Item: SysAid
Rating: 9
Author: Edward Fowler

Overall Satisfaction with SysAid

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

SysAid is our ITSM Tool. Aides us in implementing and monitoring ITIL procedures and standards. We register all of our incidents and requests thru the SysAid Admin (IT Technicians) or Self-Service Portal (other users in all departments of the organization). It has enabled our clients/users to monitor the status of their requests and reported incidents without the need to have emails sent back and forth or asking who was working on their issue. The self-service portal is customizable and can easily be branded to be uniform to the organizations needs. We are currently automating a number of forms and processes (like move requests, equipment requests, on- and off-boarding) thru the WorkFlow manager. Next steps will be the integration with JIRA (since the application has a number of integration options with Office Automation, Collaboration Tools, Monitoring Tools and Project Management Tools) and a more intensive use of automation tools (like self-service password unlock and reset).

Pros and Cons

Pros

Ticket registration and tracking
Workflow management
Self-Service portal
Reporting and Feed-back/Notification
ITIL-Compliant
Flexible and Customizable

Cons

Workflow Design is powerful but has a learning curve
Admin Portal UI (has improved a lot in the last few years however)
Custom Reporting (again, this has improved a lot in the last few years)
Automation options (on the plus side, they listen to the users)

Return on Investment

Self-Service Portal has made it easier for users to record their requests or incidents (even off-hours) and monitor their status without the hassle of asking who's working on it and what status does it have.

Alternatives Considered

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, TOPdesk and Spiceworks Help Desk

We had ample experience previously with SysAid and when we evaluated the aforementioned alternatives we went for the "old trustworthy" but were also surprised that everything we were looking for in the alternatives was in the latest version of the tools we already had so we upgraded to that latest version.

Key Insights

Do you think SysAid delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with SysAid's feature set?

Yes

Did SysAid live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of SysAid go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy SysAid again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued), SAP NetWeaver Application Server, PaperCut

Likelihood to Recommend

If you're looking for an ITIL compliant ITSM, this is it. SysAid offers options based on the size and complexity of your organization. Post-implementation Support is superb but the Implementation Support takes the cake. SysAid listens to it's user base and periodic user-group workshops showcase what's new and how other users have made the best out of their implementation and has impacted their ServiceDesk performance positively.

SysAid Feature Ratings

Using SysAid

Users and Roles

250

Support Headcount Required

Business Processes Supported

Incident Reporting
Request Management
Asset Management
Knowledge-base
User feedback

Innovative Uses

Self-service portal
Workflow Management
Task Automation

Future Planned Uses

More Workflow
More Task Automation

Likelihood to Renew

Evaluating SysAid and Competitors

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Product Reputation
Prior Experience with the Product

Evaluation Lessons Learned

No changes

SysAid Implementation

Implementation Rating

We were very satisfied with the implementation and the implementation support received from SysAid

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Yes

Change Management Lessons

Change management was a minor issue with the implementation

Implementation Issues

Getting the organization on board with the self-service portal

SysAid Support

Support Rating

Near perfect. Follow up is superb and implementation support is more than superb.

SysAid Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

We purchased standard support. And even that is superb.

Bug Resolution

Yes - In e-mail setup. A false error appears. E-mail is configured properly but the false error may be confusing.

Exceptional Examples of SysAid Support

During implementation. We had regular (almost twice a week), 1 hr sessions with the implementation consultant. We had a list of implementation points that had to be agreed upon and configured and made perfect use of the assistance as a training for our configuration managers.

Using SysAid

Usability

SysAid is very user-friendly, specially the self-service portal, which allows users to enter and track their incidents and requests.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None