ItmSUITE® - Overview

For a complete overview of itmSUITE® please visit the following sections.

Key features

This section illustrates the key functionalities and benefits of itmSUITE®.

IT Service Management

ItmSUITE® supports the adoption of the most successful best practices and standards in IT Service Management (ITILR, ISO/IEC 20000). It does so first of all by supporting the inter-linking practices (Management Control, Benefits Management, Financial Management, Risk Management, Organisational Governance,Resource Management) and then with its distinctive characteristics (Service Orientation and Roles Readiness,Business Rules Engine, Dashboard and Reporting Engine, Easy Integration, Codeless Customization) but also in a more specific way in the different action areas of IT Service Management ( in particular in the phases of the management of the service lifecycle and specific processes). Look in greater detail at the characteristics and itmSUITER support available in the field of IT Service Management by selecting the area that you are interested in, in the figure.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Efficient support for the introduction and maturation of best practice for Portfolio, Programme, Project Management and IT Service Management
• Complete functional cover in continual improvement
• Availability of pre-configured processes that will facilitate and speed up the start up phase.
• Extremely short time and low effort required in the start up phase
• Effective integration to client needs, without compromises.
• Reduction in number of tools to be managed and on long term integration maintenance (significant decrease in the Total Cost of Ownership)
• Autonomous and intuitive codeless configuration, (this means that you are independent of product specialists and as a result there is an increase in the speed of integration and a decrease in the Total Cost of Ownership)
• After-sale support offered by a team of qualified and certified personnel on IT Service Management best practices (e.g. ITIL )
• Flexible support service contracts
• Turn-key solutions available (training and consulting on best practices provided + software) to guarantee results within a pre-determined time period
• Availability of sustainable investment offers (e.g. software license rental or Software as a Service)

Service Strategy

L' itmSUITE® support this fundamental phase of the IT services lifecycle, in particular the following processes:

• Demand Management
• Financial Management for IT Service
• Service Portfolio Management

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Support for the optimal definition of the IT services and projects portfolio.
• Effective and efficient management of IT services
• Budget and economic control of the costs and earnings related to IT services and projects.
• Management of the risks and benefits related to the implementation of the IT strategy.
• Planning and control of the resources.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Concrete help offered so client can clearly understand the type and level of service that they need and the subsequent delivery of these services in the best way.
• Support for the creation and update of a portfolio for transformation initiatives that will maximise the possibility of achieving the strategies.
• Improvement in the capacity to manage risk and therefore a higher probability of achieving desired results within a specified time limit and within budget.
• Improvement in the ability to respond rapidly and efficiently to change.
• Improvement in communication between service clients and suppliers so that both have a clearer vision of what has been requested and how to achieve it.

Demand Management

ItmSUITE® makes it possible to effectively and efficiently support the execution of the Demand Management processes (service requests). This applies to both individual and aggregated requests ( planning and evaluation of overall resource requests).

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Flexible and codeless management of the workflow configuration for the punctual management of requests, without compromises.
• Multi-level and graphic support for the planning and control of the use of human resources that takes into account all the activities carried out (assistence, projects etc)
• Real time calculations on whether the SLAs/OLAs have been achieved on time and maximum efficiency in the presentation and communication of results.
• Extremely flexible and modular 'self service' portal for the management of all requests and notifications.
• Possibility to define and monitor the performance of KPIs and to configure notifications and automatic actions (eg. request to carry out an activity) with regards to the reaching of benchmark levels.
• Advanced and personalised reporting of REP module.
• Ease of integration with external systems dedicated to the management of the acquisition and/or evasion of requests parts of the process.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Quick, effective and efficient management of requests
• Improved planning and control of the overall use of human resources.
• Control over process performance
• Increase in client satisfaction.

Financial Management for IT Services

itmSUITE® offers an effective process for IT Financial Management and aims at making the reliable and efficient management of costs and revenues for both individual and/or aggregate projects and services possible. Projetcs can be manage d in a similar way. The unusual thing about this solution is that it also offers management possibilities for any organisation that has a manageable workflow, for example problem, change, improvement actions etc.

itmSUITE® makes it possible to manage budgets, final balance sheets and also forecasts as well as the activities necessary for their definition (for example, the definition of final balance sheets via timesheets, the management of reimbursement expenses and the implementation of of other kinds of costs). This means that there can be flexible management of the different threads of management to adapt to the needs and levels of complexity required.

The solution package is completed by the possibility to define the methods of control for the evolution of expenses with any discrepancies between the control plan and the actual performance highlighted. There is also a complete basic report and the availability of a powerful reporting motor to create others.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Financial management concerning the budget, final balance and forecast for projects, services and processes
• Possibility to freely define categories of cost
• Possibility to manage revenues (invoicing available)
• Management and visibility of costs and/or revenues per service and/or project
• Possibility to save "snapshots" of economic data (budgets, final balances and forecasts of services and/or projects) and to link them to control milestones that are synchronized for analysis and comparisons
• Integrated management module of final balance that enables allocation of efforts to services and projects with a clear procedure based on real data
• Management and visibility of costs even on single processes (eg. change, problem, etc.)
• Powerful and flexible reporting engine
• Possibility to define and monitor the patterns of costs and to configure automated notifications and actions (eg. reminder notice) when predefined threshold values are reached

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• It permits the estimate and control of operating and investment costs of projects and services
• It offers the possibility of total transparency of costs for services, projects and their aggregates.
• It permits the management of revenues and, in the final analysis, reveals the margins of the services and/or projects.

