What are ITSM, ITIL, and Ivanti?

Creating a successful and efficient IT service management (ITSM) model is key to any modern business.

ITSM began with the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), which provides best practice guidance and an extensive set of processes and policies for improving IT service delivery and customer satisfaction.

However, there have been many advances in ITSM since the emergence of ITIL. Ivanti is one of the leading ITSM solutions that has been popular not just in recent years, but for almost 3 decades. Bendata brought us HEAT (Helpdesk Expert Automation Tool) with it’s Call Logging application for DOS and then HEAT for Windows. Later on the company went through name changes from Bendata to HEAT Software, and finally Frontrange Solutions (FRS), plus there was a spin-off company, Cherwell, before finally both were acquired by Ivanti, bringing us Ivanti Neurons for ITSM (formerly Ivanti Service Manager).

Ivanti integrates multiple best-in-class tools into a single unified platform and allows organizations to customize the tools to meet their specific business needs. With Ivanti, organizations can reduce their total cost of ownership, simplify IT service management processes, and reduce manual effort. This platform also helps organizations better manage their IT assets and more efficiently manage their IT service delivery processes. Ivanti also provides a secure, compliant environment for storing sensitive data and provides built-in reporting tools to easily track IT performance goals.

In summary, Ivanti is an innovative ITSM solution that can help organizations to improve the quality of their IT services, reduce operational costs, and maximize operational efficiency. It is the perfect solution for organizations looking to optimized IT service delivery and ensure customer satisfaction.

Next time you’re considering an Ivanti Consultant or Developer, it’s helpful to remember the history as there are too many junior Ivanti Developers/Consultants/Project Managers that give themselves the title “senior” with only a few years experience and only a few implementations. Even 15+ year veterans are often junior. How do I know this? After 100+ Ivanti Implementations and consulting and developing for over 27+ years with Ivanti/Frontrange/HEAT around the world, I have encountered too many “senior” consultants/developers that just don’t measure up to what you’d expect. So if you’re serious about getting the most out of your Ivanti Implementations be sure to talk to me first.

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Ivanti Service Manager Cloud Upgrade to 2022.1 for FFZ Tenants postponed

FYI for Ivanti Service Manager Cloud clients of the Frankfurt Germany (FFZ) Tenants aka Europe East Data Centre. The scheduled 2022.1 Production release for March 25, 2022 has been postponed.

Ivanti Integration API Flat File Ivanti Project Implementation UK Ireland EU Australia New Zealand Canada US Consultant Developer Freelancer Ivanti Service Manager HEAT Neurons ITSM ITAM

Ivanti Integrations: Flat File or API?

Ivanti Integrations with Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT) aka Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM are a hot topic.

Since direct database connections are not available with cloud and the majority of customers are in the cloud vs on-premise, the questions is….

Flat File or API?

File-based Integrations have been around for a long time and for that reason are great not only for older and legacy systems but also because they are simply easy to create, maintain, and troubleshoot. Flat files are usually in CSV format, although some of you might remember the pipe delimited HAF files and heat structure files, I believe HSF. These files are scheduled typically daily, hourly, or as needed.

API (Application Program Interfaces) Integrations have been a buzz since they first emerged in 2005. Still a great buzz word thrown around in sales presentations. But are they worth the effort? API integrations require a much greater technical effort to create, maintain, and troubleshoot. Arguably once set up, the API should be easy to support. Key word is “should”.

APIs are secure and real-time. This is a clear advantage, but Flat Files too are secure and can be “near” real-time. Just schedule more-frequently and push flat files for time-sensitive needs such as HR Terminations for example.

Where the lines get blurry is with support, troubleshooting, and compatibility.

Flat files are straight forward, easy to support & troubleshoot, and compatible with legacy systems. Arguably flat files are backward and forward compatible provided the structure doesn’t change. If structure changes on either end of the system (Source, Target) then flat files and APIs need to be updated. Arguably Flat Files win here too because flat files are easy to maintain and support.

But are APIs forward compatible? What if the Application changes? The API changes too. There aren’t any API standards per se across different applications. Applications change, APIs therefor change too and then there are dreaded “bugs” or “features” Something you don’t get with Flat Files. Flat files are based on structure. APIs are code. Development.

Until Codeless Integrations are available, something Ivanti is rumoured to have in the works, the hands down winner for me is Flat File Integrations!

What are your thoughts?

Ivanti HEAT ITSM ITAM Service Manager Asset Manager Kifinti Solutions a19 Consulting Australia UK Europe US Canada Toronto London Sydney Melbourne

What’s new in 2022.1?

Here are the highlights for the upcoming Ivanti Neurons for ITSM, aka Ivanti Service Manager (powered by HEAT) 2022.1 release scheduled for March/April.

See the Ivanti Maintenance Notifications for release dates, which vary based on your data centre location (Europe, Ireland, Australia, USA, Canada) for cloud, and check the Ivanti Support Site for On-Premise release dates.

