From the age of modern IT Renaissance, the main problem is that the Managed Services companies pursue is the management of the entire infrastructure and all employees who participate in the provision of information services to customers. How to do it correctly, easily and quickly? IT Services Birmingham specialists think that the main thing is to choose the optimal automated management system for this company, which will allow simultaneously focusing on tasks of different scale and level, work transparently for an employee of any rank and combine several elements of resource accounting and task scheduling.
Managing a Managed IT Services company involves many nuances because it requires managing the entire infrastructure:
- the complex of technical means (server, data storage, etc.)
- the complex of communication services (Internet, local area networks, etc.)
- programming (support of existing information systems, development of new functionality, etc.).
All these processes are closely intertwined. Moreover, in any, even a large company, it rarely happens that some people are engaged only in development, others only in product testing, and others only in implementation, the fourth only in maintenance, and the fifth only in research or preparation of new products. Of course, a clear separation of responsibilities from a process management point of view is correct.
But in practice, the ideal is amenable to adjustment. Accordingly, the same people in the company participate both in service processes and in processes related to project activities and in research projects. At the same time, work on a project is built in accordance with certain rules- analysis, the creation of technical requirements, clarification of customer preferences, the creation of a technical task, then a project.
In any company that is engaged in the development, implementation, and maintenance of software, as well as the provision of information services, there are several processes:
Research process
Striving to create something new, relevant, exclusive is the norm for a growing company. However, there is always the question- will the new idea be in demand? Will it come to realization? And what will be the final result? No one can predict all this.
The process of creating projects
The project, on which the company's employees work, does not arise from anywhere. The task comes from the customer (external or internal), then turns into a project with deadlines, determining the employment of an employee or employees, and so on.
Project support
Simply put, this is service support (Help Desk or Service Desk), which is expressed in responses to user requests. Inquiries can come to the company in any form- calls, records in the system, emails, etc; depending on which order of receipt of applications are accepted in the company. All these requests come to the so-called Data Collection Center from customers, from where it is already distributed to a specialist who will directly perform this task.
Business meetings
As a rule, the heads of departments and divisions discuss the necessary issues related both to the development of some new products, research, and what is happening inside the company in its current activities. Everything is being recorded and, in accordance with the minutes of the meetings, it is already possible to issue tasks that must be completed by the next meeting or by another deadline.
Software version development
This is a standard business process within a company. Accordingly, all the features of business process management should be taken into account here:
- version creation project (assignment of a task to a specific programmer or programmers)
- transfer of software version for testing
- software installation at the customer.
As soon as one task is completed, the command to execute another automatically goes. Here at the same time act on the one hand - project management, on the other - business process management. If a Managed Network Services company has several software products and many versions of them, then it is necessary to understand the stage at which this or that project is, this or that task for this project.
All in one solution
IT Services Birmingham staff said that they tried to use various software products for managing projects, services, business processes, electronic document management, customer relations. But they are all in different systems. And as soon as it is necessary to determine what a particular employee is doing, it is necessary to enter into five different systems.
In any managed IT services company, it is necessary to automate these processes. For example, in the “Customer Service” section there can be both tasks related to research and tasks related to customer service. The automated control system will determine how loaded a particular specialist work. Then it will be possible to strictly monitor the deadlines for the execution of projects and business processes.
Project Management and Business Process Management
In existing information systems, there is sometimes project management and business process management. Although in a number of solutions there is a description of the business process itself, there is no connection with the forums that are held as part of business processes, there is no connection with working with clients, with electronic document management. Therefore, the time spent on the implementation of a decision may be uncertain.