Service Portfolio Management

itmSUITE ® effectively supports the Portfolio Management of IT services.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Possibility to manage one or more portfolios as an aggregation of services
• Management of the categorization of services based on the classification variables of the portfolio
• Representation of the composition, structure and status of portfolios based on classification variables

Main benefits deriving from the use of itmSUITE® :

• Makes it easier to understand the structure of the portfolio of services
• It simplifies the decision making process with regards to how to structure the portfolio in the future in a way that supports the strategy (effectiveness in the management of portfolios)
• Makes the maintenance of the structure of portfolios of services easier (effectiveness in the management of portfolios)
• Makes it easier to understand the status of the portfolio of services (effectiveness in the management of portfolios)
• Significantly contributes to the realisation of the service provider's strategy

Service Design

itmSUITE® supports this fundamental stage of the IT services lifecycle. In particular, the following processes:

• Design Coordination
• Service Catalogue Management
• Service Level Management
• Availability Management

Discover how by looking at the detailed profiles.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Management of the design activities for services at all levels of complexity (eg. via projects and, change);
• Management and communication of the catalog of services;
• Management of the availability of end-to-end services;
• Definition and control of the performance levels of the external services provided to clients (SLA), inside and outside the organisation to suppliers.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of the itmSUITE® :

• Improvement in the ability to accurately predict and manage the costs, timescales and risks associated to the Service Design phase;
• Contributes to the increase in the number of successful changes;
• Re-use of the Service Design assets between projects and services;
• Contributes to the reduction in time expenditure through the planning of the service.

Availability Management

itmSUITE® supports the visualization and comprehension of the end-to-end availability of services starting from that of their components. Monitoring of the availability of the latter is performed by tools that are not part of itmSUITE® but that can be easily integrated.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Configuration Management System (including Configuration Management Data Base, CMDB) that allows visual mapping of the structured relationships between service components;
• Support for the preparation of impact maps between the components that takes into account redundancies too;
• Integration, through simple configurations, with external tools that monitor service components;
• Graphical representation of the end-to-end state of the services with drill-down option on components;
• Console for visualization of messages of changes of status of components and services with RAG (Red, Amber, Green) alerts;
• Possibility to trigger processes in response to the reaching of predetermined statuses or conditions of events or services;

Main advantages deriving from the use of itmSUITE® :

• Immediate detection of the availability of services as single components but, above all, as end-to-end too;
• Faster response times to issues related to the availability of single component and end-to-end services;
• Increased efficiency in response to issues on the availability of of single component and end-to-end services;

Design Coordination

itmSUITE® provides full support to this activity and also assures an essential contribution to all automation areas that are strictly correlated, and in particular to Project Management . The process of Design Coordination includes both the design activities of services and the design of specific service requests (new or changed).In both cases, itmSUITE® is able to support the coordination action in the best way.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Management of all the aspects of the overall activity that applies to the process of design (ex. planning, costs, efforts, quality, issues and risks);
• Management of all the aspects of activity of design either as single request of a new service or as change to a service (ex. planning, costs, efforts, quality, issues and risks);
• Integration of the management of design activities with all the other management activities of lifecycle services;
• Support to the realization and documentation of outputs of service design (ex. modelling from Enterprise Architecture Management standpoint) and supported in particular by the CMS module;
• Easier monitoring of the progress of design processes and design activities.

Main advantages deriving from the use of itmSUITE® :

• Availability of the results of service design (Service Design Package) with higher forecasting precision of times and costs;
• Higher accuracy in managing risks connected to design and, therefore, better quality (meeting expected requirements) in design outputs and consequently in the final results;
• Reduction in variations and related costs not only for design activities but, above all, for the successive stages of the service lifecycle;
• Increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities of service design;
• Increase in customers and user satisfaction.

Service Catalogue Management

itmSUITE® fully supports the design and management of the service catalogue , whether the services are of a business or technical nature (in other words those that are not promoted as part of the business but that are necessary for the correct functioning of the other services) in line with IT Service Management best practice. The service catalogue is managed in such a way that it offers support to operational activities that will be presented to the client and also represents the core skeleton of the itmSUITE® as used for IT Service Management.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Support to the design of the architecture of the service catalogue
• Support to the design of the architecture and content of a single service
• Publication of the service catalogue with specific views that can be configured
• Automation of the management of service requests
• This service is a key element for the management of any kind of IT Service Management process

Main benefits derving from the use of itmSUITE® :

• All business and IT areas have access to information regarding IT services that is accurate, exhaustive (details and status included) and consistent
• Effectiveness and efficiency in the management and publication of information regarding the service catalogue
• Improved security for access to information about the service catalogue
• Flexibility, effectiveness and efficiency in the management of service requests

Service Level Management

itmSUITE® fully supports the design and management of service level agreements with customers (Service Level Agreement or SLA), with internal service providers (Operational Level Agreement or OLA) and with suppliers (Underpinning Contract or UC). The information about service levels reached can then be made available to any organisation or on any list and in this way itmSUITE® favours real time alignment of IT with business needs.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Management of information regarding SLAs/OLAs/ICs
• Real-time calculation of SLAs/OLAs/UCs
• Automated communication and actions in response to the performance of SLAs/OLAs/UCs
• Reports on progress of SLAs/OLAs/UCs

Main advantages deriving from the use of itmSUITE® :

• Effective measuring of service levels reached
• Automation of all the aspects of management of SLAs/OLAs/UCs
• Faster and more effective action in case of targets not reached
• Forecasting of possibility that targets may not be met and related corrective action
• Decision making support and improvement in the alignment between IT actions and business needs
• Better communication and, in the final analysis, relationships with customers

Service Transition

itmSUITE ® supports the transition stage during the production of new services or changes being made to existing IT services. In particular, the processes of:

• Transition Planning & Support
• Change Management
• Service Asset & Configuration Management
• Release & Deployment Management
• Service Validation & Testing
• Knowledge Management

Discover how by looking at the detailed profiles.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Management of the transition activities of the services at all levels of complexity (eg. through projects or changes);
• Provides support to the introduction of structured and optimized processes of change management exactly as requested;
• Configuration Management of both visual and end-to-end IT services;
• Asset management integrated with Configuration Management and all the other processes;
• Release & Deployment Management controlled and integrated with Change, Incident and Problem Management;
• Indexing of all data and information managed regardless of its format (eg. document, record) that makes searches easier;
• Powerful and flexible reporting engine.

