adept4 blog

So the next challenge steps up to the plate….. with multiple clients all taking the Managed ServiceDesk service from us, either as a dedicated hosted instance or as part of a multi tenanted environment, we needed to provide multiple branded self service portals on the same server, utilising the multi tenanted SCSM instance.

So here’s the highlevel steps I followed,

I built a brand new VM for use as a Web Server, installed the OpSys, AntiVirus made sure it was fully patched, installed all the prerequisites etc etc

• I installed the SCSM Portal on the server as per the deployment guide.I then copied the SCSM Portal folder to the same folder with a different name
• Added a new site in IIS and assigned it to the same Application Pool in IIS Manager
• Changed the logo’s on the new site, removed the links for request password and request software as we are not ready for them yetI
• I then removed the contact IT button from the aspx page’s as per my previous blog here
• I then assigned the new site a different internal IP

….and hey presto two SCSM Portal sites with different branding, the contact IT button’s removed running on the same server but pointing to the same instance

________________________________
James Richardson
Head Of Infrastructure & Design

As a Managed Services Provider, we needed to overcome some of the “out of the box” functionality of SCSM as we are currently using Service Manager as the workhorse for our Managed ServiceDesk offering.

So came the challenge, with multiple clients all taking the service from us, either as a dedicated hosted instance or as part of a multi tenanted environment, I needed to remove the ContactIT button from the Self Service Portal and have separate branding for each client… there logos etc… ( blogged here).

Anyway back to the challenge in hand, I needed to remove the ContactIT button from the Self Service Portal, and according to the technet forum posts, and the feedback on the Connect site, it didn’t look easy, or even at all possible….. but it actually turned out to be only a few lines of code changed.

So the following bit of code needs to be removed from the ServiceManagerPortal.Master, from the ServiceManagerCommandMaster.Master as well as from the relevant *.aspx files in the End User directories of the self service portal.

The *.aspx files for the End User Portal are located in \System Center Service Manager Portal\EndUser’ and the *.Master files are in \System Center Service Manager Portal\EndUser\MasterPages\

PartTitleStyle-CssClass=”orangletitle” Width=”100%” PartChromeType=”None”>

Title=” ” />

So once the following changes have been made to the relevant files if you load the self service portal into you internet browser, the ContactIT Button has been removed….

________________________________
James Richardson
Head Of Infrastructure & Design

Over the next few days, I am going to start a series of technical blog posts regarding Microsoft’s new “System Centre Service Manager (SCSM)” product, we have been working with the product since Beta1 right through to the latest release, we have been working with Microsoft to drive the product forward. We have also been running in production for a number of months…and even got a mention at the Microsoft Management Summit this year. We are already being recognised by the team at Microsoft and have been added to the blog roll on the SCSM Blog and we regular appear on the SCSM Forum answering the SCSM community’s threads….Were also the Top Answerer at the moment, showing our commitment to the product and the community and both myself as Practice Owner for SCSM and Rick Hall as Lead Service Desk Analyst for SCSM are regularly on the forum.

We are using the product as the workhorse of our Managed ServiceDesk solution where you can have a fully Managed ServiceDesk or simply sign up for a Hosted ServiceDesk solution that runs the System Centre Service Manager (SCSM) servers in our data centres, setup and configured by our staff, and dedicated for you. Combine that with our Managed Server solution (using SCOM of course) and our Managed Desktop solution( using SCCM of course)  …..and with our Technical Consultants being on hand to assist you or even do it for you it makes for the ideal hosted solution and its priced per user per month

Hopefully you will find these blog posts useful, and if you have any further questions then feel free to drop me an email at james.richardson@adept4.co.uk or if you want it from an analysts perspective drop Rick a line rick.hall@adept4.co.uk

________________________________
James Richardson
Head Of Infrastructure & Design

Companies are now becoming more aware of the benefits that can be gained from working within the ITIL framework, which is a globally recognised set of best practices for IT Service Management.

Since being developed in the early ’80s to help IT providers deliver quality services that meet the needs of the business, it is now more or less recognised as the worldwide standard in service management.

So much so, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has already overhauled and centralised its IT service desk with ITIL-compliant software to help streamline key processes.

But it’s really no surprise that the ECHR’s IT department has incorporated ITIL into its IT infrastructure to help deal with its 800 user clients. This is because by working within the ITIL framework, companies of any size and from any industry, can see an improvement in customer satisfaction, productivity and the ability to allocate people’s skills and experience.

By improving how they manage service requests and problems at the service desk, businesses can also create considerable savings and give customers the service they expect.

By working within the ITIL framework we at adept4 are ensuring our IT support follows best practice guidelines to ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency in our customers’ organisation.

