BMC Remedy ITSM Suite On Demand - some things never change
Posted by Rhett Glauser on Tue, Jan 19, 2010 @ 08:53 AM
BMC Remedy owners are abandoning the application at an alarming rate and running to modern ITSM applications that are easier to implement, configure, upgrade and use.
BMC has seen the writing on the wall. No doubt they saw what happened to Siebel and what is happening to SAP. They are watching their own customer base leave for powerfully simple, modern applications. These are some of the largest, most sophisticated IT organizations in the world that recognized a better way.
The futures of big IT software vendors are at stake and they are moving to protect their maintenance revenue streams. One problem...legitimate software as a service (SaaS) does not work with the legacy, on-premise technology and business models.
But this won't stop vendors like HP and BMC from putting a SaaS sticker on the box and changing a couple of slides in the product deck. These guys have a lot on the line but there is not a lot they can do about it.
The rest of this post will focus on the underlying application that is causing BMC so much trouble. Keep in mind, this is what BMC is tossing over the fence to an application service provider (ASP) to create their upcoming Remedy ITSM Suite On Demand. BMC is effectively admitting a third party can provide a better software experience. They are also putting another degree of separation between the application and the customer's best interests.
Hopefully the BMC hosting partner will be able to squeeze some repeatable efficiencies out of standardizing implementations Remedy ITSM. This is the one area the ASP model makes sense for BMC Remedy...as long as the customer is willing to pay for it.
[I was asked by a Remedy blogger to remove references and links from this blog to his blog. His blog had some Remedy installation guides I pointed to but they have since been removed. I hope he chose to remove them on his own accord and wasn't compelled by BMC. Below, I've instead linked directly to the BMC installation guide on the BMC website. I'm sure they won't mind the traffic.]
Also, BMC says version 7.5 is easier to install but make sure to check out the 128 page BMC Remedy IT Service Management 7.5 installation guide. This process may seem perilous but the hosting partner will figure it out for the right price.
Regarding customizations, BMC begs customers to use the "pre-configured, out-of-the-box" application. For one, changing it costs money, especially when a hosting partner is involved. Two, customizations break Remedy upgrades, a fact that won't change in the ASP model.
I'm still trying to get my head around this BMC upgrade stack (BMC's slide...not mine).
Oh the humanity! I assume they are trying to demonstrate how easy the upgrade (reimplementation) will be. Considering this is marketing's rose-colored glasses view of the upgrade, just imagine what the real-world process is like. Native integration? Spare me.
Why should customers be expected to deal with this? They shouldn't, which is why modern SaaS has incredible momentum in the ITSM market today.
A hearty thanks to BMC for leaving the door wide open for better ITSM tool alternatives.
Good luck with Remedy ITSM On Demand. You've missed the point though. Sticking Remedy in a partner hosting facility and offering a subscription license isn't SaaS.
IT organizations want to get far away from the inherent shortcomings of their legacy applications. The ASP model simply magnifies the bad in old software and creates more expense every time a customer asks BMC's hosting partners to change the application. Some things never change.