Main benefits deriving from the use of itmSUITE® :

• Increased accuracy in forecasting and managing costs, time schedules and risks associated with the stage of Service Transition;
• Higher results in successful implementation of changes;
• Re-use of the assets of Service Transition between projects and services;
• Improvement of the efficiency in carrying out the transition of the service from design to production;
• Contribution in reducing lead times of service transition;
• Increase in the confidence about the ability of the service to meet requirements, objectives and planned costs;
• Better control on service assets and configurations.

Transition, Planning & Support

itmSUITE® provides full support to this activity and also assures an essential contribution to all those automation areas strictly linked to it, and in particular to Project Management. The process of Transition Planning & Support includes the activities performed and resources involved in services (new or changes) through all the stages of design up to that of production.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Management of all the aspects of the entire activity of transiton (eg. planning, costs, efforts, quality, issues and risks);
• Visibility and management of the workload of human resources;
• Integration and management of the activities of transition that encompass all the other activities of management of the lifecycle of the services.

Main advantages from the use of itmSUITE® :

• Improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of the transition activities of planning and support;
• Increase in the ability to support the change (management of a higher number of changes and releases);
• Improved control of the integrity of the assets during the transition phase of the services and a subsequent reduction in risk and associated negative impact.

Change Management

Change Management was one of the first processes to be supported by itmSUITE ® and as such is now one of the most well established. Aspects of particular interest that make it stand out compared to other solutions on the market are that it offers:

• support during the impact assessment stage with automated selection of the type of Change;
• simple and easy creation of Change Models that automate specific Change Management processes without compromises;
• support to the assignment and control of activities and, more generally, of all the aspects of a complex Change Management activity that falls within the ambit of Project Managment (planning, management of costs and risks, etc.)

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Possibility to configure the automation of processes of Change Management without compromises
• Specific functions that support best practices inherent to Change Management (ex. Change Assessment, integration and management of economic data related to Changes such as budget, final balance and forecast)
• Availability of pre-configured Change Management process cartridges in line with best practice (ITIL ®)
• Reporting procedures

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Reduction in automation times of Change Management
• Increase in the ability to design, estimate impact and implement Changes that meet requirements at optimized costs
• A refined approach to meeting regulatory, legal or internal requirements related to Change Management
• Reduction in the number of unauthorized and/or failed Changes
• Protection of business against unwanted side effects Change Management might cause
• Overall tracking of Changes
• Improvement in the management of risks
• Rise in staff productivity thanks to significantly fewer inefficiencies caused by Changes and because of greater efficiency in the management of the Change itself
• Reduction in average refresh period needed after service failures so that corrective changes can be implemented more quickly.

Release & Deployment Management

With itmSUITE ® we recognised the the uniqueness and importance of the Release & Deployment Management process long before our competitors and, in fact, we do not consider it as just a variant of Change Management.

It is for this reason that the Release entity is explicitly managed by a specific process and it is possible to correlate it with any other process managed, and via workflows (eg. Incident, Change, etc.). In this context, then, the possibility to exploit the functionalities of itmSUITE ® deriving from the support of Project Management is crucial. Indeed the management of Release & Deployment for major releases requires the ability to plan, coordinate and supervise activities which are inter-linked in order to reach a common goal, just like in a project.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Offers support for the automation of the process of Release & Deployment mangement in line with best practice;
• Specific functions to support Release Management, for example:
  • Automated generation of the number of Releases;
  • Automated generation and update with deployment Changes of the Release;
  • Integration and management of economic data related to Changes like budget, final balance and forecast;
  • Integration of Release information with all the other information managed by itmSUITE ® (eg. Change, Incident, project deliverables etc.);
  • Tracking of the activities;
  • Reporting procedures.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Release of Change is quicker, risks are minimized and costs are optimized;
• Improvement in the ability to explain to users how to use new Changes;
• Contribution in meeting requirements (eg. regulatory or internal);
• Reduction of the number of non-authorized and/or failed Releases;
• Protection of the business against unwanted side effects of Releases.

Service Asset & Configuration Management

itmSUITE ® and, in particular, the visualCMS ® module was the tool that anticipated market trends and the actual evolution of best practices. The fundamental points to bear in mind to be able to create a successful CMS ( including CMDB) in line with best practice are:

• service orientation;
• to start top-down and not bottom-up;
• to begin from the stage of service design;
• to concentrate on critical services;
• to keep manual control (tools do not know what is part of a logic service);
• to facilitate the initial population and/or control and audit of the CMS via automatic discovery of the configuration elements of the IT Services.

For many years, the market has been developing tools inspired by an inverted approach, in other words the gathering of CIs (Configuration Items) via discovery and the organisation of the aforementioned in services (bottom -up approach) where the graphic aspect is primarily a marketing front but does not coincide with the usability of the solution.

itmSUITE ® is meant to offer the utmost usability to all those who design top-down service models and, furthermore, to allow the re-use of information gathered with discovery tools; this results in a reduction of management fees and harmony between the actual solution and the original project.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Optimal automation of the process of Asset & Configuration Management
• Possibility to categorize and freely define types and attributes of CIs and their operation
• Support to the definition of mapping conventions of configurations (ex. aspect of entities, relations, etc.)
• Native visual modelling that is very user-friendly and with textual features
• Full integration with the process of Change Management that guarantees complete control over Configuration Items
• Possibility to configure acquisition and reconciliation of data (entites and relations) from external sources (ex. discovery tools)
• Possibility to publish all or part of the contents of the CMS (that comprises the CMDB) on portals (ex. SharePoint) and web tools
• Access and use of information of the CMS with processes that are supported by itmSUITE ®
• Reporting procedures

Main advantages deriving from the use of itmSUITE® :

• Staff can easily access and understand the contents and configuration of services
• Better planning and better forecast of the impacts of Changes and Releases resulting in a significant reduction of side effects
• Easier resolution of Incidents resulting in increased capability to meet relevant service levels
• Compliance with standards and requirements (eg. regulatory) related to documentation, management of assets and configuration
• Tracking of modifications carried out on Configuration Items and related items.
• Support for calculation of the costs of services
• Efficiency and effectiveness in the management of Assets and configurations leading to savings on associated costs
• Optimisation of the costs related to the activities of population and control/ audit of the CMS thanks to the automatic discovery of the configuration elements of the Services.

