If you don't mind, what size is the company? (users, annual revenue)... I have often wondered what size company it takes to make ARS feasible without having to skimp too much and cut too many corners.
It would be interesting to see some sort of Gartner like report on typical how much money companies are spending per user supported on ITSM related apps. -----Original Message----- From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Spangler Robert C CIV USSTRATCOM/JWAC Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 4:36 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: SDE versus ARS There was a 3 month window where we moved from version 4.5 (Yes you are reading the version correctly) to 7.6. The admin that was working 4.5 was a little :-) resistant to move to a new version. Right after we went live, there was a budget reduction and a RIF. -----Original Message----- From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jason Miller Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 4:33 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: SDE versus ARS ** Robert, Am I reading this right that you were in production less than a year before the decision was made to move away from the full suite? Can you share how long it took to get into production? It sounds like a very short lived implementation. Jason On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 1:29 PM, Spangler Robert C CIV USSTRATCOM/JWAC <[email protected]> wrote: Thanks for all the info. We only have one external integration, no import/update jobs, no tables that have been exported and very few reports and no reporting server. All of our end users are using the web interface at this point. We only have 3 support people that are using the UT. We are basically only using ARS as a ticketing and assets management platform. We haven't been live long enough to get involved in Change, SRM and some of the other modules we wanted to use. Yes, we have to migrate the data. We have had ARS version 7.5 up for almost one year at this point and management has told us that with our budget restrictions we can no longer afford ARS, no matter how long it takes to migrate. We have to find a new, read less expensive, solution. Given that we still have maintenance, we can get issues resolved in ARS while we work to identify, purchase and stand up a new system. SDE was one option for us. I have also looked at some of the other players in the help desk arena along with open source solutions. It sounds like it will be no easy task, but I figure at this point there is no easy solution out there. -----Original Message----- From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of William H. Du Chene Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 2:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: SDE versus ARS ** I have worked with both of them over the years and have a fair amount of experience with both products. There are a number of things that you should know and prepare for. I guess the first question is going to be: how deep down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Do you have any external integrations which make use of your ARSystem database? Do you have any import/update jobs (or the like) that make use of DTS/SSIS (or similar technology) which update records directly? Do you have any tables that have been exported for use in your database (with vendor forms) from external sources? Do you have a significant number of reports that query the database for data, or are you using a reporting server? Have you developed any applications which use the API to process data - outside of the normal workflow (active link, filter, guide) paradigm? And the big question: Are you planning on migrating your existing data? Depending on how you have your installation set up and what your requirements are, a migration may well be a nightmare. If you switch platforms, the glaringly obvious stuff would be that all of your reports have to change, you'll have to recreate all of your user accounts (or your integration to the LDAP/AD), any packages for moving and updating data that your DBA might have set up, any custom views, database objects (SPs, UDFs), or API applications become useless and you will have to redo or retire them. Be prepared also that the database schemas between the application suites are different as well. For example, within the AR System, everyone knows that there are the "wonderfully insightful" T, H, and B tables to work with with all of the C columns inside that make an odd sort of sense once you get used to them. On the SDE side, throw that schema completely out the window because there are now _SMDBA_._CUSTOMER_ and _SMDBA_.TELMASTE_ tables to deal with. The "telmaste" table is actually the applications version of an incident table. The name makes a lot of sense. Go figure. Likewise, each user receives an account on the database server, and each group that is created automatically generates an entire series of views for each of the modules. Each group added, therefore, owns objects within the database. Behind the scenes, there are many, many differences which should be accounted for - carefully - before a migration comes to mind and that should be considered before making a choice. Likewise, if you have the UT installed in your environment, you will need to remove it from your desktops. (If your're running just the midtier for your users to use, this might not be an issue.) The SDE is web based. There is no desktop client to use (so if you have any desktop level automation going on, it's now useless also if you move). Superficially, the two products have some similarities - a ticket is still a ticket - but that is where the similarity ends. Finally, if I were in your shoes and they were talking about moving to another platform (in spite of how much I encourage people to find an open source solution, a low cost solution with another product, or to write their own due to the cost of both products and the lack of a developer subscription) I would ask them if they had crack for breakfast. They're not talking about an overnight thing with a migration, but rather a blood, sweat and tears effort that would take months (depending on what your current implementation is like) to even get off the ground. They are committed to what they have, and unless their willing to change radically, it's a mute point. ________________________________ From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Spangler Robert C CIV USSTRATCOM/JWAC Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 12:41 PM To: [email protected] Subject: SDE versus ARS ** Going out on a limb, but we are being forced to move away from Remedy due to budget and personnel reductions. Was wondering if any of you guys knew much about Service Desk Express (SDE). We were primarily using ARS for ticketing and assets management, had never broken into Change, SRM and some other goodies that we had plans for. BMC suggested SDE as an alternative so we were going to look in to. 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