Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise 2.0

This ITSM.tools Solution Snapshot is an in-depth review of the Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise 2.0 IT Service Management (ITSM) tool. It was written by Stephen Mann, Principal Analyst and Content Director at ITSM.tools, in October 2023. The review includes solution functionality, solution technology, pricing and implementation, go-to-market strategy, and key customers.

Here you'll find an in-depth review of the @Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise 2.0 IT Service Management (ITSM) tool, written by @StephenMann. #ITSM #ServiceDesk Share on X

Solution overview

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product installed into the customer’s Microsoft Power Platform/Power Apps environment. It’s available in two editions, Professional and Enterprise, with ServiceTeam IT Asset Management (ITAM) an extra-cost add-on. Provance ServiceTeam ITSM provides ITIL-aligned ITSM processes, and because it’s designed natively in Microsoft Power Apps, it takes advantage of the Microsoft Power Platform (Microsoft Power Pages for Self Service Portal, Microsoft Power BI for management reporting, Microsoft Power Automate for automated workflows, and Microsoft Power Virtual Agent next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots), Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Azure. The latest version was released in April 2023, with ServiceTeam ITSM 2.0 focused on the user experience and the activities most important to them, reducing resolution times, and improving agent productivity and that of their customers. In ITSM.tools’ opinion, Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise is a good alternative to traditional ITSM tools for organizations wanting to leverage their existing and future investments in Microsoft products and skills.

Key strengths, improvement opportunities, and product roadmap

Key Differentiators

A modern low-code product built to maximize IT staff and end-user productivity; Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is stated to be functionally robust and easy to configure. Companies can leverage their existing skillsets and investments in Microsoft technologies with out-of-the-box integrations with the Microsoft technology stack, such as Power Platform (Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agent), Azure DevOps, and Intune.

Solution Roadmap

In H1 2024, Provance plans to improve the self-service experience through the Microsoft Power Virtual Agent and a Microsoft Teams integration. For 2024, new capabilities will further leverage AI, including AI-assisted agent guidance.

Solution Functionality

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is designed natively in Microsoft Power Apps and installed into the customer’s Microsoft Power Platform/Power Apps environment. In delivering its ITIL-aligned capabilities, ServiceTeam ITSM takes advantage of the Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Azure. Customers can also leverage Microsoft Power BI for management reporting, Microsoft Power Automate to configure automated workflows, and Microsoft Power Virtual Agent next-generation AI chatbots. Diagram 1. provides a Provance ServiceTeam ITSM overview. In ITSM.tools’ opinion, using the Microsoft technology ecosystem allows customers to benefit from newer technologies – such as machine learning – far more quickly than with most traditional ITSM tools. Customers can also leverage their existing Microsoft skillsets rather than invest in new ones.

Here, @StephenMann takes an in-depth look at the @Provance #ITSM tool, looking at solution functionality, solution technology, pricing & implementation, go-to-market strategy, & key customers. Share on X

Diagram 1: A ServiceTeam ITSM Overview

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is currently available in English, German, and French. Provance will seek accreditation by Pink Elephant (via the globally recognized PinkVERIFY certification) in H1 2024. The solution’s predecessor – Provance ITSM – was PinkVERIFY certified for eleven ITIL v3 processes, and Provance is well-versed in ITIL and its application. In ITSM.tool’s opinion, the current lack of PinkVERIFY certification shouldn’t discount ServiceTeam ITSM from consideration. In the last decade, while ITSM tool certification (and recertification) has continued for most ITSM tools, industry interest has waned in many regions.

Provance states, “Our customers have a strong preference for a best-of-platform approach to ITSM and enterprise service management (ESM), and with Microsoft’s Power Platform adoption growing rapidly, and the global scalability and security provided by the platform, we feel Provance ServiceTeam is well positioned to tap into this trend.”

