ConnectWise Talks Up Browser, ITIL Support
Maybe it’s time for me to eat some crow (again). About a week ago, readers on the MSPmentor LinkedIn group asked me if the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) standard had gone mainstream in the managed services market. I downplayed ITIL a bit in my remarks. Fast forward a few days, and ConnectWise is describing several enhancements to its PSA (professional services automation) platform — including beta cross-platform browser support and better ITIL support. Here are the updates.
Of course, cross-platform browser support is the sexier feature. Many MSPmentor readers have been calling on PSA software providers to push beyond Internet Explorer to natively support Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple Safari.
In 2009, both Autotask and ConnectWise, respectively, vowed to introduce cross-platform support. But I concede: I need to do more homework here to determine how that work is progressing. ConnectWise says it’s now beta testing cross-platform browser support, but I need specific updates from Autotask and Tigerpaw Software as well.
On to ITIL
Meanwhile, ITIL isn’t as sexy but it seems to be quite important to a growing number of MSPs. ITIL first gained popularity in Europe and is described as:
“a set of concepts and practices for Information Technology Services Management (ITSM), Information Technology (IT) development and IT operations.”
In other words, MSPs that embrace ITIL are likely using best practices to automate and maintain IT operations.
The latest ConnectWise 2010 release, known as Phase 4, offers the following ITIL capabilities, the company says:
New service ticket sub-types help automate and streamline routine services by standardizing how IT companies provide their service. Templates can be created for different services that list standard tasks on the service ticket. To be more ITIL compliant ConnectWise created sub-types to provide guidance on how to coordinate and process common activities for your line of business. For example, under the service type “email,” the sub-types could be “end-user problem”, “spam filter problem”, or “mailbox size exceeds limit”. Associated with each subtype can be a list of pre-set tasks to complete.
ConnectWise certainly isn’t alone in its ITIL focus. ManageEngine in April 2010 claimed to introduce the first ITIL-based service desk for MSPs. Kaseya CEO Gerald Blackie has been an outspoken ITIL proponent, raising the subject in multiple MSPmentor interviews. And Autotask, another key PSA software provider, has talked up ITIL at a range of conferences and educational settings.
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Shameless pimping aside, Shockey Monkey is the only PSA platform to support true cross platform usage – from iPhone to iPad to Android to Opera to Firefox to Safari across devices across every feature. We’re even demoing the product on iPads at conferences which multiple people have told me is the killer feature – “Imagine walking in to a client and just handing them the iPad with all the vitals instead of a stack of papers.”
Though with respect, our software is a toy compared to the offering Autotask puts out. Still, it’s nice to have a choice.
-Vlad
Thanks for the plug, Vlad.
Autotask for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are in beta now, will be in Limited Release next week, and available worldwide next month.
I am glad to see the big 3 PSA tools starting to embrace ITIL. We adopted the ITIL processes about 6 years ago and by doing so moved our managed services solutions forward by leaps and bounds. The ITIL concepts basically outline how to run an enterprise IT department. If you look at what an MSP does it is exactly that, except that instead of different departments and locations we are supporting different companies. Our industry would certainly be better off if more MSP’s adopted this practice.
Lane Smith
Do IT smarter
Hi Joe,
Since you asked for an update, I will add that Tigerpaw’s web portals (both our employee portal and our amazing customer portal) support Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and yes, the iPad. 🙂
These portals just shipped this year and many people aren’t yet aware of them. They really are amazing products and we’d be happy to show them to you if you’d like a closer look.
As for ITIL, it’s something we’re looking into but I can’t comment on a feature set at this time. Right now, we are completely focused on our user conference in October and the release of Tigerpaw 11 (officially taking place at the conference – YIKES!).
Thanks for thinking of us, and I hope to see you at our conference in October.
James Foxall
President, Tigerpaw Software
Sadly here we are well over 6 months later and the browsers are still minimally supported in Autotask. I applaud that we can do far more than we could 6 months ago but you still can’t perform your full job in anything but IE even if you are a field tech just running tickets. As customers we have griped about this for over 3 years yet this is all we’ve gotten. I’m wondering if anything is happening at the other software vendors because I’m tired of waiting for Autotask to step up.