Knowledge Management

The aim of knowledge management is to enable the sharing of ideas, experiences and information so that the most pertinent and useful ones are available to the right people at the right time. The approach that itmSUITE ® uses to support this aim is based on the following:

• a search engine that catalogues all the information from documents through to messages and recordings (eg. the Incident or the Change) to discussions etc. This makes it possible to understand the context in which the information was generated;
• a system based on messages that is perfectly integrated with email systems and that is also able to provide contextual communications ( eg. a message integrated with an Incident or project activity that can be traced back to the message drawer but also during a consultation about a specific Incident or project activity);
• support for the management of discussion forums;
• an information broadcast motor that lets you manage very sophisticated publications in a simple way through the workflow;
• Integration with social networks and communication sharing systems, and external integrations.

Main characteristics of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Management of contextual documentation ( generic deposit and specific contextual archiving in relation to an Incident or Change etc);
• Search engine for all the information ( documents and system records) with management of personalisable context searches;
• Internal contextual message system;
• Gestione forum contestuali;
• Management of contextual forums;
• Gestione processi di pubblicazione delle informazioni broadcast e visualizzazione come news a visibilità configurabile;
• Management of publication processes for information broadcast and visualisation such as news with configurable visibility.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Data, information and knowledge for people who need it when they need it

Service Operation

itmSUITE® supports the management stage of IT services in production. In particular, the processes of:

• Incident Management
• Request Fulfilment
• Problem Management
• Event Management
• Access Management

Discover how by looking at the detailed profiles.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Codeless and flexible management of workflow configuration that allows for the automation of the process models without compromises.
• Real-time calculation of targets met by SLA/OLA and maximum effectiveness in the presentation and communication of results
• Extremely flexible and modular "self-service" portal for the management of all requests and notices
• Easy to integrate with external monitoring systems via mail or web services to generate or automatically update its scope (eg.Incident)
• for the generation or automatic update of entities (ex. Incident)

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Reduction in effort and costs incurred to provide the service
• Reduction in effort and management costs of inefficiencies, for both the service provider and customer
• Availability of key data, for example the incidents, input for other processes with the aim of improving and justifying investments
• Respect of objectives and security policies
• Faster and standardized access to services
• Faster response times (eg. to events) and the automation of several activities

Incident Management

You might wonder how itmSUITE ® can stand out from the crowd in a market like Incident Managment that is packed with competitors and tools. The answer lies in the product's configurability which means that Incidents can be assigned to the correct solution group, and its ability to monitor and react to KPIs. Both of these factors make it extremely efficient and a point of reference in its field.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Possibility to configure the automation of Incident processes without compromises;
• Specific functions that are in line with best practice regarding Incident Management (eg. definition of priorities based on some specific information: impact and urgency, routing of the Incident to an automatic solution group based on categorization information, etc.);
• Real-time visualization of process targets with graphic visualization of status (eg. RAG - Red Amber Green) and escalations managed automatically for better responsiveness;
• Automation of Incident Management on the basis of external input (eg. events) or due to an event occuring internally on the itmSUITE ® platform (eg. automatic opening or update or closure of an Incident);
• Availability of preconfigured process cartridges in line with relevant best practices (ITIL ®);
• Reporting.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Reduction in Incident Management automation times;
• Reduction in work and therefore costs caused by business or IT staff Incidents;
• Faster detection and management of Incidents and consequently, a reduction in poor service;
• Better alignment between the activities of IT staff who work on the management of Incidents with business priorities;
• Ability to better identify and exploit all possible ways to improve services, for example through integration with other processes such as Problem Management;
• Helps to conform to regulatory or legal requirements, or internal ones regarding Incident Management.

Request Fulfilment

You might wonder how itmSUITE ® can stand out from the crowd in a market like Request Fulfilment (or request Management) that is packed with competitors and tools. The answer lies in the product's ability to build different request management models rapidly and without compromise, the possibility to access these models in a flexible and truly intuitive way via a user portal as well as its ability to monitor and react to KPIs. All these factors make itmSUITE ®extremely efficient and a point of reference in its field.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Possibility to configure the automation of processes of Request Fulfilment with state of the art solutions and in an extremely short time;
• Specific functions that are in line with best practice regarding Request Fulfilment ( routing of request to a support group based on categorization information, etc.);
• Organisation of very flexible access to requests with the possibility to set up an extremely intuitive portal for users that can be easily, fully or partially, integrated with other portals (eg. company intranet);
• Real-time visualization of process targets with graphic visualization of status (ex. RAG - Red Amber Green) and escalations managed automatically for a better responsiveness;
• Automation of Request Management on the basis of external input (eg. events) or due to an event occuring internally on the itmSUITE ® platform;
• Availability of preconfigured process cartridges in line with relevant best practice (ITIL®);
• Reporting.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Reduction in Request Fulfilment automation times;
• Possibility to provide business with simple and quick access when requesting IT services;
• Reduction in bureaucracy (including effort) and in lead times in the management of requests (eg. authorizations);
• Better alignment between the activities of IT staff who work on the management of Requests with business priorities;
• Ability to better identify and exploit all the possible ways to improve services, for example through integration with other processes such as Problem Management;
• Helps to conform to internal requirements regarding Request Fulfilment.

