Micro Focus, one of the early pioneers in the enterprise software space has changed the game once again with its latest service desk offering, SMA-X. With machine learning at its core, the new Service Management Automation module introduces “X platform”, which replaces previous service management products.
Micro Focus SMA-X bridges the gap between Service Anywhere and the legacy Service Manager product, so as to provide a unified experience and delivery capabilities to a larger customer base.
After a decade of Implementing Legacy Service Desk, We at Serviceberry have been using SMA-X for a couple of months now, and I must say I’m impressed by what I see thus far.
Let us look at what’s changed and what it means for the end customer.
REINVENTED ARCHITECTURE
Micro Focus SMA-X introduces container based delivery model, which enables you to deploy it on any environment. Whether its On-Premise, public cloud, or hybrid cloud, SMA-X can be deployed on virtually on any environment.
This is a boon for Enterprise Customers, as they do away with limitations of traditional On-Premise or SaaS based delivery models. It opens up a whole new customer segment as they no longer need to worry about longer deployment cycles & complex upgrades.
EASE OF USE
SMA-X offers an exceptional user experience, contrary to what we have seen in the past. With contextual search based navigation, SMA-X feels like many of the other websites you may be browsing. The idea here is to reduce training and adoption for new users.
SMA-X also introduces a zero-code experience when it comes to version upgrades. This is a first in the industry. We have tried it and I must say, it does work. Gone are the days where you had to write snippets of javascript code and patch services during the upgrade process. Upgrades are now configuration driven, which is a welcome relief for complex environments.
CONTEXTUAL ANALYTICS
Users will now be able to take an informed decision, based on past data and machine learning based predictive analytics. IDOL, Micro Focus’s propitiatory engine is now at the heart of SMA-X. Everything you do is recorded and analysed. This is an upgrade over Smart Analytics which was a separate extension to Service Manager in previous releases. IDOL, which already is an industry leader in terms of cognitive search and discovery, just got better with this release.
CONCLUSION
SMA-X is a very important release from Micro Focus. It instills confidence for customers as well as service providers like ourselves. With major improvements in most of the areas, it emphasizes the continuity in innovation and commitment in the ITSM space. Any doubts which existed after the HPE-Micro Focus merger are nothing but settled.
What are your favorite features in this new release?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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