BMC Helix. Effective management of modern IT infrastructure

Today, more than ever before, technologies drive business and transform the way companies operate. The expanding IT environment helps in running a business, but it also requires special care and attention. The management of this environment is one of the top priorities and, when done properly, it ensures business efficiency and success.

The IT infrastructure keeps growing and it constitutes the foundation for business processes and operations, which is the reason why service desks face new requirements and new challenges. The scope of duties gets broader and there are more and more users of IT services. IT departments remain under constant time pressure. ITSM solutions are there to help them out.

ITSM tools allow organisation to manage the use of IT services along with the infrastructure that supports these services. Such tools are most frequently used in processes consisting in the management of incidents, requests, problems, changes, knowledge and configurations.

However, ITSM solutions also evolve with time. Those which set a standard several years ago and allowed service desks to perform daily tasks effectively can no longer catch up with the needs of increasingly digitalized organisation.

Enterprises must reassess their existing solutions to see if they are sufficient to manage the expanding IT infrastructure and services quickly, smoothly and efficiently. It is an important moment for companies which use systems that will no longer be updated by their manufacturers, so they cannot be adjusted to the growing need of IT departments. That is the case with HP OpenView Service Desk. Organisations whose service desks use such systems should take a look around the ITSM market and choose solutions which they will be able to use and extend in the future, explains Krzysztof Andrian, CEO at Concept Data.

The market of ITSM solutions

The market of ITSM solutions is developing rapidly. Its value spiked from USD 1.3 billion in 2010 to USD 6.9 billion in 2020. The offer includes more than 400 different products with varied functions and levels of advancement and automation.

1. Basic

Key ITSM functions such as the management of incidents, requests and changes; limited integration options with ITOM (IT Operations Management) solutions.

2. Intermediate

Wide ITSM capabilities such as the management of configurations, problems and service levels. Basic ITOM functions or integration options with third-party ITOM solutions.

3. Advanced

A full scope of ITSM capabilities, advanced work flow processing – AITSM (i.e. the optimisation of ITSM practices with the use of artificial intelligence [AI], automations and analytics). Integrated and advanced ITOM functionalities or integration options with third-party ITOM solutions.

Companies looking for a new solution have to consider their current needs, plans for their future development and capabilities of the systems. Today, when one can have a really hard time finding experienced IT staff, it is a good idea to choose solutions which automate processes in IT departments and help teams do their job efficiently and quickly. Such solutions make use of artificial intelligence or machine learning. That is why we recommend the BMC Helix platform to our customers, says Krzysztof Andrian.

A leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant

BMC offers four products that support service desks: BMC Helix ITSM, BMC Helix Remedyforce, FootPrints and TrackIt!. BMC Helix ITSM, the manufacturer’s flagship solution, offers basic ITSM functions and options of integration with BMC ITOM and AITSM. It supports the management of services and operations, and the system is driven by artificial intelligence.

It is no coincidence that for many years BMC Helix has been listed by Gartner as one of the leaders in the ITSM market. The solution is versatile, easy to implement and available both in the cloud and on premises. It considerably enhances the way IT departments operate owing to the extended analytical and predictive functions, adds Krzysztof Andrian.

The advantages of the solution appreciated by Gartner’s experts:

• Advanced ITSM functions: BMC Helix ITSM supports the needs of highly mature I&O organisations in the scope of ITSM processes. It provides a solid CMDB (Configuration Management Database).

• Flexible implementation: BMC is one of very few providers of ITSM tools that deliver container-based infrastructure, enabling various options of implementation, including on premises and in the cloud.

• Long-term development plans: BMC has well-defined and long-term plans for developing the product, e.g. by extending the AI functions, improving the integration of solutions, and adding new options of digital working environments and collaboration.

How can IT departments and service desks benefit from the implementation of BMC Helix ITSM?

Better work efficiency:

BMC Helix enables automatic grouping of related incidents, which helps service engineers identify requests and assign priorities. The cognitive engine used in the solution suggests the possible causes of detected problems and recommends troubleshooting options based on historical data.

Resource management:

BMC Helix also provides extensive capabilities in terms of Service and Asset Configuration Management (SACM), including the automatic monitoring of service performance (e.g. delays and throughput). Importantly, IT teams get one console to see all service management processes within all applications. The system makes it possible to receive information about incidents, to manage changes in IT services, to build a knowledge base, to monitor IT services and to manage the base configuration.

Visibility of IT resources and relations:

BMC Helix Discovery enables automatic gathering of information about the resources that the company holds in its data centre and in the clouds from various providers. It provides full visibility as regards software versions, storage, network devices and relations between them.

Today, effective ITSM solutions are indispensable for successful management of IT infrastructure and service in a business environment. State-of-the-art tools, using artificial intelligence and machine learning, can support IT departments by automating workloads and providing managers with full visibility of what is going on within the company’s IT ecosystem. And that is the basis for efficient operation of increasingly digitalised enterprises.

Read more about IT infrastructure management:

Three challenges for Service Desks. How to support IT departments, employees and customers

IT under constant supervision. 5 advantages of BMC Discovery

Shadow IT. A loophole for cybercriminals, a problem for businesses