I think the premise for the initial question, and with that, the ongoing discussion, to be a bit flawed.
"On a higher level.... Do you think BMC has really done a good job of making ITSM 7 so robust in workflow, GUI and ITIL/standards compliance that they truly are no longer marketing Remedy as a development platform but as a suite of ready-to-go applications?" BMC/Remedy has always marketed ITSM as a suite of ready-to-go applications and the AR System as a development platform. I don't think that has ever changed and I definitely think there is a distinction between the two. It's been my experience that most customers seeking a Help Desk tool are searching for an out of the box solution and do not want to custom build the application as the cost for such services normally outweighs the cost of purchasing an application (though in the long run, with ongoing maintenance, and support and yadda yadda yadda, the scale shifts to the oob app costing more. However, we also know that next year's dollars are rarely considered in the buy vs. build model). And why wouldn't BMC market the hell out of ITSM 7.0? What's their reason not to? Is BMC/Remedy supposed to develop an app that is conducive to customization or develop an app that meets the needs of their customers (with the ability to add customizations if needed)? Microsoft doesn't market Word as a development platform, even though with a few VB.Net skills you can make Word sing and dance to your heart's content. Customers want a word processing package to work (ok, all of you MS haters out there, don't start), end of story. They don't want a word processing package that they have to customize to meet their needs. Same with a HelpDesk. Except that, let's face it, everyone wants a HelpDesk tool to do things just a touch differently, or to capture just a little bit different data, so you still have that flexibility. It may be that gone are the days for large scale customizations to the out of the box ITSM suite, but I do not think that the days for custom-built apps on the AR System platform are long gone. BMC/Remedy continues to add new functionality to the base platform and they continue to integrate other apps (Topology Discovery, Configuration Management, etc) with the AR System. If you believe that your days are numbered as a custom developer on the AR System platform then move over because I'm sure there are plenty of developers right here on the ARSList more than willing to pick up the slack. And, btw, the ITSM Suite is not perfect, but I've demo'd the app to plenty of customers who thought it was more than adequate to meet their needs. It does offer some **interesting** challenges, but over all, I'm convinced it's a good product. Just my .02. Scott Parrish IT Prophets, LLC (770) 653-5203 http://www.itprophets.com -----Original Message----- From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kaiser Norm E CIV USAF 96 CS/SCCE Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2007 12:55 PM To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG Subject: Re: ITSM 7 customizations >I do believe Remedy is marketing this as a full-blown product suite that, if configured correctly, shouldn't need or require the services of anything other than a 'maintenance admin'. This is why, no doubt, they always offer their professional services if you want to step outside their new box. And, I don't believe they are going to want to assist those developers who insist on continuing to treat Remedy as a development tool....sigh...... I just wonder if the handwriting is on the wall for us custom Remedy developers. I know from my own first-hand experience that Remedy sales is now hawking Remedy as a complete, ITIL-driven IT enterprise management suite rather than as a development platform. BMC jumped off the cliff when they decided to throw their hat into the ITIL ring. To me, having to own and run ARS with an alleged OOTB ITIL enterprise suite (the monster that it is) is just a bizarre contrivance. It "just wound up that way." If you buy Microsoft Exchange do you have to buy the Microsoft Visual Studio along with it? Now I know people are going to throw out the, "Well they know they can't make a perfect app for everyone so it has to be customizable...blah, blah, blah..." No, it's not customizable. Not in a practical sense, anyway. Here's why: A) It's a monster. Good luck trying to figure out what everything does. How do you figure it out? Clickety-clickety...clickety-clickety...clickety-clickety...and that's for over 20,000 code objects. At that rate it would take a good developer a year or more to reverse engineer it all. B) If you somehow DO successfully customize it, as soon as BMC releases a patch or an upgrade, your customization could very well go BYE BYE! Any you know what? For what? What does a "successful" deployment of ITSM get you? I'm convinced the reason why so many members of the ARSList are on the ITSM/ITIL bandwagon is because they want to remain gainfully employed and not because ITSM is a good product. Just my thoughts. Norm ____________________________________________________________________________ ___ UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at www.arslist.org ARSlist:"Where the Answers Are" _______________________________________________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at www.arslist.org ARSlist:"Where the Answers Are"
