IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager is an integrated platform that helps you manage any type of critical asset or configuration item (CI) in your environment. Built from the ground up on the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL^®) framework, Service Request Manager provides a comprehensive and modular approach to integrated service desk and service catalog management, enabling you to improve the efficiency of service delivery and drive down operating costs. In today's volatile, ever-changing IT environment, the service desk delivers critical support to the entire organization by keeping key business systems and services available and reliable. As technology becomes increasingly complex, problem resolution becomes more time-consuming, skill requirements increase and costs to maintain quality services escalate. In the face of tighter budgets and fewer resources, prioritization and responsiveness are the keys to maximizing the availability of business-critical IT services.

IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager provides a comprehensive set of features and functions that help you manage service requests in your organization.

Integrated service management platform

The Service Request Manager product provides a single integrated platform through which you can efficiently manage all operational and IT asset classes and their incident, problem, change, release, and SLA management processes. Integrated data and change management enables you to easily analyze the impact of changes that occur across the environment as a result of service tickets. In addition, the platform provides integrated IT and non-IT asset management, an integrated automation workflow engine, and integrated relationship mapping and agentless discovery.

Integrated process management

The product provides out-of-the-box automation for change, configuration, incident, catalog request, and release management processes. These processes are managed by an integrated common graphical workflow engine that provides easy modification and customization. The workflow also supports management across other lifecycle processes for asset and record, enabling the use of one tool for an asset lifecycle process customization keeping the entire history of all actions on the asset, and labor history, which is responsible for maintenance, replacement, repair,...

Workflow engine - graphical administration interface

Rich integration modules

Service Request Manager integrates with a variety of operational management products (OMPs) and process management solutions. The platform facilitates true automation by linking OMPs, the data model, and process managers. Through the Integration Framework module, which is a basic TSRM module, easy and efficient integration is achieved through the Web Services, XML load, the FlatFile load...

Integrated user interface

The Service Request Manager user interface provides its functions through a set of applications, which are grouped into modules and accessible through the Go To menu. All the applications share a common approach to displaying information and enabling user input and choices.

Common service management tools

The product provides a comprehensive collection of tools that make your product environment flexible and easy to configure, with no coding required. Administrative changes to the user interface, workflows, communication templates, reports, and KPIs are easily accomplished on the fly with the application designer and database configuration tools.

Reports and start centers

Service Request reports can help you understand the state of a particular aspect of your environment so that you can recognize when corrective measures are required. You can use the reports provided with Service Request Manager or design reports tailored to your specific requirements. In addition to the reports, the product provides out-of-the-box Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are displayed on most Service Request Manager start centers. A start center is a collection of links, notifications, work queues, and KPIs appropriate to a particular user role.

Security

You can control which users can use individual applications or modules.

IBM Tivoli^® Service Request Manager combines the service desk and service catalog capabilities on top of a common process automation platform to provide a seamless, unified solution for all aspects of service requests, enabling a "one touch" IT experience.

The Service Desk component of Tivoli Service Request Manager encompasses a broad variety of features that enable a single point of contact to automate incident and problem management. Built-in features streamline service desk functions and configure workflows and escalation across your organization, while a searchable knowledge base delivers fast answers to help-desk agents.

Start Center – Users GUI interface

Additional features include:

• Dashboards that provide real-time performance views.
• Remote diagnostics capability.
• Instant messenger support.
• Integration with computer telephony and interactive voice response product

Tivoli Service Request Manager acts as a single point of contact to help manage service requests, incidents and problems across your organization. It can also help you automatically monitor and manage any data point, process or event, including handling incidents coming from network systems management and monitoring applications, human resource applications, office devices like photocopiers, and environmental systems such as heating and air-conditioning. Through a built-in workflow and escalation engine, Tivoli Service Request Manager enables you to set escalation thresholds to implement proactive business process automation. For example, you can configure the application to automatically respond based on ticket type or event classification. With these features, your service team can more quickly prioritize and respond to your most business-critical events, helping to improve efficiency and speed time to resolution.

The Service Catalog component of Tivoli Service Request Manager allows users to select services directly from a catalog, helping to lower the cost of providing services. Options can range from simple end-user services such as password reset, to more complex services such as provisioning a server or upgrading an application environment. This versatile catalog also reflects the terms of any associated service level agreements (SLAs), rating and billing terms, and contractual agreements.

Service Catalog - Users interface