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TheStateoftheIssueTrackingIndustry:FourKey2015TrendsByDanLuhring,CEO,Issuetrak
Recently,Ihadtheopportunitytotalktoanumberofdifferentindustryanalystsinquicksuccession.Ourtopicwascustomertrendsinincidentmanagementtechnology.Asindustryexpertsinourdifferentways,weexploredsomeofthehardtruthsandevolvingtrendsintheITservicemanagementspace.
Theresultswereextremelyilluminating.Althoughtheconversationssurprisinglywide-ranging,IfoundIcouldgroupmykeytakeawaysunderfourmaincategories.Co-creationAcommonthemewitheveryanalystwastheparamountimportanceofmakingiteasyforthecustomertoshapetheiroperationsmanagementtoolstofittheirspecificbusinessneeds.Therewasgeneralconsensusthat,forasolutiontosucceed,thesoftwarevendorcannottrytoforce-fitasolutionthatdoesn’tmatchthewaythecompanyoperatesandhopeforalong-termsuccess.SinceflexibilityandcustomizabilityarefundamentaltoIssuetrak’splatform,andhaveshapedthewayoursoftwarehasevolvedfromthebeginningofourexistence,Iwasinpassionateagreementwiththispartoftheconversation.ActionableanalyticsThereisalotofhypeassociatedwithbigdatabutthebiggerquestioniswhatyoudowiththedata.Iamconvincedthatinformationwithoutinsightisawastedresource.Theanalystswereallonboardwiththis,andinfactonewentsofarastosaythatlegacyvendorswerenotdoingenoughtodevelopactionableanalytics.Datahastofeedintocontinualimprovementandinnovationiftheinvestmentofcapturingitinthefirstplaceistobejustified.Asanotheranalystsaid,“Thisisatrendthatislongoverdueintheindustry.”
Thisisborneoutbyarecentdiscussionwithoneofourcustomerswhoisleveragingissueticketstatisticstoimprovethebottomline.TheITdirectorusesourapplicationtoanalyzemultipleprocessesanddepartments,andhasstartedtoprovidecorporatemanagementwithdataaboutwhatisdeliveringresultsandwhatappearstobefallingshort,sothatbugscanbefixedandbetterpracticesreplicated.ForthisITdirector,asforalltheanalystsIspokewith,thereisadirectcorrelationbetweenthedatagleanedfromticketingsoftwareandfinancialsuccess.
[email protected] +1 (866) 477-8387 (toll-free US & Canada only)
+1 (757) 213-1336 (fax) 6160 Kempsville Circle, Suite 101B
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Platform-as-a-ServiceThiswasthefirsttimethatI’dheardourownapplicationdescribedlikethis.It’saninterestingwayofcapturingoneofthemostexcitingaspectsofourtechnology.Amongotherthings,oursoftwareisatoolthatletsourcustomersbuildothertools.Forexample,someorganizationsareusingIssuetrakaspartoftheirmachine-to-machineinteractions.Withinaworldwhere,increasingly,entitiesaretrackingentities,theplatform-as-a-servicefeatureofIssuetrakwillbeaspringboardforfuturedevelopmentsandwecanapplythisparadigmacrossmanyotheraspectsasbusinessesevolve.ITILThediscussionaroundInformationTechnologyInfrastructureLibraries(ITIL)canbepolarizing.Formypart,whileIseethattheITILhasitsmerits,Idon'tseeitworkingasaprescriptiveframeworkforallcompanies.Inoneanalystconversation,wediscussedthefactthatthewaysomevendorshaveimplementedITILhascreatedmoreproblemsthanitsolved,tosuchanextentthattheanalystwashearingrequestsforanITILcomplianceframeworktocrystallizestandards.HerviewpointwasthatfollowingITILisstilloneofthebaselinesoftheITservicemanagementbutisonlyameanstoanend.Andinfact,herfocusappearedtobemorefixedonseeingmoreofwhatshecalleda‘developmentDNA’onthepartofthetechnologyvendor.LegacysolutionsOursisacompetitivebusinessand,asyou’dexpect,thelargervendorsholdthelion’sshareofthemarket.Butduringouranalystconversationsweheardsomerumblingsthattheworldofissuetracking,servicemanagementandonlineticketinghaschangedfasterthansomeofthebehemothshavebeenabletokeeppace.
Theissueofflexibilityandconfigurabilitycameuptimeandtimeagain.Oneanalystindicatedthatcustomerswhohadundergonealengthyandcostlyprocessofcustomconfigurationwereeffectivelylockedintotheirsolution,whichtodayisperhapsnotsuchasustainablevendorbusinessmodel.Indeed,itappearsthatchangeisafootinmanyofthebigorganizationstoaddressthisissueandtobegintoinnovateinthecentralITservicemanagementspace,whereIssuetrakalreadyhasasubstantialandgrowingfootprint.Forourpart,weareacceleratingourrateoftechnologyupdatestoremainaheadofthemarket.
Noonecandoubtthatthesemajorsolutionsarehighlyeffectiveandaboundwithfeatures.However,whenwewinbusinessagainstthelargerplayersitisusuallybecauseIssuetrakworks,itisultimatelyconfigurable,anditisfar,fareasiertoimplement.BasedinNorfolk,VA,Issuetrakprovidesbusinessoperationssoftwareforissuetrackingstrategicbusinessprocesses.Foundedin1992,Issuetrakservessome1,000customersin40countries.Itscustomersincludemajorbrandnames
suchasADP,DeltaAirlines,DeutscheBank,Johnson&Johnson,LockheedMartin,Microsoft,Pepsi,RalphLauren,RiteAid,theU.S.DepartmentofDefense,UPS,andVerizon.Itssignatureapplicationisarobustplatformforinternaland
externalcustomerserviceandsupport,IThelpdesk,workflowandprocessmanagement,andissuetracking.
