remedy, and SageCRM experience. But wait, there is more... Systems Integrations with ERP solutions such as SAP, Sage, JDE, PWC, Microsoft Dynamic, and Discovery Tools such as SCCM, End Point Manager (EPM), proprietary banking systems, and others. Customers include Fortune 500 and Global 500 enterprise clients, Frontrange Business Partners, Ivanti Business Partners, and private Swiss Banks, worldwide in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, and the USA. DISCLAIMER: I have never been employed by Ivanti. "Ivanti Consultant", and "Ivanti Developer" refer to job description, experience, and skill set with Ivanti's products. Also, note that I have never been directly employed by Ivanti, however, I have been employed by and sub-contracted for Frontrange Business Partners and sub-contracted for Ivanti Business Partners to work with Ivanti Project Managers and/or Ivanti Implementations. Why Ivanti? It's my ITSM product of choice!

DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. Jingle bells, jingle bells.. WAIT, say what?  Christmas Lights?  What do Christmas Lights have to do with ITSM products such as Ivanti HEAT Neurons??  EVERYTHING!!! https://itchronicles.com/business-metrics/itsm-esm-christmas-lights/ If your dashboards aren't lighting up like a Christmas tree, and yes I mean green for good and red for bad, for your KPIs and Metrics, including Hours of Operation Calculations, Averages, Percentages, Trends, and complex groupings, then you need to listen to this podcast!

Software asset management (SAM) is a business practice that involves managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilization, and disposal of software applications within an organization.  Sounds great, but where do you start? DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.

We will be covering the history of ITAM (IT Asset Management), how ITAM has evolved in the last couple of years, and what you need to know. DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.

I started watching Dragons' Den in Canada and then the US version of Shark Tank.  When I ran out of episodes to watch I tuned in to Dragons' Den UK (The Original) as well as the Shark Tank Australia Spin Off.  Another German Spin Off that I tend to watch is "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lions' Den) What does all this have to do with ITSM?   More than you think! DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. PS: Also not a Dragon, Shark, or Lion ;)

Incidents (Break/Fix) and Service Requests (New/Change to Service) are often long debated by companies new to ITSM (IT Service Management). Password Reset Requests do not make the differentiation any easier.  Are they a break/fix or service request?   Can Password Resets even be logged by a user?   Of course! There are many passwords besides your Single Sign-On (SSO) password. Self Service Customer Portals can be configured to allow anonymous Incidents and Service Requests. You could always ask a colleague to log a ticket for you. You could just pick up the phone and use the Interactive Response System (IVR), Ivanti Voice to submit a password reset. You could just pick up the phone and call the Service Desk who then logs the Ticket.   The subject actually goes much deeper as Incidents are viewed negatively.  More incidents, more issues, higher IT instability.  While Service Requests are positively viewed as a demand for IT services. DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.

This question came in through my Podcast Question/Topic Form from Andre in Frankfurt, Germany. What is the typical Implementation Timeframe? DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products. Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ISM) Implementations really vary based on business requirements.  There is no quick silver bullet or cookie-cutter Scope of Work, and Estimates can vary greatly between Ivanti Business Partners, and independent consultants.

When it comes to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) there is one important configuration that's overlooked or forgotten. Holidays and Exceptions You've likely seen me post Holiday message on Instagram for the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Europe, Singapore, etc.  Make no mistake about it, Holidays are important.   Your SLA clock is likely ticking away when Incident, Service Request, and Task SLAs should be paused! It's somewhat of a straight forward process to configure SLA Holidays & Exceptions. There are two types of "Exception" configurations for your Hours of Operation (HOP) Calendar, aka Business Hours: Recurrent Manual Dates DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.

In this podcast Gregor covers the differences between Incident, Problem, Service Request, and Change Requests from a perspective of ITIL definition, helpdesk implementation, Ivanti Service Manager architecture, perception, and reporting. DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.