Foster City, CA — March 17, 2003 — newScale, a provider of service request management software, today rolled out the latest version of its employee-facing service ordering and delivery system, adding Web-services integration and J2EE application server support as a way of more closely aligning internal services delivery with other key business processes.
With internal services consuming an average of 15 percent of revenues for the typical large enterprise, increasing numbers of organizations are moving from running their information technology (IT), facilities and other internal services as cost centers toward operating them more as businesses. newScale said its RequestCenter 2003 solution can help companies better manage those services and also reduce the cost of internal service delivery by more than 30 percent.
"Progressive Global 2000 organizations demand that their IT, facilities and other internal service delivery teams demonstrate how internal service delivery can provide better value to the organization," said Scott Hammond, CEO of newScale. "Internal service delivery teams need to operate like a business by delivering services that are more aligned with end-user business requirements, sharpen focus on cost reduction and deliver better quality services."
Toward that end, the new version of RequestCenter includes support for the IT Service Management (ITSM) service delivery methodology and certification of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) compliance.
Other new features in RequestCenter 2003 include improved management scorecards, new embedded best-practices service processes and a continuous-learning design to give internal service delivery teams the ability to offer their organizations the cost and quality advantages of outsourcers while maintaining the business alignment and control of an internal service organization.
RequestCenter 2003 consists of six main modules, including MyServices, a portal where employees can go to browse a service catalog of more than 500 preconfigured best practice or customized services, order the services required and stay up-to-date on service delivery plans. newScale says that using self-service eliminates the 25 to 30 percent of service team effort spent transcribing and tracking requests. Instead, service organizations can re-assign those staff to more productive work.
A ServiceDesigner allows service teams to define and publish a catalog of service offerings without programming. This module can help companies create and deploy service catalogs that are aligned with end-users' business needs, even if those offerings cross service team boundaries, according to newScale. For example, in a traditional services model a new employee set up requires the hiring manager to coordinate with facilities, human resources, IT and telecom. ServiceDesigner allows a company to set up an integrated offering that insulates the requestor from the complexity of the service delivery tasks and eliminates the overhead of coordination of schedules and resources.
Service delivery team members can use the ServiceManager module to manage work schedules, update work plans and coordinate service delivery, allowing them to be more cost effective and compliant with service level agreements (SLAs). newScale said its customers have reported that this module improves utilization of their service delivery organizations by 25 percent.
The ServiceLink module is a Web-services-enabled interface used to integrate RequestCenter with other enterprise applications or with the trouble-ticket logging and reporting systems used by outsourcers. For instance, if a service request involves purchasing new equipment, ServiceLink can automatically send an XML-based purchase request to Ariba or other purchasing systems. Once the new equipment is received in inventory, SAP or other Web-services enabled systems can initiate the service request to install the new equipment.
newScale's ServiceCatalogs module offers more than 500 predefined best-practice services, including service descriptions, delivery team work plans and SLAs. Developed in cooperation with newScale's customers, the catalogs can be used out-of-the-box or configured to reflect each customer's specific service deliverables, prices and service levels. The five catalogs available cover IT, facilities, telecom, workplace services (including employee on- and off-boarding) and implementation of an ITIL-compliant IT Service Management (ITSM) approach to service delivery.
The catalogs support service definitions and delivery plans that involve multiple service delivery domains. For instance, a common business requirement for sales management is setting up a home office for a new sales person. In traditional service request or help desk systems, the sales manager is required to coordinate between IT, telecom, facilities and other departments. ServiceCatalogs removes the burden from the user by presenting a single coordinated service offer that aligns service definitions and delivery plans with end-user's business requirements.
The predefined services in the catalog also help set end-user expectations on when a service will be completed. Before ordering, users see SLA standards and are notified of estimated completion date and time. The module also supports a variety of fixed, bid or variable pricing models to help end-users understand costs associated with each service, helping service teams to balance cost of delivery with the value of the service to the organization.
Finally, the ServiceScorecards module provides real-time management reports into service utilization levels, SLA compliance, costs and other key metrics. The module offers customizable dashboards and analytic tools.
The new version offers the ability to support J2EE application servers, including BEA Weblogic and IBM's Websphere. newScale said the solution is highly scalable to allow a single instance of RequestCenter to support multiple service teams including IT, facilities, telecom and others in large organizations, potentially allowing these companies to drive further savings by consolidating service request management into a single system.
newScale RequestCenter 2003 is available now and is priced on a per user basis, with an average selling price of $400,000 to $600,000 for a Fortune 500 company, according to the provider. The ServiceCatalogs catalogs are immediately available and are priced from $150,000, including standard installation and configuration.