Problem Management

itmSUITE ® offers a high level of automation for the Problem Management process. It is in fact this process that benefits the most from the advantages of the workflow motor which makes it possible to have no- compromise configuration in this field as well . The process also benefits greatly from the integrated capabilities of Project Management due to the nature of the necessary activities.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Reduction in Problem Management automation times
• Possibility to configure the automation of Problem processes, without compromises
• Specific functions that are in line with best practice regarding Problem Management (eg. definition of the priorities of Problems on the basis of impact and urgency, the setting up of working groups with specific responsibilities and visibility for each single Problem, the possibility to integrate and manage financial data regarding Problems such as budget, final balance and forecast, etc.)
• Real-time visualization of process targets with graphic visualization of status (ex. RAG - Red Amber Green) and escalations managed automatically for a better responsiveness
• Automation of Problem management on the basis of external input (eg. events) or due to an event occuring internally on the itmSUITE ® platform (eg. automatic opening or update or closure of a Problem)
• Availability of preconfigured process cartridges in line with relevant best practice (ITIL®)
• Reporting

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Reduction of automation times of Problem Management
• Rise in the availability of services due to reduction of number and duration of Incidents
• Increase in the productivity of IT staff due to reduction of unplanned work caused by Incidents (since less frequent)
• Reduction of costs caused by the creation of inefficient workarounds
• Better alignment between the activities of the dedicated IT staff dealing with Problem Management and the business priorities.
• Ability to better identify and exploit all possible ways to improve services, for example through integration with other processes such as Continual Service Improvement
• Helps to conform to regulatory or legal requirements, or internal ones regarding Problem Management

Access Management

The functions and benefits of itmSUITE® in this field are the same as those that can be found in Request Fulfilment since Access Management is essentially a subgroup of requests.

Main benefits of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Possibility to configure the automation of processes of Request Fulfilment with state of the art solutions and in an extremely short time;
• Specific functions that are in line with best practice regarding Request Fulfilment ( routing of request to a support group based on categorization information, etc.);
• Organisation of very flexible access to requests with the possibility to set up an extremely intuitive portal for users that can be easily, fully or partially, integrated with other portals (eg. company intranet);
• Real-time visualization of process targets with graphic visualization of status (ex. RAG - Red Amber Green) and escalations managed automatically for a better responsiveness;
• Automation of Access Request Management on the basis of external input (eg. events) or due to an event occuring internally on the itmSUITE ® platform;
• Availability of preconfigured process cartridges in line with relevant best practice (ITIL®);
• Reporting.

Main benefits from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Reduction in Access Request automation times;
• Access to services is monitored to guarantee confidentiality
• Faster access to services (productivity of business resources is increased);
• Tracking of assigned access authorization;
• Possibility to provide businesses with simple and quick access when requesting IT services;
• Reduction in bureaucracy (including effort) and in lead times in the management of requests (eg. authorizations);
• Better alignment between the activities of IT staff who work on the management of Requests with business priorities;
• Ability to better identify and exploit all the possible ways to improve services, for example through integration with other processes such as Change Management;
• Helps to conform to internal requirements regarding Access Management.

Event Management

itmSUITE® has a module (External Event Manager) that makes the integration with external monitoring systems easier and faster. This means that events intercepted from external systems can be quickly dealt with by itmSUITE® and automatically trigger actions within itmSUITE ® (ex. opening of an Incident, update of a Change, etc.)

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Possibility to rapidly integrate an external monitoring system (through web services or by mail)
• Possibility to configure any kind of automatic 'codeless' action (eg. opening of an Incident) from within itmSUITE ® , based on external events

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Timely reaction to external events (eg. events where an Incident occurs)
• Overall cost reduction for managing events (actions are automatically dealt with, and triggered)

Continual Service Improvement

This is itmSUITE ®'s contribution to the continual service improvement phase and it is a highly significant one. In fact, itmSUITE ® supports:

• the interactive improvement process (seven-step- improvement process);
• management of the CSI ( register of improvements) ;
• management of the improvement actions in response to the improvements identified;
• reporting and dashboard on performances at all levels ( processes, services, organisational units etc).

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Reduction in Continual Service automation times
• Automation of the execution of the seven-step-improvement process cycles, either as a whole or as individual processes or as a service via the workflow motor.
• Support for the creation and management of improvement plans via the Project Management function ( including therefore cost management, risks etc)
• Automation of the CSI Register, managing improvement opportunities via workflow
• Automation of the management of improvement actions via workflow, creating links between improvement opportunities and Change, and Incidents or indeed any other element managed by itmSUITE ®
• Real-time visualization of process targets with graphic visualization of status (ex. RAG - Red Amber Green) and escalations managed automatically for a better responsiveness ( for example for the progress monitoring of improvement opportunities or actions)
• Availability of preconfigured process cartridges in line with relevant best practice (ITIL®)
• The possibility to create reports and configure dashboards to monitor any efficiency evaluation measurement in relation to improvement actions or plans.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Progressive or continuous improvement of the service quality
• IT services always aligned with business needs
• Progressive or continuous improvement in relation to service management efficiency.

Portfolio, Programme and Project Management

itmSUITE® supports the adoption of the most successful best practices and standards for Portfolio, Programme and Project Management (MoPR, MSPR, PRINCE2R, PMPR, ISO/IEC 21500). This is mainly achieved by supporting cross-practices (Management Control, Benefits Management, Financial Management, Risk Management, Organisational Governance, Resource Management) but also through the use of its distinctive features (Service Orientation and Roles Readiness, Business Rules Engine, Dashboard and Reporting Engine, Easy Integration, Codeless Customization) and more specifically in the different areas of Portfolio, Programme and Project Management as illustrated in the diagram. To find out more about the characteristics and support offered by itmSUITE® Portfolio, Programme and Project Management please select the area that you are interested in on the diagram.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Solid support for the introduction and evolution of all the best practices in IT Service Portfolio, Programme and project Management;
• Complete and continuously improving functional coverage;
• Availability of pre-configured processes that facilitate and speed up the start up phase;
• Low input in terms of time and effort needed in the start up phase;
• Effective adaptation, without compromises, to meet all needs (flexibility);
• Reduction in number of tools that need to be managed and in the number of integration maintenance interventions that need to be carried out over time (significant reduction in the Total Cost of Ownership);
• Autonomous and intuitive configuration thanks to codeless configuration ( independence that ensures independence, done by product specialists and which leads to an increase in the adaptation speed and a significant decrease in the Total Cost of Ownership);
• After- sales support provided by trained personnel, qualified in the field of IT Service Portfolio, Programme and Project Management (eg. ITILPRINCE2R );
• Flexible service support contracts;
• Ready-to-go solutions available (training and consulting provided on best practices + software) for a guaranteed result in a fixed time period;
• Sustainable investment offers available (e.g. software license rental or Software as a Service).

