One of our clients builds virtual machine “laboratories” for the US Military. Our client is required to rapidly deploy complex “lab” environments to test out new software systems on demand for any branch of the military. The stakes are high, as many of these systems are used in critical military situations.
Our client needed assistance with managing the wide array of IT assets needed for these virtual machine labs. As part of deploying a new lab, the client needed access to stored information about the particular military unit that wanted the lab to be built. Our client had a SharePoint 2013 environment in place and wanted to use it for the lab management – both for the IT assets and for the “customer” information (the military unit’s contacts, past projects, etc.).
We adapted two of our SharePoint applications for this client. In this blog, we will talk about our client’s requirements and discuss how our NITRO™ powered solutions were able to address these needs.
Establishing a fully functioning test environment involves installing an operating system, drivers, and configurations, and other core elements along with components specific to the machine (applications, software dependencies, customizations). Every application and service that is installed has its own set of help documentation, templates, installation parameters, and configuration settings.
To make matters more complex, customer data has to be matched with project provisioning requirements. Our client needed to view customer details, access views of their IT environments, review past projects, and be able to effectively handle implementation and problem solving post-setup.
After listening to our client, we realized that a dual approach was required to address the scope of the business needs. We recommended the following SharePoint-integrated solutions:
Virtual environments enable the testing of new hardware and software configurations in a safe space that is isolated from development and production environments.
Crow Canyon’s Asset Management platform provides a range of functionality that goes far beyond mere asset details. Our client was able to use multiple features to gain the real-time visibility needed, such as:
In addition to keeping track of virtualization assets, our client needed to integrate a large amount of customer information. This data not only included customer contact details, but delved into their specific requirements, level of accessibility, and IT environments.
Our client required the capability to easily access detailed customer information and then correlate it with deployed assets. Post-deployment, our client needed to offer a level of support for virtualized assets — this meant quick access to relevant content for an extensive asset inventory. All support interactions had to be tracked and then follow a configured workflow from initial point-of-contact to closure.
With this in mind, we implemented our Customer Support platform with the following features:
Both the Asset Management and Customer Support solutions track and record for reporting and analysis, such as asset usage, status histories, time of overdue tickets, time spent waiting for approvals, etc. The report building can retrieve and compare multiple dimensions across both platforms. This versatility enabled our client to gain a deep insight into how the organization operated and to quickly identify potential bottlenecks before they became problems.
Crow Canyon’s business productivity platforms integrate seamlessly with each other and with Microsoft SharePoint / Office 365, effectively enabling our client to fully leverage its infrastructure investments. The configurability of all of our modules negates the need for extensive customizations and long-term specialized training — companies have the freedom to select the platforms most applicable to them. Our NITRO™ powered technology requires zero coding, enabling our customers to quickly power-up their SharePoint and/or Office 365 environments with true business productivity solutions.
With the Crow Canyon applications, our client was provided with a future-proof foundation that empowered it to manage any type of virtual test environment while efficiently addressing the support needs of its customers.
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Crow Canyon Software delivers the power of a connected, digital workplace to your organization, helping you be more successful and competitive. We provide the tools that allow you to gain the maximum benefit from SharePoint and Office 365, Microsoft’s premier collaboration platforms.
Want to learn about how our business productivity applications for SharePoint and Office 365 can power up your organization? Give us a call at 1-925-478-3110 or contact us by e-mail at sales@crowcanyon.com. We look forward to hearing from you!