The Service Desk and IT Support Show (SITS), one of the UK’s key IT service management events, may have been delayed until later in the year (November), but Ivanti has not been idle. We might not have been designing a stand, working on messaging or compiling demos and videos to show at a physical event, but we’ve certainly put a lot of work into a number of service management focussed webinars, designed to give you a flavour of what you might experience and learn at the real SITS.

We’ve got lots to tell you, including: 

  • Making use of tomorrow’s technology, today
  • Harnessing the power of automation
  • How bots are making an appearance in today’s service desk environment
  • Why virtual assistants are making a name for themselves
  • How the cloud really can simplify the most arduous of tasks
  • Why ‘shift left’ really does make sense in today’s busy service management environment

Take a look for yourself and decide whether what we’ve outlined below really is what you can look forward to when SITS ‘in the flesh’ takes place, or whether there’s a small nugget of content that you can take into your workplace and benefit from, today.

Webinar 1: Next Gen Tech and How to Prepare for It

Scarlett Bayes, Senior Research Analyst, Service Desk Institute

Scarlett takes a look at recent research that highlights service desk priorities, what digital transformation involves and what industry professionals expect to see in the near future. She’ll also take a look at technologies such as automation, chat bots and omni-channels service which enable zero-touch service while improving customer experience, and how that impacts the future of service desk. In conclusion Scarlett will outline ideas to implement today to prepare your service desk for the future.

Webinar 2: Service Management, Automation Bots, Breaking Barriers and Changing Perceptions

Ian Aitchison, Senior Director Product Management, Ivanti

In today’s world where the lines between IT and other departments within an organisation are blurring, and where employees like to ‘fix things themselves’, Ian shows how new innovation in automation bots can extend the reach of your Servicedesk team, helps improve business productivity, and distinctively – enhance the human relationship between your support staff and the wider business.

Webinar 3: Ivanti – Enabling Shift Left

Chris Savvides, Senior Presales Consultant, Ivanti

Chris examines the challenges of service management today and outlines the pitfalls of the traditional IT approach to these issues, including gaps in technology and the consequences of this. He’ll show how Ivanti Cloud and Ivanti Service Manager address these issues, pointing out ways that traditional IT can adapt and embrace new ways of working.

And if you really want to experience a true face-to-face event while listening to the webinars, why not follow these tips:

  1. Sore feet: Attending a physical event wouldn’t be the same without getting sore feet, so make sure you go for a long run or walk; undertake a strenuous workout before you start watching; or if you’re feeling extra brave, why not walk over a bed of nails or hot coals? Whatever you decide to do, make sure your feet are suitably sore and aching before you begin watching any of the webinars.
  2. Hydration: Hmmm, to hydrate or not to hydrate? While drinking plenty of water really should be the order of the day, to get the real feeling of being at an event, you should probably fuel up on coffee and forget the water. That way, by the time you’ve watched all the webinars, you’ll have tired eyes, a dehydration headache and dry skin—just as if you’d been at a real event all day!
  3. Food: Common sense says to start the day with a good breakfast to keep you going through the webinars. But you could ditch the sensible, healthy breakfast and grab a quick snack (a muffin or chocolate bar maybe?) midway through watching to give you the sugar rush you need to keep going until you reach the end.
  4. Clothing: If you’ve been stuck inside for a while, you might make the most of the occasion and dress up in what you would usually wear to a tradeshow—a business suit perhaps, or maybe you prefer to go a little more casual and grab a company-branded polo shirt paired with chinos? Maybe you’ve even got an Ivanti-branded T-shirt you could throw on to make you feel right at home, as if you were really on the Ivanti stand meeting face-to-face with Ivanti staff.
  5. Social media: And finally, if you learn something worthwhile from the webinars, why not give Ivanti (Twitter, LinkedIn or other channel of your choice) a shout-out on social media, just like you would throughout a live event? Don’t forget to mention what it was you liked about the content, or what you’ve learnt through watching the webinar. You could always include a hashtag—maybe #IvantiWebinars #WhatILearntToday or #WorkFromHome would work.

So, what’s stopping you? Make sure you fill that void where SITS should have been in May and take a look at our webinars.