ITAM and ITSM Integration Group Test – The Results

ITAM News & Analysis

ITAM and ITSM Integration Group Test – The Results

This Group Test explores the relationship between the IT management disciplines of IT Asset Management (ITAM) and IT Service Management (ITSM).

Our remit was to explore the opportunities for managing assets and interacting with ITAM teams whilst maintaining everyday ITSM processes. In particular we were looking to review ITSM tools that offer ITAM functionality or integrate with tools that do – or ITAM tools that provide value to ITSM lifecycles.

I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the growing overlap between ITAM and ITSM functionality in the tools reviewed. It was great to see all camps taking advantage of the obvious benefits of ITAM and ITSM integration. It was also refreshing to review technology from all four corners of the globe; including some new vendors that some of our readers might not have heard of yet.

Participants in this “bake-off” were:

Supplier	Country of Origin	Number of Customers	Summary
InvGate	Argentina	3,000+	Comprehensive ITAM & ITSM solution with next-generation interface
ManageEngine	India	100,000+	A good solid solution for building an integrated ITAM and ITSM foundation.
Matrix42 [Best in Class]	Germany	900+	Arguably the first vendor to offer comprehensive Enterprise grade SAM within a full ITSM suite
Miradore	Finland	500+	A desktop management solution providing ITAM and Configuration Management capabilities and opportunities for automating routine ITSM tasks
SupaTOOLS	New Zealand	80	A refreshing alternative to big ITSM tool frameworks at a competitive price.
Virima	USA	2	ITAM and ITSM in a competitive package. Detailed inventory for datacenter environments plus key service management functions to be able to turn datacenter insight into action.

Deep Dives:

• InvGate
• Matrix42
• ManageEngine
• SupaTOOLS
• Miradore
• Virima Technologies

ITXM – ITAM and ITSM (2+2=5)

What are the benefits of integrating ITAM and ITSM?

The vision for fully integrated ITAM and ITSM is –

• For ITAM:
  1. Meeting compliance and efficiency goals whilst decisions and changes are being made rather than attempting to clean up mess afterwards, allowing the business to make smart technology choices without booby-traps and with visibility of total cost of ownership.
  2. Allowing users to be productive and have access to the assets they need whilst being compliant.
• For ITSM:
  1. Offering visibility of asset relationships and costs to facilitate faster incident resolution, proactive problem management and less error prone change management.
  2. Delivering self-service without risks.
  3. Updating asset data on the fly as part of BAU for everyone’s benefit – allowing smarter decision making.

Vendor Summary – Strengths and Weaknesses

Supplier	Product	Strengths	Weaknesses
InvGate	Assets and Service Desk	Code free configuration / Low consulting requirement	No server / service dependency mapping
		Strong interface and user experience
		Next generation IT Management Tooling
		Strong embedded game mechanics
ManageEngine	ServiceDesk Plus	Fully Integrated ITAM & ITSM	Lacks polish
		Free Version	Shortage of specialist knowledge
		Use for outside IT department
Matrix42	ITSM Suite and Workspace Management	A modern IT management platform with vast platform coverage.	Minimal market penetration outside central Europe
		ITAM and ITSM mapping from day one
		Workflow driven solution – adapt for every process
		BYOD, Mobile and Cloud addressed
Miradore	Miradore	Good offering for Managed Service Providers	A good complement for the service desk – but offers no ticketing or core service desk functions.
		Light versatile and automated desktop management
		Low cost monthly subscription
		Good inventory and asset verification offering
		Self service software request platform
SupaTOOLS	SupaDESK, SupaCMDB	Strong CMDB centric ITSM offering	Minimal license management capabilities
		Cloud, on-premise or flip between two
		Well though out design, easy to use
		Great relationship views for viewing ALL attributes
		Low consulting requirement
Virima Technologies	EcosystemManager	Datacentre Visibility	New software offering, limited existing customers
		Turn datacentre insights into service management actions
		Ideal for datacentre migration or consolidation
		Strong visualisation of dependencies

 

Best in Class for ITAM & ITSM – MATRIX42

We’ve awarded Matrix42 Best in Class for ITAM and ITSM integration for their comprehensive ITAM and ITSM suite.

ITXM – Full ITAM & ITSM integration at last!

“Matrix42 want to be the management layer that sits on top of the services that run IT and claim their key differentiators are strength of integration, automation and speed to value – eschewing the consulting heavy approach of many IT management tool rivals.”

Matrix42 is the closest toolset manufacturer we’ve seen to be able to realize the full ITAM and ITSM vision from one platform. The solution offers both strong ITSM capabilities (verified for eight ITIL processes via a modern interface) whilst also offering depth of datacentre SAM coverage (identifying options and packs enabled for Oracle database). Matrix42 are arguably the first vendor to offer comprehensive Enterprise grade SAM within a full ITSM suite.

Deep Dives:

• InvGate
• Matrix42
• ManageEngine
• SupaTOOLS
• Miradore
• Virima Technologies

Disclaimer, Scope and Limitations

The information contained in this review is based on sources and information believed to be accurate as of the time it was created. Therefore, the completeness and current accuracy of the information provided cannot be guaranteed. Readers should therefore use the contents of this review as a general guideline, and not as the ultimate source of truth. Similarly, this review is not based on rigorous and exhaustive technical study. The ITAM Review recommends that readers complete a thorough live evaluation before investing in technology. This is a paid review, that is, the vendors included in this review paid to participate in exchange for all results and analysis being published free of charge, without registration. For further information, please read our Disclosure page.

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