RENSSELAER, NY
July 6, 2005 Autotask Corporation today announced a major update to its flagship IT services management software Autotask, the web-based application suite used by thousands of service professionals.
With the update, Autotask today became the first web-based system to automatically capture e-mail alerts from remote monitoring systems, convert them into service tickets, and then manage the entire process through assignment, escalation, and resolution.
This update also introduces a powerful new workflow automation engine designed to dramatically streamline the way service tickets are created, processed, and resolved.
In addition, Autotask Corporation has taken a "vendor-neutral" approach to the technology that makes its software directly compatible with leading remote monitoring system vendors, including N-able, Level Platforms, HyBlue and Kaseya. Other leading products, such as Saaz from Zenith Infotech, and Monitor-IT from Breakout Software, will be compatible with Autotask in coming releases.
"Weve been waiting for something exactly like this," said Dave Brewer, CEO of BC Networks, an Autotask customer and early user of the new tools. "Now that Autotask works directly with the monitoring software we use, we can save time and labor handling alerts, managing and dispatching assignments faster, and tracking profitability on monitoring contracts much more easily. And our clients will benefit from more responsive service and greater network and system uptime."
Bob Godgart, CEO of Autotask, added, "These enhancements allow any service provider to increase utilization, eliminate queue monitoring and manual triaging, comply better with SLAs, and keep track of profitability. With these enhancements, Autotask offers a competitive advantage in the service marketplace -- a leg-up that can be promoted as a verifiable advantage over the competition.
"For MSPs or companies that use software internally to monitor systems, this update of Autotask promises a revolution in efficiency. The entire process of handling alerts from beginning to end is streamlined to respond faster, more efficiently, and more appropriately," he said.
There are thousands of possible automated routines that can be created with Autotasks new workflow process engine. This new engine is driven by a simple point-and-click menu that allows non-programmers to quickly and easily create customized workflow rules based on their own processes. With this new tool, users can now:
* Create workflow and escalation rules for service tickets that are easily defined and customized. These workflow rules indicate when and how a service ticket is to be escalated and what actions should be performed. Workflow rules can be copied and used as the basis for building new rules.
* Define automatic actions, such as notifications, escalation in priority, change in status, and reassignments to be initiated when service standards and time-based commitments are at risk.
* Provide an audit trail on the service ticket that displays the events, conditions and actions taken.
* Use notification templates, including system variables, to create unique messages for each workflow rule. IT services personnel can view service ticket details by opening a window in the ticketing system from a link in the notification email. Autotask can send notifications to technicians in the field through multiple pathways such as Outlook, e-mail enabled phones and pagers.
* Comply with required functionality from vendors. For example, Cisco Partners can make sure that priority levels comply with the Cisco prioritization and escalation guidelines.
For a comprehensive description of the new enhancements found in the latest Autotask update visit: http://www.autotask.com/product_features/release_notes/a10sp3_introduction.htm
About Autotask Corporation
Autotask (http://itservices.autotask.com/request_info.htm?source=7) is an innovative, web-based business platform that automates the key functions of any professional services organization. Autotask helps companies to run their business better by integrating customer data, project information, and service tickets all in a single database that is used for time capture, billing, reporting, and business management. While the solution is used in a wide range of industries, Autotask has become the #1 business productivity package for IT Service Providers, including MSPs, VARs, System Integrators and IT Consultants.
