A key to being successful as a business or organization often hinges on the ability of the business to be agile and competitive. IT Service Management (ITSM), Project Portfolio Management (PPM), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) and conversational AI are four essential components of work management that can help organizations achieve this agility. Let’s break down these terms and understand their significance in modern business:
- ITSM refers to the implementation and management of quality IT services that meet the needs of a business. It ensures efficient service delivery and continuous improvement.
- PPM is the centralized management of processes, methods and technologies used by project managers to analyze and collectively manage current or proposed projects.
- iPaaS is a cloud-based platform that enables organizations to integrate, automate and manage applications, data and processes across their IT ecosystem.
- Conversational AI uses natural language processing and machine learning to facilitate human-like interactions with customers through chatbots and virtual assistants.
Despite their importance, organizations often face challenges in administering these services, such as fragmented systems, costly implementations and complex maintenance. This is where a unified, no-code platform that integrates ITSM, PPM, iPaaS and conversational AI can be a game-changer for businesses.
Benefits of a Unified Platform
A single no-code platform offers numerous advantages, including:
- Reduced costs: By consolidating multiple services into one platform, businesses can reduce the expenses associated with licensing, training and maintenance.
- Simplified IT infrastructure: A unified platform streamlines your IT ecosystem, eliminating the need for multiple systems and improving overall efficiency.
- Improved workflow: Integrated services enable seamless collaboration between teams, resulting in better communication and faster decision-making.
- Increased productivity: With automation and easy access to information, employees can focus on high-value tasks and drive innovation.
- Faster implementation times: A no-code platform allows for rapid customization and deployment of solutions, accelerating time to value.
- Improved customer service: Conversational AI enhances customer interactions, providing personalized and timely support.
Real-World Success Stories
Many businesses across various industries have successfully implemented a one-platform approach for service and project management.
Supporting IT and Enterprise Service Management (ESM), along with project portfolio management was something Self Regional Healthcare’s previous ITSM software couldn’t do.
Self Regional Healthcare, which provides advanced healthcare services to residents in seven South Carolina counties, relies on TeamDynamix to manage IT services and projects in a highly efficient and reliable manner.
“We were managing projects across various systems before,” Nikole Cabral, IT analyst and project manager, said. As a result, leaders didn’t have full visibility into the scope of work that each team member was involved in.
“We have over 70 projects we’re tracking in TeamDynamix right now and almost every single analyst has a hand in those projects, ” she explained, “We have to balance each employee’s time between doing break-fix work, offering support and onboarding, and completing projects.”
Having an easy way to track and manage all of this activity in one platform “has completely changed the game” for IT managers and other organizational leaders, Cabral noted.
She explained: “Before, there was no way for us to see how much time and effort was being put into projects by IT staff. Now, Operations recognizes how big of a role IT plays in every single project. If we’re onboarding a location, that involves significant IT work. Even if it’s something minor, like a department moving locations, that can also mean updating network IP addresses. There might be small things we can change pretty quickly, but we had no way of quantifying that work before.”
Using TeamDynamix has helped leaders bridge the gaps in communication; demonstrate the value that IT brings to the organization; and helped leaders manage expectations and allocate IT employees’ time more effectively—which Cabral describes as “fantastic.”
“We have the visuals now,” she said. “We have the project list, and we can show Operations: Here’s our resource allocation for the next three months. Anybody in red, they’re overscheduled, and we need to reassess things.”
At the City of Madison, the TeamDynamix platform is being used to support digital transformation initiatives with great success.
The team implemented TeamDynamix ITSM with PPM – focusing on self-service to kick off the city’s IT service delivery transformation according to Abigail Ferguson, Customer Success Manager for the City of Madison’s Information Technology.
“We are seeing the same resource constraints other cities are,” she said. “We are understaffed at times and need to focus on higher-value implementations. So, anything we can do to empower our users to find the resources they need for self-service is a must for us.”
Like many other businesses and organizations – the demand for service has gone up exponentially over the last few years as IT now has to support better digital experiences and a “service anywhere, anytime” mentality, even within the public sector.
To address the growing demand, the City of Madison is taking a proactive approach and combining Project Portfolio Management with ITSM using a single platform through TeamDynamix, “This is going to help us really get a sense of what projects align with our strategic goals. We can see what projects align with our service catalog that exist today and take a more proactive approach with our customers and other agencies,” she said.
This single platform approach for ITSM and PPM is also going to help the city identify what projects should be a high priority and what projects can be turned down or scheduled for a later time, “In government, you can’t always say no – it’s more of a ‘we can do that later’ so we want to be able to support our staff and our citizens the best we can by prioritizing the work,” Ferguson said.
At Covenant HealthCare they use TeamDynamix for ITSM and PPM.
CIO Frank Fear said this single platform approach to both service and project management has improved the organization’s transparency and communication as they no longer need to toggle between different programs and tools, “I have my own CIO dashboard and in one look I can see any negative survey that’s come in the last 24 hours, then pivot over and look at any project that has a status of red that needs my attention, then pivot over and look at what’s going live in the next 30 days, then pivot over and see what critical tickets have come in from the help desk that maybe affect our entire organization.”
Fear also uses the dashboards in daily huddles with his team to set priorities and see what needs to be done, “I can report on our key strategic projects and see which project requests are coming in and be able to report status on those very cleanly and clearly through dashboards. I’m able to communicate to the organization the value that all these IT dollars are delivering.”
At Pima County, they’ve taken a single-platform approach to service management and delivery.
“TeamDynamix is a place where we are really trying to kickstart and accelerate the ideology that automation with the right tools can bring value not just to IT, but to other departments within our organization,” said Mark Hayes, information technology leader, “We’re starting in IT so that they can see the possibilities as we move forward with our digital transformation and expand outside of IT.”
Pima County made the switch to TeamDynamix after using a different system for the last 10 years. Traditionally, the county has taken in tickets through email, phone and a service catalog with base-level triage, but with TeamDynamix in place, they will be able to leverage self-service and automation to serve its citizens better and reduce the drain on employees and resources.
One process automation, in particular, that’s saving significant time is onboarding and offboarding employees – something every organization deals with.
“You don’t need to waste so much time when it comes to onboarding,” Hayes said. “It really is such a sour experience for a new hire to come in, in this day and age, and sit around for three days waiting on their computer to show up. We need to get out of that mode and iPaaS will help us do that.”
And when it comes to offboarding Hayes said, “As a government organization we get audited by the state every year and they want to know what these stale accounts are doing sitting here. Offboarding is currently a very manual process – having to review the list from HR of people who are no longer employed with us and manually revoke their privileges from all the different systems and software and disable their accounts. There’s absolutely no reason for that to not be automated.”
Adopting a Unified Platform: Tips for Success
For organizations considering the adoption of a unified platform, here are some recommendations:
- Assess your current IT ecosystem: Understand your existing systems, processes and pain points to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Ensure proper support: Choose a vendor that offers comprehensive implementation and ongoing support, ensuring a smooth transition and long-term success.
- Select the right vendor: Evaluate potential vendors based on their expertise, experience in the space and customer testimonials.
In conclusion, a single no-code platform for ITSM, PPM, iPaaS and conversational AI can revolutionize your business operations, driving efficiency, cost savings and improved customer experiences. By following the tips outlined above, you can confidently embark on your journey toward digital transformation and sustained success.