BMC Software partner TuringSMI, a global provider of BMC Remedy IT service management solutions, is upgrading its global service desk in Cape Town to BMC Remedy IT Service Management (ITSM) Suite v7.
As a BMC elite partner, Turing SMI operates as a systems integrator offering solutions such as IT service management, based on the Remedy product set. TuringSMI helps more than 300 global corporate clients implement distributed service management processes that allow them to manage their corporate infrastructure and business services.
TuringSMI chose Cape Town as the location of its global service desk and its managed services desk, because of its central location in regard to time-zones, cultural fit, and the availability of skilled technical support staff proficient in English.
According to Norman Bassett, MD, TuringSMI, SA - as part of its eSupport platform, the company is rolling out the full BMC Remedy ITSM Suite v7 - starting with the BMC Remedy Service Desk component - for incident and problem management, and BMC Remedy Change Management.
"The key to our success is our ability to engage with clients at both a strategic and tactical level to develop process and technology solutions that achieve real business benefits," says Bassett. "The strategy of engaging at a process level, prior to a technical level, has been an important factor in delivering technology solutions."
Michael Ansley, VP, Managed Services, TuringSMI adds: "Our original support business, based in the UK, was a traditional, reactive model. Early in 2005, we decided to leverage the solid skills base and lower operating costs in SA for the expansion of the service desk. Until a few months ago, we had a custom-built incident management solution built on the BMC Remedy infrastructure.
"When BMC Software replaced this with the latest out-of-the-box BMC Remedy ITSM Suite v7, we decided to exploit BMC's greater process automation expertise, including the multi-tenancy component and extensive change and release management, all aligned with ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) best practices.
"Replacing our infrastructure met our customers' need for managed services and BMC's on-demand services, which we offer in certain markets. It's a bold step, but we are doing it for obvious technical and commercial reasons. It's a benefit for our clients that our internal infrastructure is upgraded and aligned with theirs."
Bassett says TuringSMI needed a tool that allows it not just to offer support to customers, but to offer such support in a structured manner. "We believe the BMC Remedy ITSM Suite v7 is the best product out there because of its ease of use. With the release of version 7, BMC has looked at the bigger picture. Incorporating the ITIL framework in a more comprehensive fashion with advanced workflow makes it easier to integrate into any environment.
"This enhances our ability to support the client, while reducing our load on the service desk. With e-Support, we are able to remotely monitor, manage and patch to other BMC Remedy sites. As far as we know, we are the only BMC Software partner worldwide doing this. And of course, it is particularly important in Africa, where the customer is frequently located at a remote site.
"It's also important that we use the tools we are selling to our clients. It gives us a lot of insight into the issues they face, and it gives us credibility."
TuringSMI has skilled BMC Remedy-certified engineers manning its service desk. "In our business it's about delivery, delivery, delivery," says Bassett. "And that means making an investment in training. When we talk to a client we are extremely comfortable in our ability to deliver to that client, and our consistently high ratings from BMC reflect this."
According to BMC Software country manager, Arjen Wiersma, "The BMC Remedy IT Service Management Suite not only streamlines the processes around the service desk, asset management, change management, and service level agreements, but it also enables companies to link their business services and IT infrastructure to help them manage the impact of technology changes on business and business changes on technology - in real-time and into the future.
"The BMC Remedy ITSM Suite helps companies to measure service levels, optimise the end-user experience, balance current and future infrastructure investments, and view potential impact on the business via a real-time service model," says Wiersma. "All of this helps them move towards full business service management (BSM) - a systematic approach that aligns internal IT systems with corporate deliverables."
Adds Bassett: "The speed at which we have managed to grow the global service desk and the calibre of our people has surpassed our expectations. We are committed to investing more training in both technology and business processes. We'll be using the BMC atrium configuration management database enterprise manager internally to manage our own assets, and we are currently going through a BSM accreditation programme so as to be able to offer the full BSM suite to customers."
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