Coming Soon: IT Service Improvements

If you’re familiar with the JMU Information Technology or “Computing” website (jmu.edu/computing), you probably know it as the place to find information about IT and the services that we provide.  You may have also noticed that the website contains links to the IT service portal (its.jmu.edu), where you can submit IT service requests or search the knowledge base for solutions to common problems.  These systems are the entry points for many people at JMU to contact IT support, especially for those who prefer not to use the telephone to call for help.

Current IT Service Portal (its.jmu.edu)

What's happening?

Recently, Cherwell, the company that provides the system that currently underlies JMU’s IT service portal, was acquired by a competing company named Ivanti.  Ivanti has announced the end-of-life for the Cherwell service platform, urging customers to migrate to another Ivanti product.  Faced with such a significant project, JMU IT chose to evaluate not only the Ivanti platform, but also platforms from competing vendors.  After careful analysis and comparison, IT has chosen a new service management platform from a company known as TeamDynamix.

Benefits

TeamDynamix offers several benefits over the aging Cherwell product, including:

• Search engine indexing. You will be able to find more JMU service and support information by searching Google or your favorite web search provider.
• Better integration of service information and knowledge base articles.
• A more powerful internal search function that can make suggestions as you type.
• A more modern look and feel.

There are also benefits to IT that you won’t see, but they will improve our ability to provide you with service and to track and report on our internal projects. Collectively, these benefits will translate to a more pleasant and efficient experience when you request services or support.

Catalog Update

As part of TeamDynamix implementation, IT has convened a working group tasked with improving the IT service catalog. The service catalog is the list of IT services that you see on the Computing website or in the IT service portal. The goals of the working group are to streamline the catalog by making services easier to locate, improve the organization of the catalog, and reduce the overall number of services. Their work, combined with TeamDynamix’s ability to present only relevant services to visitors according to their role at the university, will make your future visits to the IT website and the new service portal a much better experience.

Current Cherwell IT Service Catalog

The service catalog working group is wrapping up the majority of its work this month, and TeamDynamix implementation work will continue throughout the Fall semester.  IT’s goal is to bring TeamDynamix and the new service catalog to you early in the Spring semester.  Look for more information about upcoming changes to the IT website, TeamDynamix, and the improved service catalog in future IT newsletters.

A sneak peek of TeamDynamix and its service catalog view