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM’s core ITSM capabilities beyond incident, problem, and change enablement/management include:

• Event management – integration with the service catalog and the configuration management database (CMDB) allows device-level alerts to be captured from monitoring tools like Azure Monitor. This information, combined with service mapping details, allows automated service impact analysis for all downstream configuration items (CIs) and services.
• Availability management – integration with event management and the service catalog provides outage reporting and availability key performance indicators (KPIs).
• IT asset management – is provided via a separate offering – ServiceTeam ITAM – which is an integrated add-on that focuses on managing assets across their lifecycle (from ordering through to disposal or return).
• Knowledge management – ServiceTeam ITSM’s knowledge management capabilities are aligned with the Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) framework. The ServiceTeam Research Center can be used to search and link not only traditional knowledge articles but also information from existing tickets, known errors, change notices, and resource profiles.
• Service catalog – there’s the ability to store both business and operational information. In addition to the standard business and technical service definition types, specialty types allow managed and provided services to be included.
• Request catalog management – customers can build standardized self-service requests with automated actions and provide access to accurate service information.
• Service configuration management – the ServiceTeam ITSM CMDB provides a 360-degree view of services and configuration items. Service mapping allows CIs and their relationships to each other and services to be defined.
• Service level management – ServiceTeam ITSM provides the ability to create and manage hierarchical service plans based on CIs, services, accounts, and subscriptions. Custom business hours and closures can also be related to allow plans tailored to specific services or customers.

These capabilities are shown in the following ITIL 4 practice support table.

ITIL Process Support

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM’s support for the 34 ITIL 4 practices (not all of which are service management practices) is shown in Table 2. – with capabilities denoted as one of completely (C), partially (P), via another company offering (O), via a third-party offering (T), or not supported (N):

Table 1: ITIL Process Support

Source: Provance Technologies, Inc.

Reporting and Analytics

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM has two main reporting elements:

1. Service desk agents can access views and dashboards that provide real-time visibility into operational activities. The out-of-the-box views can be easily modified or extended, and new views can be created – all of which can be shared with other team members and teams.
2. Service desk managers also have access to various Power BI dashboards and reports. These provide detailed operational data and the ability to drill into it. These reports are extendable; anyone with Power BI skills can build additional reports. Diagram 3. shows an example – the Service Desk Workload report

Diagram 2: The Service Desk Workload Report

Source: Provance Technologies, Inc

All data is available for reporting from within the Microsoft Dataverse (which contains all application data) without needing a data warehouse and the potential issues this causes. More on Provance ServiceTeam ITSM’s reporting and analytics capabilities is shared in these two Provance blogs:

1. https://www.provance.com/blog/how-serviceteam-leverages-user-centered-methods-to-enhance-the-agent-experience/
2. https://www.provance.com/blog/how-serviceteam-itsm-helps-managers-leverage-power-bi-reports-for-service-desk-optimization/

In ITSM.tools’ opinion, using Microsoft Power BI’s capabilities provides teams greater access to ITSM data and insight than most traditional ITSM tools.

'In @ITSM_tool's opinion, @Provance's use of Microsoft Power BI’s capabilities provides teams greater access to #ITSM data & insight than most traditional ITSM tools.' #servicedesk Share on X

Additional Capabilities of Note

• Automation – the Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Automation gateways allow customers to leverage existing automation tools such as PowerShell or Microsoft Azure Runbooks. This schedules and runs automation tasks on demand.
• DevOps – the ServiceTeam ITSM DevOps gateways facilitate communications between IT service desk teams and application development groups, allowing both teams to operate in their primary applications while communicating collaboratively in the context of the ticket.
• Business intelligence (BI) – ServiceTeam ITSM lets customers leverage Microsoft Power BI for management reporting.
• Enterprise service management/digital transformation – ServiceTeam ITSM allows discreet business units to operate within a single environment. Teams and data operate independently (and confidential information is compartmentalized) while allowing tickets to be easily reassigned to other business units. Ticket-related tasks and more complex work items can be assigned to different groups to allow distributed work to remain managed under a single ticket.
• Enterprise service portal – the end-user experience in ESM scenarios is enhanced by a single portal with standardized interaction across multiple departments and shared access to the knowledge base, request catalog, and a single employee view of all their tickets across the enterprise.
• IT asset management (ITAM) – ServiceTeam ITAM is a separate Provance product, which can be deployed independently or in conjunction with ServiceTeam ITSM. More information can be found here: https://www.provance.com/product/serviceteam-itam/
• Agent UI and usability – ServiceTeam ITSM leverages user-centered methods to improve the agent, manager, and end-user experience. An example agent UI is shown in Diagram 4.
• Productivity Panes – these provide agents with a 360-degree view of all the information they need to quickly assess and respond to incidents or requests without leaving the ticket.

Diagram 3: The Service Desk Agent UI

Solution Technology

In May 2021, Provance re-platformed its existing Microsoft-centric ITSM and ITAM solutions onto the Microsoft Power Platform to benefit from its low-code capabilities for app development and workflows. As such, Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is a SaaS solution dependent on deploying the Microsoft Power Platform and Dataverse. Provance does not provide any required Microsoft licenses – customers need to consult with Microsoft or their Microsoft license provider directly.

Solution Architecture

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise is built on the Microsoft Power Platform, running in either a Power Apps or Dynamics 365 Dataverse environment, and supported by the global Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. Provance states that the Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft Azure provide significant advantages to customers:

• Best-of-breed security
• Breadth and depth of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure
• Best-of-breed data protection and compliance
• High flexibility and scalability
• Reliable backup and disaster recovery
• Benefits from Microsoft’s significant technology investments, including next-generation AI

In ITSM.tool’s opinion, these benefits make Provance ServiceTeam ITSM highly attractive to organizations already with a Microsoft ecosystem investment.

ServiceTeam ITSM uses Microsoft Dataverse for its CMDB and all ITSM-related data, allowing it to share data with other business applications on the platform to give a broader view of the business and infrastructure dependencies.

Microsoft provides hundreds of platform connectors to share data in and out of the Microsoft Dataverse (the Power Platform Connector Reference List can be accessed here – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/connector-reference/ ). Provance provides specialty gateways to integrate with discovery, DevOps, monitoring, automation, and other IT-specific tools. For example, Microsoft Azure Monitor, Intune, System Center (SCCM, SCOM), Azure DevOps, and Azure Active Directory, plus Jira, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor, N-able N-central, and Martello Vantage DX Analytics. All these integrations are included in the ServiceTeam ITSM license subscription. Client-specific integrations can also be created via a fee-incurring Provance professional services engagement

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM can be accessed from anywhere, on any device, using a browser-based application with full mobile device support and a web-based portal. A Microsoft Teams application will be available in H1 2024.

Solution Security and Scalability

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is built in and operates within the Microsoft Power Platform, which is built on Microsoft Azure. The environments are hosted by Microsoft and added to the customer’s instance in the global Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. Provance states that this provides the highest scalability, reliability, and security levels for ServiceTeam ITSM customers.

Microsoft provides, monitors, and supports all ServiceTeam ITSM infrastructure on its Azure platform. Provance doesn’t host or manage the environment or any customer data, which helps customers for which data access and sovereignty is a consideration.

Latest Release

There are typically three annual Provance ServiceTeam ITSM releases/updates, and the dates vary by version. The last three major releases for each solution were:

• ServiceTeam ITSM Professional – June 2021, November 2022, and May 2023
• ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise – July 2022,  December 2022, and April 2023.

Provance calls out the following as the best new capabilities or innovations released in the last 12 months:

• Event management – device-level alerts from monitoring tools are standardized and processed into events in real time.
• Availability management – tracking outages and measuring key performance indicators for critical services.
• Service mapping – configuration items can be mapped to the services they support, and the associated service layer defined. Event management tickets can then automatically identify the impacted services and configuration items.
• Research Center within KCS – agents can search various sources, including knowledge articles, known errors, announcements, change requests, and tickets.
• Productivity Panes within tickets – these provide a 360-degree view of all the information an agent needs to quickly assess and respond to a customer’s incident or request without leaving the ticket.