Portfolio Management

Portfolio Management is one of the areas where investments and improvements in itmSUITE® have been concentrated with the aim of supporting the cycle of definition and the delivery of portfolio investments so that they becomes initiatives that can transform the business of an organisation.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

Nowadays, itmSUITE® mainly supports the management activities needed for the delivery of Portfolios, in particular:

• management control;
• benefits management;
• financial management;
• risk management;
• stakeholder management;
• organizational governance;
• resource management.

For further details, please refer to the support of Cross Practices section. The evolution of itmSUITE® focuses primarily on the support for the portfolio definition cycle, in particular on the stages of identification, categorisation, definition of the priorities and the choices that the initiatives are part of.

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Optimization of the use of company resources with the aim of meeting strategic objectives
• Reduction of duplicated or overlapping initiatives
• More efficient and effective fulfilment of programs and/or projects that make up the portfolio
• More efficient use of resources
• Maximization and better-than-expected benefits deriving from portfolio
• Increased awareness of the aggregate risk related to the realization of portfolios

Programme Management

Programme Management is one of the areas where investments and improvements in itmSUITE® have been concentrated in order to ensure the attainment of company plans.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

Above all, itmSUITE® offers full support to the management of projects that are pivotal to the programmes, therefore improving the company's ability to achieve output that is in alignment with business needs. Such output subsequently contributes to the realization of the capabilities and the benefits that on its part the programme has to cultivate. Basically, thanks to the support of cross practices, itmSUITE® makes it possible to implement the principles and aspects of IT governance that are fundamental to the success of a programme:

• management of benefits;
• planning and monitoring of the programme;
• risk management of the programme;
• "financial" management (budget, final balance, forecast) of the programme;
• management of changes to the programme;
• management of "lessons learned".

Main benefits deriving from the adoprion of itmSUITE® :

• Facilitation in the adoption and maturity of Programme Management best practice;
• Realization of more effective changes with a reduction in negative impacts on business-as-usual;
• Improvement in the management of risks with visibility and integration of the different levels (project, programme and portfolio);
• Better control over changes (activities, clear responsibilities, efficient and structured monitoring of the progress);
• Optimization of the use of resources (management of budget, final balance and forecast with integrated approach between programme, project management and business-as-usual);
• Improvement in the management and creation of benefits;
• Improvement in long-term capability («lessons learned»);
• Improvement in recipient satisfaction of the programme output.

Project Management

itmSUITE® boasts continually improving advanced solutions for the management of projects that are in line with the most effective best practices in Project Management.

Main features of itmSUITE® useful in this area :

• Management of "lessons learned"
• Support for the management of each "stage"
• Support for management of exceptions
• Product Based Planning and Activity Based Planning with budget, final balance and forecast management
• Management of resource planning
• Risk management
• Management of project changes
• Management of "financial" aspects of the project (budget, final balance, forecast)
• Customization of processes and level of management of the project

Main benefits deriving from the adoption of itmSUITE® :

• Facilitates the adoption and matuuration of best practices in Project Management
• It can be used with any kind of project
• Makes it easy to assign and control project tasks and to control the project overall
• Optimizes the use of resources and makes it easier to anticipate future problems (especially when itmSUITE is used for all the levels of management for the company transformation, in other words Project, Programme and Portfolio Management and business-as-usual)
• Improvement in risk management
• Improvement in controlling changes and, therefore, more flexibility
• Improvement in efficiency: in other words, the projects generate output that is more in line with the initial needs (for example in terms of cost, quality and delivery times)
• Increase in end-user satisfaction with the project output
• Increase in team spirit among members of the project team

Cross Practices

Cross Practices are areas of activity, often processes, that are present in and fundamental to Portfolio, Programme and Project Management but also to IT Governance and IT Service Management.

Let's look in more detail at how itmSUITE® supports these areas.

Management Control

Control of initiatives/processes/performances. This practice is supported by the possibility to automate the lifecycle of controls with the workflow engine, with the possibility to determine KPIs and thresholds of real-time control for processes and instances (using the Objective Calculation Engine) and trigger not only communications, but also actions and workflow. The availability of reporting and dashboard completes the package.

Benefits Management

Planning and attainment of tangible benefits for the business. Despite it's fundamental importance, this activity is often forgotten: everything that is done in an organisation should lead to planned results! ItmSUITE, and psm in particular, make it possible to manage benefit files and their lifecycle through workflow. In addition, there also are the capabilities of reporting and the dashboard. This is a fundamental core practice for Portfolio and Programme Management.

Financial Management

Financial planning, costs and revenues (for budget, final balance and forecast). ItmSUITE, in particular with psm, fully supports the overall financial management of initiatives (eg. projects, programmes, portfolios), processes or IT services but also single process requests (eg. a Change) by managing all kinds of costs (budget, final balance and forecast), so as to ensure their control (through snapshots, reporting and dashboard). To this end, specific tools for the management of timesheets and the management of travel expenses are provided.

Risk Management

Management of risks at all levels (project/service, programme, portfolio, enterprise). itmSUITE supports the management of risks at all levels and supports the principle of escalation. In particular, it automates the management of the lifecycle of issues and risks and lets users visualize the aggregate risk and the map of risks.