2022.1 Release Highlights

  • Modern User Experience for Analysts Updates
  • Accessibility Enhancements for Analyst Interface
  • Security Updates & Enhancements
  • Service Catalog Load Time Improvement
  • Knowledge Search Fix for searches with double quotes
Ivanti HEAT ITSM ITAM Service Manager Asset Manager Kifinti Solutions a19 Consulting Australia UK Europe US Canada Toronto London Sydney Melbourne

Migration of North Virginia (AWS) Hosted Customers to North Virginia (Azure) – *Sept 18, 2021 Customers Only*

On Sept 18, 2021 (UTC time), Ivanti Cloud Operations will be moving Service Manager Cloud and/or Asset Manager Cloud tenants from the AWS data center, in North Virginia (NVA), to the Azure data center, in North Virginia (NVZ).

**You should have received an email indicating the date your tenant/s will be moved. ** If you are not scheduled for Sept 18, 2021, please disregard this update. Please regularly check your junk/spam folders for these emails, as they are many times being redirected there.

All tenants will be migrated on the date indicated, from 3 AM to 12 PM UTC as described in the maintenance window section below.

Impact
This is a downtime maintenance, and the respective tenant’s will be inaccessible during the specific maintenance window.

Maintenance Window
These times reflect the downtime for each tenant, respectively.
• PRD
Start Date/Time: Sept 18, 2021 03:00 UTC
End Date/Time: Sept 18, 2021 07:00 UTC
• STG/UAT
Start Date/Time: Sept 18, 2021 06:00 UTC
End Date/Time: Sept 18, 2021 12:00 UTC

Ivanti HEAT ITSM ITAM Service Manager Asset Manager Kifinti Solutions a19 Consulting Australia UK Europe US Canada Toronto London Sydney Melbourne

What are the new Ivanti Cloud Data Centers?

In early 2021 Ivanti started moving their Ivanti Cloud Customers for Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager (HEAT ITSM), and Ivanti Asset Manager (ITAM) to Azure Data Centers. The new data centers are below:

Europe

FFZ Frankfurt, Germany (Europe East)

IRZ Ireland (Europe West)

United Kingdom

LDZ London

APAC

NSZ New South Wales, Australia

Canada

TTZ Toronto (Canada)

Americas

NVZ North Virginia (Americas East)

WAZ Washington (Americas West)

Click your data centre to see Ivanti Maintenance Notifications!

Upcoming Data Centre Moves:

Oregon (ORE) Scheduled to be moved August 2021 to Washington (WAZ) and North Virginia (NVZ).

If you have any questions about your scheduled date or the necessary changes for this move, please consult ISM/IAM Cloud Initiative 2021 FAQ Guide or contact us at SaasORE@ivanti.com.

All VPN customers, please check for communication from VPNORE@ivanti.com to discuss the necessary VPN related changes.
For all other questions, please contact Ivanti Global Support.

PS: Be sure to check out the Ivanti Maintenance Notifications

Question from an ITSM client regarding their Ivanti Service Manager tenant: If needed, are we able to create a separate instance for the AP ticketing?
  1. Q & A. Separate Ivanti Service Manager (ISM) instance for AP?
  2. Do you really need a Project Manager for your Ivanti Neurons for ITSM/ITAM Implementation?
  3. What makes a great Ivanti HEAT Neurons Administrator/Developer/Consultant?
  4. Ivanti Developer or Consultant?
  5. Is Ivanti a Professional Services Provider?
Ivanti Cloud Status Page FFZ Franfurt - Neurons - Service Manager - Asset Manager - HEAT Kifinti Solutions Latest Solutions a19 Consulting

Ivanti Maintenance Notifications by Landscape

The Ivanti Status Cloud Page is a great way of staying on top of notifications. Only snag is that there isn’t an easy way to see landscape specific updates for your Data Centre.

For example if your Ivanti Cloud tenant is in Frankfurt Landscape (FFZ), you still see all Landscape on the status page. Sure you could subscribe to email alerts for your landscape only, but lets face it, email isn’t a productivity tool, so I’ve gone ahead and created status pages that filter the rss feed, for Frankfurt, Australia APAC, London UK, Ireland, Toronto Canada, North Virginia USA East, and Washington USA West

Ivanti Cloud Status Updates consist of important Maintenance Notifications and Operational Status Updates for Ivanti Neurons, Ivanti Service Manager, and Ivanti Asset Manager Cloud Platforms. The Ivanti Status Cloud Page is a great way of staying on top of notifications. Only snag is that there isn't an easy way to see landscape specific updates for your Data Centre. For Ivanti Maintenance Notifications specific to your tenants be sure to visit status.a19consulting.com Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Ireland | IRL Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for London UK | LDZ Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Frankfurt Germany | FFZ Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for APAC | AUSTRALIA | NSZ Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Toronto Canada | TTZ Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for North Virginia (America East) | NVZ Ivanti Cloud Maintenance Notifications for Washington (America West) | WAZ

For Ivanti Maintenance Notifications specific to your tenants click and book mark the following: