What IT Operations tools and software can you use to improve efficiency?

Remember the saying “a fool with a tool is still a fool”. You can’t become efficient until you are effective. So look first at becoming truly effective. Do the basic process management stuff, ie assign ownership and accountability, document the process, define the process objectives and establish the KPIs. Use process assessments to identify your maturity levels and the gaps to improve process maturity. When u can’t improve further that’s when tools can then provide the efficiency gains. Purchasing tools will not make an ineffective process better. The ITIL Guiding Principle ‘Optimise and Automate’ reinforces this approach.

Improving efficiency in IT operations is vital for retaining a strong and steady technology environment. There are various tools and software available that may help streamline IT operations. The precise equipment you ought to use can range relying for your agency's desires and dreams, however there are some classes and examples of equipment that can make a contribution to progressed performance

1. Monitoring and Alerting Tools: These tools help monitor the performance and availability of various IT systems, such as servers, networks, and applications. 2. Incident Management Tools: Incident management tools provide acentralized platform for tracking and managing IT incidents. 3. Configuration Management Tools: Configuration management tools help IT teams manage and track changes to their IT infrastructure. 4. IT Service Management (ITSM) Tools: ITSM tools provide a set of processes and workflows for managing IT services. 5. Automation Tools: Automation tools help automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as software deployments, backups, and system updates. 6.Collaboration and Communication Tools

A good friend of mine would always say, "A fool with a tool is still a fool". Given this understanding, some tools can help as long as you keep in mind that process must come first. I have found that the ServiceNow platform is incredible at speed to enhance a good process. The platform offers so many integrated processes and solutions that it's a game changer.

None. Don't use a tool yet. Instead use post-it notes and map what it is that you are doing in some level of detail. Use Value Stream Mapping as a guide. Then use MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, Won't) as a guide to help you derive the tools that will aid you in effectiveness looking at your VSM model. Once you are effective, you can learn how to be efficient.

One od the biggest mistakes one can make is to use dedicated software to monitor dedicated systems. That way you loose the overview of the whole ecosystem. It is hard to correlate between alerts and actual system causing the alert. Strive to monitor everything within one system. Strive for an umbrella monitoring solution to get a Birds Eye view of the whole landscape. 80 percent of the incidents can be caught by monitoring 20 percent of the systems.

A well configured monitoring system such as PRTG or Solarwinds, with all the application dependencies mapped properly. Alerts sent direct to an ITSM such as ServiceNow, can effectively take care of the low level and fairly mundane tasks that the Infra team would normally have to undertake. Automation is the key enabler for small teams with demands on their time.

Choosing the right monitoring and alerting tool requires carefully evaluating your unique needs. Keep these key factors in mind: -Identify the core systems and services you want to monitor. -Consider the complexity of your IT environment. Larger setups often demand more robust solutions than smaller ones. -Mind your budget constraints. Monitoring tools range from costly to more affordable. -Assess your team's existing skills and expertise. -Prioritize tools with an optimal feature set. With a properly configured system, you can proactively oversee your IT assets, receive alerts on issues, and rapidly respond to minimize disruption. Selecting the right monitoring solution is vital for robust IT oversight.

Monitoring and alerting are a mandatory tool in IT service management. SolarWinds Orion Platform and Manage engine NetFlow Analyzer Monitoring and alerting tools can help you detect and resolve issues, optimize resource utilization, and improve user experience.

Again, Nexthink has the power we need to monitor not only in realtime, but historical over time representation helps you identify trends and issue before they affect your entire fleet.

I agree on the above, this is the best way to enhance all over efficiency. From my perspective, incident management is crucial in ensuring the smooth operation of IT systems and services. It not only helps in responding to and resolving incidents but also enhances overall efficiency. Utilizing incident management tools can significantly improve communication, collaboration, and documentation during incident responses, making it easier to identify root causes and assess the impact of incidents.

loved Service now it was so much easier to use. Comprehensive functionality: ServiceNow provides a comprehensive set of incident management features, including incident logging, assignment, tracking, escalation, and resolution. It also includes features for knowledge base management, change management, and problem management. Ease of use: ServiceNow is a user-friendly platform that is easy to learn and use. It has a customizable interface that can be tailored to the specific needs of your organization. Scalability: ServiceNow is a highly scalable platform that can meet the needs of organizations of all sizes. Automation: ServiceNow provides a variety of automation features that can help you to streamline your incident management process.

Incident management is the practice of responding to and resolving disruptions in IT systems and services. With tools like PagerDuty, ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, and Opsgenie, businesses can streamline communication, collaboration, and documentation during incident response. These tools help track the root cause and impact of incidents, minimising downtime and maximising operational efficiency.

Para mim hoje as melhores s?o PagerDuty + Jira Service s?o o carro-chefe para fazer uma boa gest?o de incidentes, integram muito bem as mais diversas fontes, s?o simples de aprender e fazem os times evoluírem bem rápido nesse disciplina.

Workflows , visibility and cooperation are key on a successful IT operation. In helpdesk, having a centralised source of knowledge, of incident tracking and well tagged and documented ticket and incident history is a major must have. This serves the purpose of also, streaming processes as change tracking, service requests and bug reporting.

The implementation of automation and orchestration is indeed a game-changer in optimizing IT operations. Building upon this, it's beneficial to adopt a phased approach to automation, starting with simpler tasks and gradually moving to complex workflows. This not only ensures smooth transitions but also helps in realizing quick wins which can fuel further initiatives. Moreover, coupling these tools with robust monitoring systems can create a dynamic environment that not only reacts to issues swiftly but can prevent them before they occur.

