ManageEngine, the real-time IT management company, announced the launch of the†ServiceDesk Plus†add-in for IT service desk teams using Microsoft Office 365. This new add-in enables technicians and end users of the ServiceDesk Plus cloud version to manage support tickets from within Outlook. The company also announced Microsoft Outlook actionable messages for ServiceDesk Plus email notifications, one of the first in the IT service management (ITSM) industry.
“Technology professionals want to get as much work done as possible from within their email clients, without having to toggle between tools,” said Rajesh Ganesan, vice president of product management at ManageEngine. “We jumped at the opportunity opened up by Outlook add-ins and actionable messages in Office 365 to allow users to perform important ServiceDesk Plus actions directly from within Outlook. We believe this integration will lead to an increase in IT technicians’ productivity since they won’t have to switch between applications to accomplish standard tasks.”
Rob Howard, director, Microsoft Office 365 Ecosystem at Microsoft Corp. added, “The ServiceDesk Plus Outlook add-in provides the ITSM industry a unique solution for leveraging Microsoft Office 365 as a key channel for IT support. We are happy to work with ManageEngine to continue to strengthen the overall Office 365 and IT support experience for all stakeholders.”
Microsoft Outlook Add-In: Easier Management of the IT Support Ticket Life Cycle
Converting emails into support tickets is commonplace in IT service desk environments, but the biggest drawback is that it seldom offers anything more. There is little today that end users and IT technicians can use to leverage popular email clients like Outlook for enhanced service delivery.
ManageEngine’s new Outlook add-in allows users to seamlessly work with the cloud version of ServiceDesk Plus from inside Outlook. With this add-in, IT technicians and end users can access ServiceDesk Plus templates inside Outlook to create IT incidents and service requests. In addition to creating new requests, end users can view request details, track the progress of their tickets, add notes, and reply to conversations from Outlook.
On the support side, IT technicians can view tickets, pick them up, assign them to other technicians, reply to requesters, and edit, resolve or close tickets from the comfort of their email client — all without having to switch to ServiceDesk Plus. Thus, the IT help desk is brought right into Outlook users’ mailboxes for improved productivity and quicker support operations.
Actionable Messages: Improved IT Support Productivity and Effectiveness
The addition of actionable messages for Microsoft Outlook helps strengthen ticket and task management directly from a user’s email client, ensuring faster request turnaround. IT support technicians can now pick up tickets, view details, add notes, reply to end users, as well as resolve and close tickets right from ServiceDesk Plus emails. End users can also track the progress of their tickets from their Office 365 mailboxes.
Office 365 Calendar Integration: Seamless Syncing of IT Help Desk Reminders
The integration with Office 365’s calendar feature enables technicians to automatically create Office 365 calendar entries from reminders in ServiceDesk Plus, ensuring no reminders fall through the cracks. IT support technicians can now sync their reminders and time off between their ServiceDesk Plus and Microsoft Office 365 calendars, making it easier to track technician availability from within their Microsoft calendar.
Availability
The new Outlook add-in for ServiceDesk Plus is available immediately at no additional cost to customers. Existing users can find the new app in the Office Store at†https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/office/WA104381518?tab=Overview. New users can visit†www.manageengine.com/service-desk†to sign up and get started.
