Ivanti HEAT Neurons Podcast | Best Practices | Tips & Tricks | Latest Solutions: Recent Episodes
Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT) Consultant & Developer | Since 1996 | Worldwide
Popular Ivanti, HEAT, Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager (ITSM), Ivanti Asset Manager (ITAM), Ivanti Self Service Portal, ESM Topics
Gregor has been providing Ivanti HEAT Best Practices, Development, Consulting, Architecture & Design for Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT), and Asset Manager, since 1996, that's 26+ years, 100+ implementations
Developing, streamlining workflows, business processes for fortune 500 companies and Ivanti Business Partners (Kifinti Solutions, DDS IT), worldwide, in the UK, EU, APAC, Australia, New Zealand ANZ, Canada, US
https://www.a19consulting.com
DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, Cherwell, ServiceNow, Remedy, Infor, or Sage. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.
What is Kaizen, you may ask?
Kaizen as you may suspect, is Japanese for "Improvement". It's a concept of business activities to continuously improve all functions for all employees of a company. Mostly used in supply-chain,. Kaizen has been applied to healthcare, life coaching, government, manufacturing, and banking.
IMHO Kaizen is the unwritten bible of successful consultants and developers. I have adapted this concept with great success with my 100+ Ivanti HEAT ITSM/ITAM implementations worldwide, over the last 28+ years implementing Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM (powered by HEAT)
DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, Workato, Zapier, BMC Remedy. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of the fact that we have experience with the mentioned ITSM and CRM products
Although the term Integration Platform as a Service was invited in 2011, the first such services didn't surface in the Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM world until about 5 years ago with Zapier, a company that provides integrations for web applications.
At that time API was, and to a degree still is, very difficult and time-consuming to implement and maintain, so Zapier was touted as a great solution and possibly the future of integrations. However, a lack of features (at least in the Ivanti universe) as well as cost were the main factors for its fizzling out.
I have to say that I was really impressed by the Workato integration that Ivanti demonstrated on a recent show-and-tell webinar.
If you would have asked that question 28 years ago, the answer would likely have been quite different. You see ITSM has come a long way since the early Helpdesk days. Back then most helpdesk systems were very basic ticket systems that recorded employee information, symptoms, ticket categories, and allowed you to prioritize and assign tickets. Sure you had some basic business automations like alerts and escalations, and perhaps even some scheduled reports.
DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti, ServiceNow, Remedy, Infor, or Sage. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.
FAQ
Do you really need a dedicated Ivanti Consultant?
How important is Ivanti Certification?
What time zone are you in?
What is the better approach, onsite or remote implementation?
What is the typical time frame of an Ivanti ITSM Project?
What is your approach?
What are your rates?
Back in the day before Zoom, before Goto Meeting, before the Internet, onsite visits were the only approach. Nowadays you hardly find anyone requiring an onsite and if you do. You really need to ask yourself, why?
Lately on various Social Media Sites there have been quite a few proud posts of Ivanti "Consultants" getting their Certification for Ivanti ITSM.
What is Ivanti Certification? And is it important?
Ivanti ITSM has come a long way in the 27+ years I have implemented the various products from HEAT, HEAT ITSM, Ivanti Service Manager, Ivanti Asset Manager, and now Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM.
Surprisingly the Ivanti Professional Services approach has also changed. From in-house consultants, now outsourced to Ivanti Business partners.
Is that good, is it bad? How many consultants/developers do you really need for your ITSM Project?
DISCLAIMER: Not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Ivanti. Any use of the software product names is descriptive of product experience/skillset or used to review the ITSM and CRM products.ChatGPT by definition is a large language model trained by OpenAI based on the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) architecture, designed to understand and generate human-like language, which allows ChatGPT to have conversations with people and answer their questions on a wide range of topics. The purpose of ChatGPT is to assist and provide helpful responses to users.
On the surface it looks very promising, but as you dig deeper you will find there are still quite a few glitches and it's more of a glorified search engine, not unlike using Google Voice, Alexa, or Siri to search for information.
Visit the ITSM/ITAM/ESM BLOG!
Question from an ITSM client regarding their Ivanti Service Manager tenant:
If needed, are we able to create a separate instance for the AP ticketing?
