This independent review is part of our 2013 Knowledge Management Group Test.
- 2013 Knowledge Management Group Test Overview and terms
- Also participating – Cherwell, EasyVista
Executive Summary – ITinvolve
Overview |
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Primary Market Focus | Base on the information supplied ITinvolve typically target customers in the upper end of the Medium segment and higher (500+ employees). They have customers in the medium, large, and very large segment. |
Commercial Summary
Vendor | ITinvolve |
Product | ITinvolve Knowledge Collaborator |
Version reviewed | Summer ’13 |
Date of version release | June 2013 |
Year founded | May 2011 |
Customers | 13 |
Pricing Structure | SaaS-Based – Includes annual Platform cost of $50K, then licensed per user with annual list price of $1,600 per full user with lower price points for business/casual users. Typical net sales price is $65,000 per one year term with some deals exceeding $500,000 over multi-year term. |
Competitive Differentiators |
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Independent Review
This product is an innovative and interesting option for those wanting to really develop their Service Management using knowledge in an intuitive and new way, based on ‘social’ interaction.
There are lots of good functions and capabilities, plus the product has/can be used with other ITSM tools. The concepts are good and well thought through, and this is an excellent use of innovation, albeit that the system may look initially complex, without some explanation of the approach.
The vendor has a tough sales pitch to make to win new enterprise clients given the need for fairly radical cultural change, although the tool should appeal in particular to organisations aiming to achieve more value and results from knowledge-sharing.
The vendor is new and the product and positioning are developing. This looks to be a very good option for those looking to exploit ‘social’ and organic ways of working – also with an open and innovative approach to making processes work effectively.
Overview
- New vendor with innovative product and approach
- Not traditional knowledge management approach – overcoming traditional indexing and keyword searching problems.
- Associating knowledge objects with users ‘following’ objects – creates viral/organic knowledge approach
- Lots of good features and well thought-out functionality
- A lot of new terminology
- Product requires a big shift in approach from client
- Vendor still developing pitch and positioning
Strengths
- Architected based on knowledge-sharing approach, with ‘social’ approach
- Uses ‘Social’ crowdsourcing as an intuitive and familiar approach, rather than traditional authoring and review
- Users ‘follow’ objects, creating knowledge and understanding of who are real experts and stakeholders. This creates wider net of interested parties, and therefore facilitates a ‘crowdsourcing’ approach.
- Can be used in conjunction with other ITSM products – using social and knowledge areas
- Positive approach to using social and knowledge, based on actual usage and practice rather than theoretical processes. Uses Social-Media type ‘following’ of objects, services etc, as opposed to CMDB based assignment, to establish relationships and shared accountability.
- Service desk or other support staff would see all the followers of an ‘object’ (application, server, database, incident, etc.). Then assign and track as appropriate
- Nice status bar on each knowledge page – number of views, metrics etc.
- Good visual representations of relationships – showing how many users involved in incidents and knowledge stakeholders, relationships between objects etc.
- Stakeholders crowdsource knowledge and change – based on ‘objects’ they are following
- Good overall approach to try and manage ‘real life’ way of working – ie involving relevant stakeholders in CAB type decisions.
- Can also use more traditional approach of approval and review as needed
- Some interesting new and ‘social’ terminology and verbs/actions – more intuitive and user-friendly version of RACI concepts
- Vendor offers Proof of Concept and trial – (based on requirements – usually 30 – 60 days). Implementation approach aims to support client self-sufficiency with product where possible
- Some good examples of focussed customer successes using KM – 70% reduction in change failures, 50% reduction in new start productivity, 50% reduction in mean time to restore services
- Good understanding of varying SME/Enterprise implementation issues
- Implementation based around successful customer adoption of KM processes
Weaknesses
- Requires a major client shift in approach, with new terminology (verbs, actions) used – could be off-putting for some
- Looks complex in places and requires clients with open or new approach to implementation
- Sales pitch is good (based on solution selling and use cases) although needs to be developed and simplified to grab attention and quickly show route to value
- New and small vendor with limited market track record as company
ITinvolve’s Knowledge Management Customers
In Their Own Words:
“ITinvolve Knowledge Collaborator provides a federated, comprehensive, and peer reviewed source of all your IT knowledge, and combines this with personalized visualization, in-context collaboration, and proactive delivery of relevant information to those who need it when they need it.
Easily capture and share your collective knowledge – configuration data, policies, best practices, tribal knowledge, lessons learned, and more – in one easy to use place. Gain unprecedented visibility into your complex IT environment configurations, dependencies, and relationships.
Leveraging modern social collaboration techniques, ITinvolve is always up-to-date and accurate so you can make operational decisions with confidence and without the fear of unintended consequences.”
Screenshots
Further Information:
Knowledge Management Review Index
This independent review is part of our 2013 Knowledge Management Group Test.
- 2013 Knowledge Management Group Test Overview and terms
- Also participating – Cherwell, EasyVista
ITInvolve is a bloated application leveraging a platform that conflicts with the application itself. The hype is false. Indistry Fail!
I have experienced it first hand… the product is over blown. Too many bells and whistles designed by people who don’t have a clue. It is sad when people fall into the trap and reap the benefits of adoption.