Agile Service Management
Automation: Service Manager &
Orchestrator/SMA
Cireson Presentation TeamAnd ready to start today
SETH COUSSENSPractice Lead – Cireson
Consulting Services
Houston, TX
CHRIS ROSSDirector of Program
Management
Houston, TX
Today’s Agenda
System Center 2012 Overview
Integrated Service Management
Building the Core for Automation
User Experiences
Enhancing Native Capabilities
Value of Automation
Orchestrator and SMA
Cireson Decision Engine Example and Demo
Next Steps
System Center 2012 R2 + Cireson
Virtualize, Deploy & Manage
Monitor & Manage Service End to End
Service Management
Data Protection & Recovery
Design, Configure & Deploy
Service Manager
Integration & Process Automation
Orchestrator & SMA
IaaS
INTEGRATED SERVICE MANAGEMENT
Service Management
Service Management is a customer-focused approach to service delivery which crosses organizational boundaries
In the age of cloud computing and the coming age of Internet of Things (IoT), Service Management must be easily extensible, integrated and highly automated in order to continue to meet the needs of the business and respond to technological changes and advances
Third party management
tools
Service Catalog Templates
Workflows
CMDB
Wo
rk It
ems
Co
nfi
gu
rati
on
Item
s
Kn
ow
led
ge
Reporting and data warehousingSelf Service
Standardization
Automation
EmailMobile Portal
Service Management Foundations Building a strong CMDB
User ExperienceInterfaces for enterprise user roles and use cases
FULL CONSOLE
Targeted to key IT support roles:
SCSM Administrators
Service Desk Analysts
Change Managers
Asset Managers
SELF-SERVICE PORTAL
Targeted primarily to end users and “light” IT users:
Incident and service request submission
Request approval
Knowledge search
E-MAIL WORKFLOW
Enables productivity when not at the keyboard:
Incident and request submission and
processing
Request approval
Service level warnings
Incident & Service RequestsFlexible and extensible foundation for core service management functions
TEMPLATED
Incident and service request templates
out of box.
Ability to add custom templates.
CONFIGURABLE
Configure drop-down menus and text field values to match your
process.
Add custom properties and fields with visual authoring
tool.
CONNECTED
Connectors synchronize hardware items and other
relevant info to Service Manager CMDB.
Affected assets can be associated to incidents and
problems
AUTOMATED
Automatic ticket creation via
connectors, e-mail and orchestration.
Automatically close child incidents
related to a problem.
Enhancing Native Capabilities
SharePoint-based End User Portal
Analyst / Administrator Console
E-mail Assignment & Workflow
Common Challenges
Assignment to Individual Analysts
Choice of Work Item Type Up-front
No Web Console for Analysts
Visibility into Analyst Workload & Team Performance
Cireson offers a number of solutions to enhance the out-of-box user experience:
OOB Experience Cireson Enhancements
Analyst Portal
Self-Service Portal
My Active Work Items
Outlook Console
Lync Integration Preview Pane
Remote Manage
Tier Watcher
Group Assign
Affected User
Dashboards Action Log Notify
Learn PowerShell or practice the phrase “Would you
like fries with that?”
-Don Jones, PowerShell MVP
Blue Collar IT vs. White Collar ITJeffrey Snover, Windows Server Lead Architect, Distinguished Engineer, Father of PowerShell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66cYDdmF9u0#t=64
Value of Automation
Lower costs
Reduce time to completion
Minimize human error
Ensure processes are followed and documented
Abstract away high security operations
Configurable & Controlled Translate business language users understand into IT language.
Requests can be tailored capture info required for manual or automated fulfillment
Role-basedOfferings are delivered based on user’s role in the organization
Leverages your investment in Active Directory
Enables an intuitive and customized self-service experience
SimplifiedService catalog designed for easy navigation for less technical users
Automate high-frequency repeatable tasks
Requests can be approved via web or e-mail
Self-Service & AutomationService Request Management
Automation Compared
Orchestrator
• 32-bit support
• PowerShell execution and PowerShell 2/3 support
• Single Management Server
• Runbook Auditing
• Schedule runbooks
• Sequential processing
• Visual designer
Service Management Automation (SMA)
• SMA is a component in the Orchestrator setup
• Supports requirements for scale and high availability
• Import PS modules and create additional modules and runbooks for existing resources or to connect into 3rd party systems (ticketing system, billing system, etc.)
• Check out the Building Clouds Blog for an Introduction to SMA http://aka.ms/IntroToSMA
A guided tour: Orchestrator & SMA
SCSM
SCOM SCCM AD
CSV/LDAP/SQL (Asset Management
Information) – Cireson Add In
Exchange Connector (E-Mail)
OrchestratorSMA – Cireson Add
InVMM
SCOM SCCM AD SQL/LDAPExchange (Admin/
User)Static Files (CSV, XML, TXT, etc.)
PowerShell v2/v3 and anything
potential via PS2/PS3
VMM
PowerShell v4 and anything potential
via PS4
Connecting SCORCH & SMA
Cireson Decision Engine
The Problem:
Service Manager lacks built in functionality for dynamic workflows that change
based upon questions/decisions that are made at required points in the workflow
process.
Example:
Within your ‘Request Computer’ workflow the question must be asked as to
whether the user travels or not in order to determine whether they need a laptop or
a desktop machine. If the user does not travel, IT must requisition a desktop and
follow a separate setup process than if they do travel, where a laptop would be
required.
Cireson Decision Engine
Solution:
The Cireson Decision engine allows you to use a manual activity within a workflow
as a branching decision activity based upon a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to the question
posed at that point in the workflow.
Before After
Cireson Decision Engine
How It Works
The solution is comprised of three customized components Custom extension to Manual Activity class
Custom PowerShell workflow run by Orchestrator on Manual Activity updates
User created Sequential Activity templates
Cireson Decision Engine
How It Works (cont)
Process User creates a set of SA templates that use a specific naming convention to identify
the workflow they pertain to and the stage in the process where they should be applied
User then creates a regular SR workflow that contains the root SA template where
they require a decision
Once the workflow hits that stage in the process, the Analyst can answer the question
posed by the activity as ‘yes’ or ‘no’
Based on that response the corresponding SA template containing the new set of
activities will be appended to the existing SA
Cireson Decision Engine
Pros
Provides decision functionality
Can be added to and expanded by the user without PS/Scorch skills
Very low overhead
Can be easily removed if necessary without issues
Cons
No ability to answer the question through Cireson Portal (Yet!)
Activity must be active for the workflow to run and work against it, so if the Analyst
completes the activity when setting the decision it will not work (custom class will
solve this problem)
User customizable template design can become complicated/confusing for large
workflows with large numbers of decisions
DECISION ENGINE
DEMO
Next Steps
Summary
Service Management must cross Organizational Boundaries and be highly automated
Agile automation is required for operational success
Agile Service Management is the result of the above
Summary & Call to Action
Next Steps
Call to Action
Learn more on Orchestrator and SMA with Microsoft Virtual Academy
Reach out to your Cireson Account Executive or your preferred partner (SI/LAR) to obtain the Cireson Decision Engine for your own use! P.S. It’s Free!
Learn more about the Cireson SMA Connector here: http://cireson.com/apps/sma-connector/
Learn more about how Cireson uses Microsoft Azure to host our Service Manager Environment: https://vimeo.com/120201818
Summary & Call to Action
Questions?