Short Answer is NO, you don't need a project manager. In fact, one of the most common mistakes made by companies implementing Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM aka Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT) is to assign a Project Manager.
https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/?p=2425
Don't get me wrong, there are many great project managers out there and there is a need for project manage for many hardware type of implementations and large scale software development. For Ivanti HEAT Neurons ITSM however, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is assigning a Project Manager.
From 26+ years Ivanti HEAT ITSM Implementation experience and 100+ Ivanti HEAT Neurons implementations globally for Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies in the UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, APAC, Asia, Canada, and the USA, I can tell you without a doubt that less is more, and 99% of the time, project managers are not needed and typically get in the way of getting things done.
One of the most common Ivanti HEAT Neurons Implementation challenges identified by clients is "Admin Training". What seems like an easy quick fix is actually more complicated. It takes more than just Ivanti Training Academy access, Ivanti Business Partner training, and guidance from a seasoned professional.
With 26+ years Ivanti HEAT Experience and 100+ Ivanti HEAT Implementations worldwide in the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, and the US, the topic of Ivanti HEAT Administration and Training is one that I've seen change over the years and encounter on a regular basis.
Tune in or read my blog post to find out.
There is a very important distinction between Ivanti HEAT ITSM Developers, Consultants, and Architects, and of course there are Ivanti Freelancers too.
You also need to evaluate competency vs skill and number of years experience and Ivanti HEAT Implementations.
Be sure to tune in to my Ivanti HEAT Neurons Podcast or read my blog article at https://bitly.com/IvantiDeveloper
From 26+ years Ivanti HEAT ITSM Implementation experience and 100+ Ivanti HEAT Neurons implementations globally for Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies in the UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, APAC, Asia, Canada, and the USA, I can tell you without a doubt that Developers and Consultants are not the same and the lines are quite blurry when it comes to skills and competence.
Ivanti is an IT powerhouse and supply software systems that require professional services. That is not the same as a professional service provider. Ivanti is in the sales business straight and simple. This should matter to you. Tune in to find out why!
Blog.a19Consulting.com
Most if not all Ivanti Professional Services that are delivered today, for example for Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT) aka Ivanti Neurons for ITSM, are not delivered by Ivanti but delivered by Ivanti Business Partners and managed by an Ivanti Project Manager.
This should matter to you when you approach Ivanti for Product Support and Professional Services. Remember what I said earlier, Ivanti is in the Sales business. Sales as in products sold take priority, with Professional Services outsourced to Business Partners, not far behind. Of course by selling more product, more professional services are needed.
If you have any Ivanti Podcast Topics or Questions you'd like me to cover please contact me at http://podcast.a19consulting.com/
Meet your Podcaster
Providing HEAT Best Practices and now Ivanti Best Practices, for Ivanti Service Manager, and Ivanti Asset Manager, since 1996, with tried, tested and true implementations and upgrades. Worldwide in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, ANZ, APAC, Canada, and the US.
Developing, streamlining workflows & business processes for fortune 500 companies and Frontrange Business Partners (Change Control, Avante Solutions, Kifinti Solutions) and Ivanti Business Partners (Kifinti Solutions, DDS IT).
Best Practices Internationally for a multitude of sectors, such as Software, Government, Financial, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Military, Transportation, Events Management, Travel & Entertainment, Mining, Telecom, Education, Utility, Insurance, Legal, Retail, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Oil & Gas
ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR IVANTI SERVICE MANAGER IMPLEMENTATION? You aren’t. Until you contact a19consulting.com Guaranteed!
TestimonialsFive stars for Ivanti HEAT Experience, Technical Knowledge, and Consultative Approach!
“Our engagement with Gregor and a19 Consulting has been highly successful in scoping Ivanti HEAT design changes, meeting with key business stakeholders and delivery of service improvement. Technical expertise and ability to project manage the implementation of changes meets all expectations.
We are very confident in Gregor and a19 Consulting to assist in the delivery of required changes and their industry expertise in advising of best practice Ivanti HEAT configuration set-ups to follow.”
Jamie Davidson | Sodexo Australia | Infrastructure & Support Manager
Taking Ivanti HEAT to the NEXT LEVEL!
“EXP had completed an Implementation of the Ivanti Service Manager and Asset Manager toolset. The implementation team from Kifinti Solutions were helpful in getting it up and running, but we needed someone that could take EXP to the next level and configure the tool so we could utilize all of its potential, with the latest solutions and Ivanti Best Practices. As EXP was also in a transition period where our processes and workflows were being redefined, Gregor and a19 Consulting were able to work with us to align our working processes with the workflows within the Ivanti Service Manager tool.”
