Trouble ticketing update

This week our Special Focus section takes a look at the trend toward automating mundane network management tasks such as trouble ticketing.

Our author (Ddubie@nww.com) notes that a slew of vendors, including HP, Computer Associates, Remedy (now owned by BMC Software) and Peregrine Systems are powering up the typical trouble-ticketing tools with more automation, business process mapping and integrated management features.

Service desk software, which streamlines the process of tracking service problems and following them through to resolution, isn’t just about kicking off trouble-tickets and logging calls to the help desk anymore. Your average help desk could receive a mix of automatically generated trouble-tickets, manually documented problems inputted by IT staff and a variety of end-user support calls ranging from complaints about a slow application to logon and password resets.

The idea is simple enough: automation features in the software can detect potential problems earlier, before users are impacted. Self-service management portals provide end users with a simple answer to their more basic help desk questions. Also consolidating tools such as systems and asset management software with service desk products can give network managers a more complete view of the network they are serving. And new integration capabilities and documentation features make it easier for customers to incorporate business processes into the overall business plan.

For more on this topic see: https://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/1001specialfocus.html