New RSS web feeds and at-a-glance reporting features added to Macro 4’s ITSM software

RSS web feeds make it easy for IT staff and employees to subscribe to relevant service information updates.

Crawley, UK, April 16, 2013 – New functionality being introduced to Macro 4’s iET ITSM software includes the innovative use of RSS web feeds for speedy, automated dissemination of information and new dashboard reporting for ‘at-a-glance’ visibility of key metrics. The new developments are being showcased to visitors at this year’s Service Desk & IT Support Show in Earl’s Court, London (23-24 April 2013). RSS, which most people know as the system for subscribing to automatic blog feeds in the world of social media, is being incorporated into iET ITSM to make it possible to automatically receive information and news related to selected IT service topics via RSS readers (such as Google Reader, FeedDemon, Feedly) as well as Outlook and other email clients. End users and service desk agents can subscribe to receive automatic RSS updates whenever there is a new knowledge base entry, for example, or be immediately notified of emergency changes before they are implemented, to reduce calls to the help desk, explained Yemsrach Hailemariam, ITSM Consultant at Macro 4. “What’s important about the introduction of RSS is that both end users and IT people can have immediate access to the latest information updates in areas they have subscribed to. With so much content being pushed into our inboxes, important information can get lost. RSS allows people to stay in control, pulling in important feeds so they don’t miss vital service information amongst all the general ‘noise’ of email. For example updates to News and FAQs could be automatically shared with any service desk personnel or other employees who have subscribed,” added Hailemariam. The software’s new dashboard reporting feature displays selected key performance indicators (KPIs) in graphical format, giving IT management an instant snapshot of how IT service delivery is functioning at any time. “The dashboard KPIs give busy, senior IT staff a quick, easy way of staying updated on service provision. If the data indicates a problem might be brewing somewhere, they can quickly drill down via the dashboard to look at the area in greater detail, allowing them to put in place a plan to address any issues before they escalate,” said Hailemariam. The dashboard KPIs, which can be customized to reflect the most relevant or important measurement metrics, could include the current ‘status of unresolved incidents’ or ‘percentage of incidents resolved within response targets’, for example. “iET ITSM is a proven ITIL-aligned ITSM solution which is continuing to evolve to meet customers’ requirements, as can be seen by some of the new developments we’ll be talking about at SITS13,” explained Lynda Kershaw, marketing manager at Macro 4, who mentioned that iET ITSM also supports mobile phones and tablets, for users on the move. “The software has been implemented by over 200 organizations in 26 countries and we want show visitors to understand the main reasons why customers choose us and stay with us. These include quick ROI and low total cost of ownership because iET ITSM can be implemented within weeks and customized without specialist programming skills. You don’t need external consultants to build or upgrade your service management system - you can do it yourself, at much lower cost.” Global software company, Macro 4, operates as the UK arm of sister company, iET Solutions, which has developed iET ITSM, a comprehensive suite of flexible ITIL-aligned Service Management and Software Asset Management software.