Steven Morin | EXP | Helpdesk Manager | Canada and USA
Jingle bells, jingle bells.. WAIT, say what? Christmas Lights? What do Christmas Lights have to do with Ivanti HEAT Neurons?? EVERYTHING!!!
https://itchronicles.com/business-metrics/itsm-esm-christmas-lights/
If your dashboards aren't lighting up like a Christmas tree, and yes I mean green for good and red for bad, for your KPIs and Metrics, including Hours of Operation Calculations, Averages, Percentages, Trends, and complex groupings, then you need to listen to this podcast!
blog.a19consulting.com
https://bit.ly/IvantiHEATITSMStatisticsMonitor
Software asset management (SAM) is a business practice that involves managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilization, and disposal of software applications within an organization. Sounds great, but where do you start? And what tools are available in Ivanti Service & Asset Manager? Based on my Ivanti HEAT ISM Blog Post at blog.a19consulting.com
Do you have an Ivanti Podcast Topic or Question? Submit it at podcast.a19consulting.com
In this Podcast, based on the Ivanti ITSM Blog Post of the same title, we will be covering the history of ITAM, how ITAM has evolved in the last couple years, and what you need to know. Be sure to take your ITAM Implementation to the Next Level and contact a19 Consulting for a FREE Discovery Session.
Implementing ITAM since 1996www.a19consulting.com
I started watching Dragons' Den in Canada and then the US version of Shark Tank. When I ran out of episodes to watch I tuned in to Dragons' Den UK (The Original) as well as the Shark Tank Australia Spin Off. Another German Spin Off that I tend to watch is "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lions' Den)
What does all this have to do with Ivanti, HEAT, and ITSM? More than you think!
blog.a19consulting.com
Incidents (Break/Fix) and Service Requests (New/Change to Service) are often long debated by companies new to ITSM (IT Service Management).
Password Reset Requests do not make the differentiation any easier. Are they a break/fix or service request?
Can Password Resets even be logged by a user? Of course!
- There are many passwords besides your Single Sign-On (SSO) password.
- Self Service can be configured to allow anonymous Incidents and Service Requests.
- You could always ask a colleague to log a ticket for you.
- You could just pick up the phone and use the Interactive Response System (IVR), Ivanti Voice to submit a password reset.
- You could just pick up the phone and call the Service Desk who then logs the Ticket.
The subject actually goes much deeper as Incidents are viewed negatively. More incidents, more issues, higher IT instability. While Service Requests are positively viewed as a demand for IT services.
Do you have an Ivanti Podcast Topic or Question?Submit it at podcast.a19consulting.com
This question came in through my Podcast Question/Topic Form from Andre in Frankfurt, Germany.
What is the typical Ivanti Implementation Timeframe?
Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ISM) Implementations really vary based on business requirements. There is no quick silver bullet or cookie-cutter Scope of Work, and Estimates can vary greatly between Ivanti Business Partners, and independent consultants.
Be sure to listen to what I have to say and my unique insights thanks to 25+ years of Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT) experience.
podcast.a19consulting.com
When it comes to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) there is one important configuration that's overlooked or forgotten.
Holidays and Exceptions You've likely seen me post Holiday message on Instagram for the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Europe, Singapore, etc. Make no mistake about it, Holidays are important. Your SLA clock is likely ticking away when Incident, Service Request, and Task SLAs should be paused!
It's somewhat of a straight forward process to configure SLA Holidays & Exceptions.
There are two types of "Exception" configurations for your Hours of Operation (HOP) Calendar, aka Business Hours:
- Recurrent
- Manual Dates
Continue reading at blog.a19consulting.com
Ivanti Cloud Status Updates consist of important Maintenance Notifications and Operational Status Updates for Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager, and Ivanti Asset Manager Cloud Platforms.
The Ivanti Status Cloud Page is a great way of staying on top of notifications. Only snag is that there isn't an easy way to see landscape specific updates for your Data Centre.