This is key. Any time I see a repeatable human process, the first idea is “how do I automate this?” Doing so has a direct impact to that individual being able to contribute elsewhere in the company, while also reducing the chance of error. Make sure to document your automation steps. Your future admin friends will thank you

Automation is about performing individual tasks automatically, while orchestration is about managing and coordinating multiple automated tasks or systems to work together as part of a larger process.

Automation and Orchestration are the driving forces behind operational efficiency in today's dynamic IT landscape. I specialize in harnessing the power of automation and orchestration to streamline processes, reduce manual intervention, and optimize resource utilization. With a deep understanding of workflow design and automation scripting, I excel in creating end-to-end automation solutions that enhance productivity and reliability. By leveraging Automation and Orchestration, I empower organizations to achieve higher levels of efficiency, reduce errors, and respond rapidly to changing business needs, ultimately driving innovation and cost-effectiveness in their IT operations.

Any time you can add automation and take our the human error, do it. Even if it feels uncomfortable at first, you will have more time to focus on things that need an actual person!

Fortifying IT systems with robust security and compliance protocols is a non-negotiable aspect in today's digital landscape. Adding to this, embracing a culture of security awareness within the organization can be a proactive step. Regular training and simulations can help in keeping the team abreast of the latest threats and regulatory requirements, fostering a vigilant and informed workforce. Furthermore, implementing layered security strategies, and not solely relying on perimeter defenses, can create a resilient security posture.

Security and compliance tools like Splunk and Bitlocker serve as the guardians of IT integrity. Through Splunk's monitoring, we gain visibility into security threats, while Bitlocker's encryption shields sensitive data. Tools such as Nmap and Qualys are not just for remediation but are proactive in identifying vulnerabilities. Utilising these tools helps ensure adherence to standards, turning reactive security practices into a robust, proactive defense, and compliance framework. This comprehensive approach is vital for maintaining trust and operational continuity in today's threat landscape.

I agree with @Tony Alvizo and @Zeeshan ul Hassan Syed. I want to add to their comments the fact that we, the IT Security community, need to do a better job at educating users at all levels on how to guard their Digital Identity and for companies to start looking at security from the identity perspective, cause the perimeter lines are blurred in today's corporate cloud ecosystems. Safeguarding privileged accounts must be a top priority for CIOs and CISOs, as these hold the keys to the kingdom.

Just to add on, "Security and Compliance" do not fall under normal IT Operations. These are specialised tasks and to be perfomed by different teams. Depending upon the nature or sensitivity of business objectives and goals, security and compliance requirements and controls may reduce the performance however reduce or mitigate the potential risks or loss to a greater extent

Organizations should set aside sufficient budget for implementation of a Security mechanism of sufficient robustness, capable of protecting their valuable assets. Care should be taken not to overlook any of the regulatory compliances enforced by the authorities and accordingly security and compliance tools should be selected. Most of the compliance tools support the major security frameworks, and facilitate report generation for submission to regulatory authorities and auditors. But no matter how advanced security and compliance tools are used, security is not complete without proper security professionals with analytical ability, skills and experience.

Confluence teamed up with Jira is a good way of managing documentation plus project tracking They are part of the Altassian product suite

I love the IT Glue platform. It was purpose-built for IT documentation and has been such a time saver for us having everything cleanly formatted, related and searchable.

Documentation and knowledge management is mandated in the current IT world. Both technical and process knowledge is vital for IT ops to perform daily routine. Trouble shooting steps must be documented and the knowledge should be shared among the team. The reduction of downtime of a Major Incident depends on Resolving the problem after detecting. This can be achieved only with proper knowledge documentation and experience. ServiceNow knowledge management and Confluence are some good examples to explore.

Actually, as a software developer expert, nothing help more than devsecops mindset. Definitely it increases efficiency. And you know, you can use it to improve all other IT functions such service desk. I really enjoy the devsecops practices all the time.

ServiceNow ITSM Knowledge Mgmt is the most robust product and platform on the market. Standardizing workflows from creation to retirement of Knowledge.

Information availability & how we share the information between the team members in order to have our job consistently successful. Not depends on one team member so, If he/she left the whole team will go down and job quality and moral as well will collapse.

As long as you do not adress this with a clear why to use these tools and take the complexity of humans interacting in the process these will be just tools. So the most powerful tools to use are the ones that make the teams interact and find common ground on which tools to use.

Independientemente de la herramienta que elijamos, debemos considerar varios aspectos claves: - La obsolescencia de los activos TI aspecto esencial para garantizar el rendimiento óptimo y la seguridad. - Los ITGC (Controles Generales de TI), que son fundamentales para el cumplimiento y la gestión de riesgos y que deben ser monitoreados y reforzados constantemente. - La gestión de riesgos operacionales y la remediación de vulnerabilidades son tareas críticas, esto incluye mantenerse al tanto de las amenazas emergentes y aplicar parches y actualizaciones de seguridad de manera oportuna. En resumen, el éxito, la optimización y confiabilidad de las operaciones TI depende en gran medida de una estrategia integral que incluya estos aspectos.

Tools are never ending. They are like candy in a store. You want to taste them all. I ask each team impacted in the digital value stream what Must it do, what Could it do, and what do you not want it to do. I include vendors that may be linked or use the tool. I do the same with product or senior leaders as real-time is the only way to go. Now go find the phamplets for your tools. Which ones match or come close? Pilot these for at least 2 weeks but 30 days is even better. I mean really try it. Compare it to what you have now. CLoud makes a test environment easy and inexpensive. At the end of the pilots, go back to your contributors and build the case with them for the new tool.

Chat gpt can be helpful with older software troubleshooting or obscure issues. Google is not showing proper search results due to them promoting sponsored websites and companies that pay them so results can often be unrelated or not helpful. Chat gpt can read through its database of knowledge and often give really fast and on point answers you may spend 5-10mins trying to look for on google.