According to an industry report on call centres, callers are becoming increasingly impatient with the time it takes to be connected to an operator.

The report revealed that callers are now hanging up 8 seconds quicker compared to 1997, when the average customer waited 53 seconds before abandoning the call. What’s more, the number of calls disconnected before even speaking with an agent have more than doubled, reaching 13.6% in 2008.

The report also revealed that the percentage of calls answered within 10 seconds has fallen from 72 per cent to 63.5 per cent in 2008, and the average time taken to respond to a message left by customers has risen from 11 to 20 hours.

So it seems customers are becoming less inclined to hang around waiting for their call to be answered, meaning call centres are under pressure to up their game when it comes to customer service.

This is why more and more call centres are turning to technology to help them enhance their business operations, and deliver a better quality of service that saves both them and their customers time and money.

Implementing leading edge technologies such as voice over IP and virtualised desktops can increase call centre efficiency, meaning customers are dealt with swiftly, without any hassle.

To find out more about how you can improve your customer service contact the team at adept4. 

Call centres notoriously get bad press for their quality of service meaning customer satisfaction tends to be low. But actually, if the right technology is used, their services can be enhanced and customers’ perception of them changed for the better.

The call centre of any business should be able to deliver the right service at the right time. But before this happens, it’s essential they have from the outset the right technology in place, ensuring customers always get the service they expect.

At adept4 we are improving the efficiency of call centres by providing robust and effective IT and communications solutions. By implementing leading edge technologies such as instant messaging, virtualised desktops, disaster recovery solutions and voice over IP, call centres can enhance their business operations and provide a better quality of service that saves them and their customers time and money. What’s more, customers will also reap the benefits of receiving hassle-free support when they need it.

If you want to deliver a more efficient service by improving your call centre communications, talk to the experts at adept4.

According to customer satisfaction surveys, the help desk or call centre is traditionally rated as performing under par. So when incidents like the volcanic ash cloud strike, help desks will undoubtedly take another hit as staff numbers drop.

But solutions like help desk software are already cushioning the blow for businesses, helping to save time, money and resource.

With a fully integrated help desk solution, the jobs of customer support staff right through to managers are made much easier. The software allows support staff to review previous incidents, without having to ask customers to repeat their query. This means that when you are under-staffed, all staff members are equipped with the relevant information to deal with the situation.

What’s more, with the right software you can also take the most appropriate course of action to help the customer, ensuring satisfaction and increasing customer confidence in your company.

As well as increasing business efficiency, help desk software is also proving beneficial to managers, providing them with a tool to monitor the effectiveness of staff and establish trends that may have previously fallen below the radar.

At adept4 we are working with companies of all sizes to enhance the efficiency of their business operations with our managed IT services and solutions. By supporting these with a 24/7 managed service desk which utilises advanced help desk support software, we are ensuring our customers get the right service at the right time, saving them time, money, and hassle.

To find out more about our IT service desk get in touch.

Businesses nowadays aren’t just 9-to-5, so why should your IT support be just 9-to-5?

With businesses now operating round-the-clock and IT infrastructure running 24/7, IT service providers need to deliver a service that meets the demands of today’s businesses’ non-stop culture.

There are plenty of benefits in having an outsourced IT service desk, including; having a specialist and focused provider, a single interface across all IT service activities, enabling staff to focus on core business activities, allowing end users to fully exploit and keep up with desktop technology, and flexibility and responsiveness to changing business needs and environment.

But there is nothing more frustrating than calling for technical support and not being able to get hold of someone because they are out at lunch or on holiday or have just gone home.

When looking for an IT service desk provider it’s important to ensure that as well as using strong business processes and robust systems to support your business, they provide you with a service that fits in with your business needs.

Competent support resource is the back-bone of an IT structure and having it available when it is needed is imperative to the efficient and effective running of any business.

For more information on adept4’s 24/7 support service desk get in touch.

There is no simple answer to what unified communications really is but if your business is looking to save money and improve efficiency it can be a great step in the right direction.

For every business and organisation the elements and requirements of unified communications are different and the deployable technologies available will vary.

Some of the typical technologies include:

• Voice Over IP / IP Telephony
• Video Conferencing
• Remote Desktop Access
• Mobile call routing
• Cloud based applications
• Remote data access
• Unified messaging

At adept4 we have found that many clients already operate the key pieces of the unified communications puzzle but have failed to maximise their usage through lack of understanding, or more often than not, concern that implementation of some applications, such as Instant Messaging, could lead to a fall in productivity rather than improvements.

We’ve already worked with a number of organisations to implement a unified communications strategy that has provided significant cost savings as well as improved service levels and efficiencies.

To find out more contact adept4 about how we can help you with your unified communications strategy.