For Ivanti Maintenance Notifications specific to your tenants be sure to visit status.a19consulting.com
- Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Ireland | IRL
- Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for London UK | LDZ
- Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Frankfurt Germany | FFZ
- Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for APAC | AUSTRALIA | NSZ
- Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Toronto Canada | TTZ
- Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for North Virginia (America East) | NVZ
- Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Washington (America West) | WAZ
In this podcast Gregor covers the differences between Incident, Problem, Service Request, and Change Requests from a perspective of ITIL definition, helpdesk implementation, Ivanti Service Manager architecture, perception, and reporting.
This podcast is based on the blog post found here https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2021/02/23/what-is-the-difference-between-an-incident-problem-and-service-request/ and was expanded to include Change Requests which are a topic of their own.
Have a topic you'd like to have covered? Contact Gregor at www.a19consulting.com
One of the biggest issues with writingUAT (User Acceptance Testing) test cases, is knowing where to start and insisting on building your test script around the software. The fact is, you do not need access to Ivanti Service Manager (ISM, powered by HEAT IT Service Management) and it is actually encouraged not to use ISM at all when devising UAT Test Scripts.
In this Ivanti HEAT ISM Podcast Episode we will cover UAT Test Cases, Examples, the biggest problems with UAT Test Cases, and how to overcome them.
Be sure to the original Ivanti HEAT ITSM Blog Post at blog.a19consulting.com
This Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ISM) Podcast Episode clears up some misconceptions about UAT Test Scripts and is based on my blog post from February 18, 2021 which you can visit at https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2021/02/18/who-owns-uat-test-scripts/
On-Premise (Self hosted) and Cloud Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager (ITSM), and Ivanti Asset Manager (ITAM) customers have 3 tenants (environments) that I like to call the "Holy Trinity".
https://blog.a19consulting.com
STG - Stage Environment for Development and System Testing by the Ivanti Consultant / Administrator only
UAT - User Acceptance Testing Environment for End User validation of business requirements by the UAT Test Team
PROD - Production Environment
Any configuration changes to Ivanti Neurons ITSM/ITAM should always follow the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle), that is development & system testing in Stage, then push to UAT for End User Acceptance Testing, and finally upon UAT Sign-Off push the changes to PRODUCTION.
https://www.a19consulting.com
It is no secret that I strongly believe Email is a productivity tool from the last century and recommend against enabling one-off email notifications unless absolutely necessary. A much better way and extremely advanced configuration is to create email summaries.
Do you have an Ivanti Podcast Topic or Question? Submit it at podcast.a19consulting.com
Ivanti Neurons is the latest name change and rebranding of Ivanti’s Product Line.
What was launched as a separate product, “Ivanti Neurons”, and replaced Ivanti Cloud, now has become the new name for the Ivanti Products for ITSM, ITAM, UEM, etc. You could call it a “shift left name change”.
for more information visit neurons.a19consulting.com
This podcast is based on the Ivanti HEAT ISM Blog Post of the same title.
Do you have an Ivanti Podcast Topic or Question? Submit it at podcast.a19consulting.com
This Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ISM) podcast is the audio portion of the video created on February 18, 2021.
The full blog post and video can be viewed here:
https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2021/02/18/common-uat-pitfalls/
One of the most under utilized features of Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT Call Logging System) is the Self Service Portal.
Some organizations are hesitant to roll out Self Service, other companies simply don't know where to start, and then there is the huge price tag from Ivanti Business Partners that lack a consultative approach and are prone to utilize scope of work templates and a cookie cutter Ivanti implementation plan.
Based on the ITSM Blog Post at https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2021/05/11/self-service-portal/
WHERE TO START WITH SELF SERVICE? First and foremost you want to do an intake of your top obstacles and challenges, see my Ivanti Implementation Poll for ideas, and then contact a seasoned consultant. Why? You are not getting the most out of your Ivanti Implementation until you talk to me. Guaranteed.
contact.a19consulting.com
Who is a19 Consulting?
Providing HEAT Best Practices and now Ivanti Best Practices, for Ivanti Service Manager, and Ivanti Asset Manager, since 1996, worldwide, with tried, tested and true implementations and upgrades for fortune 500 enterprise clients and Ivanti Business Partners (Kifinti Solutions, DDS IT).
Best Practices Internationally in North America, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and Australia for a multitude of sectors, such as Software, Government, Financial, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Military, Transportation, Events Management, Travel & Entertainment, Mining, Telecom, Education, Utility, Insurance, Legal, Retail, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Oil & Gas
www.a19consulting.com
In this Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ISM) Podcast Episode we will look at Regression Testing.
