Introducing: Shaju Krishnan on ITSM tool SaaS implementation
Hello fellow blogosphere inhabitants. I would like to introduce Shaju Krishnan. He is an ITIL certified consultant with the process consulting group of Infosys. He has around 10 years of experience, of which 5 years has been focussed on IT service management. He is kicking off his blogging adventure with a piece on the hot topic of SaaS: ''Configuring ITSM tools on a SaaS platform - A few facts'' whereby he will be sharing his experiences and learnings accumulated during the configuration of a SaaS ITSM tool for one of his clients. Over to you Shaju… (Bruno Calver).
Article by: Shaju Krishnan
The Software as a Service (SaaS) model is a way of providing the same software or tool to different customers via a network, usually the Internet. In other words, the software or tool is not hosted on the customers' individual computers. Under the SaaS model, a vendor is responsible for the creation, update, and maintenance of software. Customers pay a subscription to enable access to the service, which includes a separate license for each person that will use the software. The SaaS model can add efficiency and cost savings for both the vendor and the customer. Customers save time and money since they do not have to install and maintain programs. Drawbacks for the customer are that they do not control the software and customization of programs may be limited.
Implementation of an an ITSM tool in the SaaS model is rapidly growing due to the strong business case i.e Customers can expect higher system availability, increased user satisfaction and significant overall time and cost savings from improved system administration and management. However, I would like to bring some prons and cons to the table, which would benefit both vendors and customers in relation to the successful implementation of an ITSM tool like BMC Remedy , HP openview etc in a SaaS environment from a vendor’s data center facility via VPN or DS3 connectivity
- Realistic performance SLA’s should be agreed upon considering factors like load on the servers, no. of concurrent users, infrastructure capacity and the influence of network connectivity and latency
- Each customer will want to have their company’s logo on the GUI, hence vendors should configure the system in such a way that each customer’s web interface GUI has that particular customer’s logo.
- For processes like change management, approval engines for approving a change will be different for each customer. Vendors should understand each and every customer's approval process and do the customization and configuration accordingly
- If an update, customization or configuration is requested by a customer, it will most likely have a benefit or impact to other customers who are also using the same software. The vendor should communicate and get alignment from all its customers before deploying the changes
- For deploying the above mentioned changes, vendors should agree appropriate change windows as Peak and off peak hours may vary for different domains. For example, the banking industry will have weekend and evenings as off-peak where as Saturdays and Sundays will be peak hours for the gaming industry. Change windows should be selected in such a way that it is acceptable to all the customers and does not impact their business during peak usage times
- Infrastructure architecture diagrams and data segregation methods should be shared with all customers in order to provide a comfort feel to the customers that their data is safe and secured
- Finally vendors should configure tools in such a way that it complies with all regulatory requirements of all its customers. This can be a challenge as regulatory requirements may vary for each different domains.
Thankyou
- Each customer will want to have their company’s logo on the GUI, hence vendors should configure the system in such a way that each customer’s web interface GUI has that particular customer’s logo.