Organizational Governance

Transparency on who decides what, when and how. Not only does itmSUITE allows such transparency but it actually guarantees Governance. How? Mainly by making it possible to establish processes, levels and fields of authorizations in workflows.

Resource Management

Planning and management of all the different kinds of resources needed (people, infrastructures, etc.). ItmSUITE is particularly focused on human resources. It actually makes it possible to represent and manage (to plan) the state of engagement on different project activities and Business As Usual at the same time. This is a unique characteristic of our suite that sets us apart from the competition.

Distinctive Features

The Distinctive Features of itmSUITE have a beneficial impact on Cross Practices and on the specific processes supported by best practices.

Roles Ready

The applications of itmSUITE support the typical roles of the practices of IT Service Management (eg. Process Owner, Service Owner) as well as those of portfolio, Programme and Project Management (eg. Project Manager).

Native Service Orientation

The concept of Service is pervasive in all applications. In psm, for example, master data can be easily configured in order to have different visibility and management for each IT Service. In visualCMS, there is a different kind of mapping and structure of the CMDB for each IT Service.

Workflow Engine & Cartridges

It is a powerful workflow engine (that includes a forms designer) that guarantees precise automation of the processes. The engine has such a high level of flexibility that it even allows the automation of process that are outside the primary focus (e.g. processes of management of buying requests or of general services). Workflow cartridges that implement the key processes in best practices supported (eg. Incident Management) are also available.

Reporting Engine

itmSUITE has a powerful open source reporting engine (BIRT) thanks to which reports can be easily prepared and carried out by using all the information gathered.

Dashboard

The KC application of itmSUITE is a dashboard that besides being powerful is also intuitive and easy to configure; that results in overall control on all processes and events.

Codeless Customization

The philosophy and the objective on which itmSUITE is based is that of making it possibile to adjust applications to different contexts without any kind of programming or customizing, but simply by setting parameters using the standard functions of the product. It follows that costs and times for the starting stage are very low and the Total Cost of Ownership is highly competitive.

Core modules

This section illustrates the core modules of itmSUITE®.

SM - Service Desk and Service Management

This is one of the core modules of itmSUITE® and as such can be activated autonomously. It includes a powerful workflow motor which can be freely configured to support the execution of the IT Service Management processes. SME also has the appropriate functions needed to operate a modern Service Desk, based on service management best practice and standards such as ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000.

For this module, various pre-configured processes that speed up and simplify process activation in line with the best practice and standards are available. These include:

• Demand Management
• Incident Management
• Change Management
• Problem Management
• Request Fulfilment
• Release & Deployment Management
• Access Management
• Ecc.

The workflow motor can be configured in an unlimited number of ways and as such this module is able to support other processes, for example sales and purchasing, that are outside the restricted field of IT. This module is perfectly integrated with the PM (Project and Portfolio Management) module and numerous other complementary modules.

Together they form a comprehensive and powerful automation tool for IT management (services and projects), key elements for the IT system of a service provider.

Related Modules

• PM - Project and Portfolio Management
• CMS - Configuration Management System
• FM - Financial Management
• OCE - Service Level Management
• ASM - Asset and Service Management
• REP - Reporting Management
• EEM - External Event Management

PM - Project and Portfolio Management

This is one of the core modules of itmSUITE® and as such can be activated autonomously. It supports the execution and maturation of management and project processes (Project Management) and project portfolios (Portfolio Management) in line with recognised best practice (eg. PMBoK® or PRINCE2®).

This module is perfectly integrated with the SM (Service Desk and Service Management) module and numerous other complementary modules.

Together they form a comprehensive and powerful automation tool for IT management (services and projects), key elements for the IT system of a service provider.

Related Modules

• SM - Service Desk and Service Management
• FM - Financial Management
• OCE - Service Level Management
• REP - Reporting Management
• EEM - External Event Management

CSM - Configuration Management System

This is one of the core modules of itmSUITE® and as such can be activated autonomously. It supports the creation and maintenance of a modern Configuration Management System, in line with recognised IT Management best practice and standards , in particular ITIL® e ISO/IEC 20000. In particular, it makes it possible to manage both the hardware and software configuration elements and the relationships between them, both graphically and intuitively. This module is perfectly integrated with the SM (Service Desk and Service Management) module and DE (Discovery Engine) core modules as well as other complementary modules. This means you can really get the most out of your investment in the configuration system by making it available to other IT service management processes, which will reap the benefits of Configuration Management.

The main functions of the CMS module are:

• Flexible configuration of entity models, and the relationships and attributes of the configuration elements.
• Graphic production of IT Service mapping
• Navigation and advanced information searches
• Impact analysis
• Monitoring support of end-to-end status
• Reconciliation of information from external systems (via the RE module- Reconciliation Engine)

Related Modules

• SM - Service Desk and Service Management
• DE – Discovery Engine
• RE - Reconciliation Engine
• SP - Sharepoint Publisher
• REP - Reporting Management
• EEM - External Event Management

DE - Discovery Engine

This core module works through agents that can be distributed on the different systems of Unix, Linux or Windows and which make it possible to explore the features of hardware, basic software and application software ( including custom) thanks to the creation of a 'finger print'.

Based on the OCS NG open source product the solution has been enhanced with the ability to explore relationships between software and software. The module has a graphic interface so that the information gathered can be consulted and used autonomously.

Thanks to the related RE- Reconciliation Engine module it is possible to use the system to supply the itmSUITE® CMS module; in other words to automatically supply the Configuration System with the aim of populating or checking and controlling the information on it.

Related Modules

• CMS - Configuration Management System
• RE - Reconciliation Engine
• REP - Reporting Management

Complementary modules

This section illustrates the complementary modules of itmSUITE®.

FM - Financial Management

This complementary module is compatible with the core modules SM (SM – Service Desk and Service Management) and PM (Project and Portfolio Management). It makes it possible to manage budgets, final balance sheets and forecasts for human resources, expenses and ad hoc general expenses (for example costs relating to the purchase of hardware, software, equipment etc).

