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An Annual Health Check For BMC Client Management

RightStar TeamSeptember 22, 2016

Planning ahead is always a good thing especially when it comes to budget items. Consider budgeting a few days a year to work with professional services to perform a “Health Check” for Client Management. Here are some points to consider for justification:

  1. BCM Version Upgrade – Every year BMC releases between 1 to 2 version upgrades. These are not the hotfixes which are released to “fix” issues but full version upgrades. An upgrade is either a major version or minor version upgrade. Examples of a major version would be from v10 > v11 > v12. A minor upgrade would be from v12.0 > v12.1 > v12.5. These upgrades, regardless of major or minor, include enhancements and new features which may need further explanation by an expert who is familiar with all the new functions and potential issues. An example of this is the upgrade from v12.0 > v12.1. This was a major rewrite of the OS Deployment module using ADK 8.1 from WAIK 7. Another example is the addition of Mobile Device Management (MDM) to v12.5. BMC added MDM as a FREE enhancement and uses existing licenses as the method to add iOS devices to fully manage and Inventory.
  2. New Staff – It is a fact of life that employees come and go. When a staffer who is the designated BCM Super Admin decides to leave for “Greener Pastures” and a new person is assigned to be the “NEW” Super Admin, issues can occur. For example, if the methods used by the previous admin were not “Best Practices,”  the new admin may have issues understanding the “organization” and “processes” used by the previous admin. We see this issue quite frequently and we use this as part of the “training” and “clean-up” of the Health Check”.
  3. Best Practices – The Health Check includes a review of the implementation to ensure that you’re using BCM to its fullest capability. With so many methods to achieve requirements, there are potential issues where the processes used may not be the most efficient.  This would also include setting the “Permissions” to “Least Privileged.” Too many times it is easier to allow more permissions than are really required based on admin role. We provide a top down approach to permissions to make sure that only the folks that can make changes are actually the ones allowed to make changes. This would also take into consideration the “Change Control” processes.
  4. Provide Single Solution – In too many cases, customers will use multiple products to manage requirements due to a lack of understanding BCM’s powerful and far reaching capabilities. By reducing products, you will not only save money but you will use a single product to achieve the goal. This also will reduce TCO by eliminating additional OS cost, Infrastructure cost, Training cost — and list goes on!

BMC is committed to “Client Management” as the end point solution for ITSM products (Remedy via “My IT ServiceBroker BCM connector,” Atrium CMDB, Remedyforce, and Footprints Service Core). The road map for BCM is exciting as the product will only continue to improve and add more functionality. Take advantage of all the new functionality by planning ahead and budgeting for these annual “Heath Checks” for 2 to 5 days Remote or on-site engagements.