Unlocking Insights from SITS 2024

If you visited The Service Desk and IT Show (SITS) this past April, you may have swung by our stand and engaged with our interactive wall. Prompted by the question, "What processes do you see as opportunities for improvement?", attendees shared their insights, sparking discussions and opening doors to innovation. In this post, we're excited to delve into some of the thought-provoking responses we received and explore how Sunrise can play a pivotal role in supporting and enhancing these processes. 

1. Managing Major Incidents

Major incidents can disrupt operations and demand swift resolution. Our visitors highlighted the importance of efficient escalation and resolution processes. With Sunrise incident management, we empower organisations to streamline incident handling through automation and intelligent routing. By leveraging our integrated business rules engine, you can ensure incidents are promptly addressed by the right teams, minimising downtime and maximising customer satisfaction.  

• Quickly categorise incidents and gain a comprehensive audited record of every customer support interaction. 
• Enhance initial call resolution rates through comprehensive performance tracking of service level agreements (SLAs). 
• Track supplier performance concerning their involvement in resolving escalated issues. 
• Associate Incidents to Known Errors, Problems and Changes 
• Raise incidents via multiple channels including phone, email, self-service or even an external application using our REST API.  

Learn more about major incident management with Sunrise. 

2. Managing a Service Catalogue

The service catalogue serves as a blueprint for delivering IT services efficiently. Our visitors emphasised the need for a centralised and comprehensive catalogue to manage demand effectively. With Sunrise service catalogue, you can create and maintain a dynamic repository of services, complete with associated resources, SLAs, and dependencies. This enables proactive management of service delivery, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives while meeting evolving customer needs. 

• Provide a catalogue of standardised products and services available for request by your end-users or customers. 
• Enable users to filter, search, and access detailed information on all available products and services. 
• Include products and services in your shopping basket while automatically calculating the total order costs. 
• Direct new requests through varied approval pathways based on factors such as requester, nature of request, and quantity. 

• Automatically generate new service requests upon order checkout for handling within the service desk's request fulfilment procedures. 

Learn more about Sunrise’s service catalogue. 

3. Leavers Process

Employee departures entail a series of IT-related tasks and transitions. Our visitors expressed challenges in managing the leavers process seamlessly. Sunrise offers tailored solutions to streamline leavers management, facilitating the smooth offboarding of employees and safeguarding organisational assets and data. 

Sunrise looks to integrate the process of managing leavers from your organisation, by automating the set of tasks required to update and maintain access to infrastructure, network and applications. It also dynamically presents the information regarding allocated assets (laptops, mobiles, licences, etc), so the sometimes complex and arduous task of retrieving kit and deactivating devices can be easily managed and updated in one process. 

When an HR action triggers a leaver in an organisation, it can be configured to automatically raise a leaver request in Sunrise. This automation handles tasks related to updating and maintaining access to infrastructure, network, and applications. It also dynamically displays information about allocated assets (like laptops, mobiles, and licenses), simplifying the process of retrieving equipment and deactivating devices. 

These processes are typically customised for each customer, but Sunrise can assist by analysing and enhancing your current process to deliver an efficient, reportable solution. 

4. Managing Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Stock Levels

Maintaining an accurate inventory of IT assets is essential for effective service delivery. Our visitors highlighted the complexity of managing CMDB stock levels across diverse environments. With Sunrise IT Service Management, you gain comprehensive visibility into your IT estate, including detailed information on configuration items (CIs), financial data, and supplier relationships. This empowers proactive decision-making and ensures optimal resource utilisation. 

• Document disruptions associated with items and services. 
• Maintain visibility of upstream and downstream relationships and understand the impact of change. 
• Monitor warranties, contracts, suppliers, depreciation, residual values, and operational lifespans. 
• Incorporate with network asset tool Certero AssetStudio™, or any preferred discovery tool, to facilitate automatic population of your CMDB. 
• Oversee permanent or temporary loan equipment from inventory. 

Learn more about CMDB with Sunrise. 

5. Order Management

Efficient order management is crucial for maintaining IT operations and optimising procurement processes. Our visitors emphasised the importance of visibility and control over order lifecycles. Sunrise integrates order management seamlessly with product catalogues, enabling organisations to track orders, manage suppliers, and make informed purchasing decisions with ease. 

 Maintain a centralised system for all purchasing transactions in the IT department. 

• Monitor both present and past price data for approved product lists. 
• Administer supplier part numbers and anticipated lead times for approved product components. 

• Monitor order progress, split deliveries, authorised personnel, and final equipment destinations. 
• Upload and link original procurement records, order forms, invoices, and scanned delivery receipts. 

Learn more about order management with Sunrise. 

6. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs)

  SLAs and OLAs play a vital role in defining and monitoring service delivery expectations. Our visitors underscored the significance of maintaining SLAs to uphold service quality and customer satisfaction. With Sunrise IT Service Management, you can automate SLA and OLA calculations and monitoring, ensuring adherence to service commitments and driving continuous improvement. 

• Establish service level agreement objectives aligned with specified priorities. 
• Trigger automatic alerts when SLAs are at risk of violation. 
• Establish a tiered structure of SLAs tailored for preferred clients and VIPs. 
• Analyse and report on performance in meeting service level objectives. 
• Schedule reminders for imminent SLA breaches and automate escalation procedures for incidents. 
• OLAs can help your service management team monitor its own internal expectations and indicate areas of the process that could lead to bottlenecks in service delivery, resource management, training and knowledge transfer. 
• OLAs can help provide all the benefits a customer/external SLA offer, but within your own departments and teams, helping to deliver a consistent and efficient service."  

Learn more about managing service level agreements in Sunrise. 

7. Change Management

Navigating change can be daunting, but effective change management is essential for mitigating risks and maintaining service continuity. Our visitors shared their experiences with change complexity and stakeholder management. Sunrise change management provides a structured framework for planning, implementing, and tracking changes across the IT landscape. From stakeholder communication to impact analysis, Sunrise simplifies change management processes, empowering organisations to embrace change with confidence. 

• Document the impact, rationale, severity, risks, and reversal procedures for changes. 
• Kickstart, authorise, execute, and validate change requests. 
• Maintain automated communication at key stages as changes progress. 
• Break down complex changes into manageable tasks and assign them to respective individuals. 
• Prevent errors by ensuring all changes align with business needs both commercially and technically. 

 Learn more about change management in Sunrise. 

At Sunrise, we don't just offer IT service management solutions - we're on a mission to ignite transformation within organisations, unleashing their true power and potential. We thrive on tackling the gritty, real-world challenges faced by businesses head-on, turning them into opportunities for growth and progress. These insights fuel our passion for innovation and inspire us to push the boundaries of what's possible, driving positive change that resonates far beyond the confines of convention.