This is the audio portion of the video for my blog post created October 1, 2020.
https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/what-is-regression-testing-ivanti-best-practices/
This Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ISM) Podcast Episode focuses on the difference between UAT Testing and System Testing.
This is the audio portion of my You Tube Video from October 6, 2020.
For more great content be sure to check my blog at https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com
What is Edge Computing? Shift Left Paradigm? Ivanti Neurons?
Nirvana vs Realistic Expectation
This podcast is based on the Ivanti HEAT ITSM Blogpost found here:
https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2021/05/05/introduction-to-ivanti-neurons/
What are your thoughts? Are you an Ivanti Neurons customer or prospect? Please share your thoughts and leave a comment for this podcast topic at podcast.a19consulting.com
What is Barcode Scanning? How to use Bar Code Scanners with Ivanti Service and Asset Manager?
What is available out of the box and how can you take your implementation to the next level with the a19 Asset Scanner Wizard?
Scanning Assets with Ivanti Service Manager and Ivanti Asset Manager just got easier!
No expensive clunky hardware required!
All you need is an Android Device, iPhone, or iPAD. An Ivanti ITSM first!
Works with ANY Ivanti Role, not just Ivanti Asset Scanner Role
http://mobile.a19consulting.com/
More on Ivanti Asset Bar Code Scanning
https://bestpractice.systems/ivanti-best-practices-asset-manager-bar-code-scanni/
PS: If you're still reading this... here is a blog entry on Generating Barcodes
https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2021/04/29/generating-bar-codes/
This is exciting news! Looking forward to reconnect with former Bendata/Frontrage HEAT Employees that went to the dark side and joined Cherwell! As well as former Change Control / Burntsand and present Avante Solutions / Kifinti Solutions Consultants!
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com
This Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ISM) podcast episode focuses on UAT, Test Cases, Scripts, common UAT mistakes and problems, and how to overcome them.
This is the audio portion of the video on the same subject, published September 17, 2020, that you might have seen here at https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/2020/09/17/what-is-user-acceptance-testing-uat/
Today's Ivanti Service Manager podcast is on the topic of Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT) Milestones which are the basis of Ultimate Ivanti HEAT Implementation Success Factors!
Be sure to visit my blog at https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com/ for more great content
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://ivantiservicemanagerconsultant.wordpress.com
Gregor, a former Kifinti Solutions Consultant, is without doubt a unique and distinctive authority in the Ivanti ITSM space with his consulting and development experience and extensive insight to best practices going back over 24 years with the HEAT and now Ivanti ISM/IAM products.
Providing HEAT Best Practices and now Ivanti Best Practices, since 1996, with his tested and true implementations and upgrades, Gregor now focuses on his company a19 Consulting which provides Ivanti Professional Services and Ivanti Best Practices.
A19 UAT TEST SCRIPTS MODULE FOR IVANTI SERVICE MANAGER (HEAT)
The a19 UAT Test Scripts module significantly improves your Ivanti Service Manager Implementation, Upgrades, and collaboration internally and with your Ivanti Consultant.
Gone are the days of using Excel for UAT Test Scripts, or worse, heading into darkness without UAT Test Scripts!
Long time Ivanti Consultants, Ivanti Business Partners, and Ivanti Customers alike only dream of having a simple UAT Test tool that cuts their implementation time and cost.
Lets face it, when you’re implementing Ivanti Service Manager, you want to focus on strategy and quick execution. Validation Testing is the #1 problem with most ISM Implementations, upgrades, customizations, and integrations due to a lack of UAT Test Scripts.
The #2 problem is a lack of process. With an average of over 100 test cases, you need a tool that redefines your Ivanti Service Manager Validation Process.
The #3 problem is collaboration. How do you keep your team’s morale up and focused on the key areas for testing when you don’t have a proper UAT Testing System that’s real-time, easy-to-use, and clearly defines key roles, responsibilities, and lets the Subject Matter Experts focus on their area of expertise when you don’t have a proper system?!
On top of that, you need precise, concise, timely, and relevant Test Cases and Results to make informed decision and identify actions needed, all while keeping a bird’s eye view with relevant dashboards, analytics, simplified ISM Change Control, and an executive summary.
www.a19consulting.com