Other pages in the review
Altiris Service Desk
Altiris is a web-based application that is fully ITIL compliant. Interestingly, Altiris indicated that the concurrent licensing of this product is actually based on concurrent editing, and so Altiris suggests that 20 users would probably be covered by seven licences. We would suggest it would be wise for the purchaser to allow some leeway here and sign up for 10 licenses at least.
Service Desk includes the usual incident and problem management modules along with a self-service portal. Asset management with configuration tools is an additional module. Altiris claims that setup and maintenance tasks are quick and easy, but we are considering preconfigured software installations in this review so we cannot pass judgement.
Clients will find the Altiris web interface quite convenient to use once familiar with its small navigation icons, which unfortunately can take some getting used to. Existing issues are immediately visible upon login and new issues are easily logged with categories and priorities able to be specified and files attached. The knowledgebase does not categorise entries but keyword searches can be matched to various fields.
The incident management screens are easily located and quite clearly laid out with this product though there does seem to be little to guide your progress through the incident management process. The default view can not be edited which can be inconvenient but will prevent accidental changes. Common issues can be dealt with in a consistent manner by using “Smarttasks” which are automated procedures to guide personnel through specific problem-solving methodologies
Problems and changes are entered via the same form as incidents and they are differentiated by specifying an incident type. Tasks can be configured to draw existing incident data into a new problem; in the system provided to us this had already been done and the link to launch this feature was placed quite inconspicuously below the details of existing issues.
Authoring new knowledgebase items is a breeze with Altiris Service Desk and all entries are divided up into title, problem, cause and solution for layout and searching purposes. To add clients and staff you use a simple form where options are limited but easily identified. Locating the necessary form was child’s play given the easy language and well-structured menus used.
At first glance, rule development seemed to be lacking in guidance, but further instructions appear on secondary screens. Rules are divided into five groups depending on the type of action required (such as escalation and notification) but there does not appear to be any facility for displaying incident status and other data graphically. The help files would have been far more useful if they were present in a form other than PDF; the PDF is searchable and has a table of contents but it still lacks the flexibility of a standard help file or even a good HTML document.
The product needs a reasonable screen resolution (1024x728) as field and font sizes are set. Altiris offers staff training at an increased cost and company-specific product configuration.
Overall, the layout of the user interface could be more flexible to suit a wider range of screen resolutions but otherwise the interface is fairly easy to use. Service from the vendor is reasonable but does not really extend beyond basic business hours. Pricing is also reasonable given that the licences can be shared and the product has a good range of modules and features.