At a high level, the main functions that this module offers are as follows:

• management of timesheets and expenses;
• management of purchase contracts;
• management of sales contracts;
• management of project budget, final balance sheets and forecasts ( in conjunction with the PM module);
• management of project budget, final balance sheets and forecasts ( in conjunction with the SM module);
• management of budget, final balance sheets and forecasts for individual processes (eg. change, problem, requests etc) ( in conjunction with the SM module);
• Pro-forma invoicing for projects and / or services ( in conjunction with PM or SM modules).

The module offers a basic reportinf function that with the REP (Reporting Management) module becomes unlimited.

Related Modules

• SM - Service Desk and Service Management
• PM - Project and Portfolio Management
• REP - Reporting Management

OCE - Service Level Management

This complementary module is compatible with the core modules, SM (Service Desk and Service Management and PM (Project and Portfolio Management). It makes it possible to define and control KPIs and targets that can easily be used for the management of service levels with clients and suppliers or internally.

At a high level, the main functions that this module offers are as follows:

• the definition of KPIs and targets via a graphic interface;
• near real time calculation of the indicators;
• visualisation of the indicators on lists or records of information (eg. incident, change, projects);
• use of the calculated indicators to trigger action, in other words the rules of business that can be freely configured in the SM (Service Desk and Service Management) module or PM (Project and Portfolio Management) module (for example by sending messages, opening tickets, changing information etc);
• use of the calculated indicators to create reports;

The module offers a basic reporting function that with REP (Reporting Management) module becomes unlimited.

Related Modules

• SM - Service Desk and Service Management
• PM - Project and Portfolio Management
• ASM - Asset and Service Management
• REP - Reporting Management

ASM - Asset and Service Management

This complementary module requires the presence of the SM core module – Service Desk and Service Management. Its activation makes the CMS (Configuration Management System) database module available and through this, the possibility to insert and modify assets (eg. hardware, software, equipment etc) The typology of the assets and the attributes (information) which can be managed are freely definable. The assets can be connected to the SM module ( Service Desk and Service Management) management information . In this way, for example, it is possible to connect a specific configuration element to an incident or a change or an endowment which is personal to a resource.

The module offers the basic reporting function which can become unlimited by adding the REP module ( Reporting Management).

Related Modules

• SM - Service Desk and Service Management
• REP - Reporting Management

RE - Reconciliation Engine

This complementary module requires the presence of the core module CMS- Configuration Management System It makes it possible to acquire information on the configuration elements or the relationships between those that come from external systems to the itmSUITE, for example CMDB or external asset management systems or even ERP systems or simple calculation sheets, and to manage their intelligent upload into the CMS database via freely configurable rules. In particular,it permits the verification of this information ( via freely definable reconciliation keys) and the different ways to behave ( creation of a new configuration element, substitution of data with up to date information etc). New interfaces (plug ins can be created, upon request, for any external system) It also goes with the DE-Discovery Engine core module for which it offers a plug in that makes it possible to intelligently upload the information on the configuration elements identified by DE- Discovery Engine in the itmSUITE® CMS.

Related Modules

• CMS - Configuration Management System
• DE – Discovery Engine

SP - Sharepoint Publisher

This complementary module permits interaction between the core CMS (Configuration Management System) module and portals based on Microsoft Sharepoint

The CMS side offers all the functions needed to totally or partially export the CMS content, including the configuration elements and the graphic representation of these (maps). The Sharepoint side offers a collection of components ( Web Parts) that make it possible to browse the information contained on the Sharepoint pages while maintaining all the original links between the different information.

In this way, it is possible to publish 'snapshots' of the Configuration Management System at certain moments on evolved communication tools (Sharepoint) which mean structured information from the CMS can be combined with non-structured information. This component is particularly useful and efficient for the creation of a Service Catalogue in line with IT Service Management best.

Related Modules

• CMS - Configuration Management System

REP - Reporting Management

This complementary module is based on the open source BIRT product which has a designer reporting with drag & drop interface and an engine for the execution and presentation of the report that is perfectly integrated with other modules itmSUITE ®. These modules have natively some reports, but the module REP - Reporting Management allows you to integrate new ones made ​​with the designer. It is therefore an indispensable tool for those who do not have or do not intend to implement a reporting platform independent but who wish to rely on itmSUITE ® for this.

Related Modules

• SM - Service Desk and Service Management
• PM - Project and Portfolio Management
• CMS - Configuration Management System
• DE – Discovery Engine
• FM - Financial Management
• OCE - Service Level Management
• ASM - Asset and Service Management

EEM - External Event Management

It is more than likely that an organisation that manages projects or services, either internally or externally, will have to communicate with other external systems ( typical examples are infrastructure monitoring systems or client/supplier trouble ticketing systems) It is for this reason that the itmSUITE® architecture has been studied specifically to manage the integration of the system. In particular, there is an internal bus for integration between all the modules ( MB-message Bus) which is included with the purchase of any core module and the EEM -External Event Management- module. The lattter is set up for dialogue with external systems, and this can take place via mail or web services. The EEM parser interprets the messages that arrive and activates the processes that have to deal with them thanks to the business rule management components (known as Action Engine) of the various itmSUITE® modules. The integration of itmSUITE® in relation to external systems usually occurs via the Action Engine where the triggers and steps to be taken on the external systems which offer such services, are configured.

Typical examples of integration are as follows:

• Opening or update of Incident and/ or Change based on notifications coming from the monitoring system ( eg. poor service or a server back in service);
• Opening or update of Incident, Change or problem based on notifications coming from the systems that manage external tickets.

The integration with LDAP and Active Directory is managed by the itmSUITE® core modules and doesn't require the installation of the EEM component.

Related Modules

• SM - Service Desk and Service Management
• PM - Project and Portfolio Management
• CMS - Configuration Management System

Architecture

This section illustrates the architecture itmSUITE®.

Glossary

This section contains the glossary for the key concepts and terms used by itmSUITE®.