Remedy, Peregrine release help desk software

Help desk vendors Remedy and Peregrine this week will separately introduce products designed to better align business processes with IT assets and service management, which users say helps to resolve more support calls in less time.

Remedy, in its first announcement since being sold last fall by Peregrine to BMC Software, will announce its IT Service Management suite, or ITSM 5.5. The suite automates help desk functions such as trouble ticketing, manages assets and changes across desktops, and lets network managers track service-level agreements against IT performance. The software also includes new workflow features that customers can customize with information about their internal processes and assets.

The customization appeals to Linda Hill, a database administrator at Sharpe Healthcare in San Diego. She says inputting her knowledge of how to handle trouble tickets from about 16,000 client and Web users into the software lets junior staff members take actions without lengthy training.

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Help desk vendors Remedy and Peregrine this week will separately introduce products designed to better align business processes with IT assets and service management, which users say helps to resolve more support calls in less time.

Remedy, in its first announcement since being sold last fall by Peregrine to BMC Software, will announce its IT Service Management suite, or ITSM 5.5. The suite automates help desk functions such as trouble ticketing, manages assets and changes across desktops, and lets network managers track service-level agreements against IT performance. The software also includes new workflow features that customers can customize with information about their internal processes and assets.

The customization appeals to Linda Hill, a database administrator at Sharpe Healthcare in San Diego. She says inputting her knowledge of how to handle trouble tickets from about 16,000 client and Web users into the software lets junior staff members take actions without lengthy training.

"The juniors can do the day-to-day job that I used to be needed to do, because the Remedy application rarely goes down and they have no problem understanding what to do when using it," Hill says.

ITSM 5.5 runs on Windows and Unix servers and can be accessed from Windows desktops and Web browsers. The server software communicates with managed devices in their native protocols and creates trouble tickets and alerts when predefined thresholds and/or rules have been missed. The software integrates with systems management software such as BMC's Patrol. ITSM 5.5 applications cost $1,500 to $35,000, depending on configuration and licenses purchased.

Peregrine will unveil ServiceCenter 5.1, which includes support for the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), a set of best practices for managing IT. The software, which competes directly with Remedy's offering, includes best practices for consolidating call centers, features to create views and dependencies among assets, and upgrades to enable easier administration.

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Paul Hopkins, IT manager of client relations for Carlson Hospital Worldwide in Omaha, Neb., says ServiceCenter 5.1 also lets junior staff members take on more work with senior skill levels. He says the change management component in the suite will show staff members how changes they make directly affect service to the 750 hotel properties they support.

"We have cut 15 minutes per call off of incident calls, and we probably have more than 20 of those per day," Hopkins says.

ServiceCenter 5.1 runs on a Windows or NT server and can communicate with applications using Java or native protocols. The software also includes a console feature that lets network managers view reports and administer tasks from one central location. It costs between $15,000 and $30,000, depending on licensing.

With both companies offering similar features, customers will have to determine what kind of software works best in their network, says John Ragsdale, a research director at Forrester. For example, Remedy wins high marks for its ability to tailor the software to a specific environment. And Peregrine works more with industry-recognized standards.

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