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Solution Pricing and Implementation

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise is priced on a per-named user basis with a minimum one-year subscription. Each ServiceTeam ITSM user and administrator needs a Provance license. Licensing starts at 30 named users, and Education, Government, and Non-Profit organizations can access special pricing. Discounts may also apply based on subscription term length and the number of users. 

The solution rack rates are USD 45 per user per month for ServiceTeam ITSM Professional, and ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise is available at USD 65 per user per month. Both are billed annually and with one, two, or three-year subscription term options. This product pricing is shared on the Provance website: https://www.provance.com/product/pricing/. 

Provance’s ServiceTeam ITAM solution is offered as a standalone product and an integrated add-on to ServiceTeam ITSM. The licensing model is a site license based on the number of customer employees, starting at USD 5,000 for an organization with up to 1,000 employees. In ITSM.tool’s opinion, the availability of native ITAM capabilities is still an ITSM tool market differentiator for Provance.

Product-based maintenance and support is included in the annual subscription fee. Provance also offers a Managed Support service offering, which provides a broader range of premium services, including support for customizations and professional services hours to assist with configurations and training.

The ServiceTeam ITSM licensing doesn’t include the required Microsoft licenses for Power Apps or other Microsoft products. One of two Microsoft licensing plans is needed for each ServiceTeam ITSM (and ITAM) user, administrator, and service account:

1. Power Apps Per App Plan – use of one app or portal per user, stacking licenses for access to each additional app as the client’s needs change
2. Power Apps Per User Plan (Power Apps Premium) – use of unlimited apps and portals per user.

The following licensing is also required:

• Power Pages Monthly Authenticated Users (MAU) plan for self-service portal access by end-users
• Power BI Pro licenses for those modifying and creating Power BI reports
• Power Virtual Agent licenses for chatbot use in the portal.

Deployment

Most Provance ServiceTeam ITSM customers use a phased approach to implementation. Provance states that  ServiceTeam ITSM usually requires little time to implement an IT service desk but, like all ITSM tools, requires more time to plan and build the service and request catalogs along with the CMDB and more advanced ITSM processes (if these are new processes and concepts for the customer).

A rough implementation guide is as follows:

• Small implementations – 30 to 100 Named Users (service desk agents) – require 60 to 100 hours of professional services with 45 days to three months elapsed time.
• Medium-sized implementations – 100 to 400 Named Users (service desk agents) – require 100 to 300 hours of professional services with three to nine months elapsed time.
• Large – 400+ Named Users (service desk agents) – require 300 to 500 hours of professional services with nine to twelve months elapsed time.

These implementation timeframes depend heavily on customer needs (complexity) and resource availability. Many customers have Microsoft skills in-house and deploy ServiceTeam themselves with Provance resources providing oversight and guidance. For small implementations, a single, often part-time, resource from the customer performs most of the work but may require assistance from other internal resources. Larger implementations that could involve monitoring tools and larger CMDBs might need 2-10 part-time customer resources from areas including IT project management, IT service desk, monitoring and infrastructure, and ITAM. 

As part of a standard implementation services project, professional services provide training in a train-the-trainer approach where users are then typically trained by the customer solution leads, with support from Provance as needed.

Post-Sales Support

All Provance ServiceTeam ITSM customers with valid product subscriptions have access to technical support for the core product, and the premium managed support service offering is available to customers at an additional cost. Support is mainly provided by Provance’s Canadian HQ, and customers can access the Provance support team via self-service portal, email, and phone. 

The periodic solution upgrades typically take between three to five hours. Because ServiceTeam ITSM is installed in the customer’s Power Platform environment, the customer is in control of the timing and application of the upgrade (rather than it being a push from Provance into the customer’s environment). Customer configurations are protected because they are managed in “solutions” applied above the product. This capability is native to the Microsoft Power Platform and leveraged by ServiceTeam ITSM.

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Solution Go-To-Market Strategy

Provance typically targets Microsoft customers with between 1,000 and 25,000 employees. The solution has seen the greatest traction in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Western Europe, and Australia, but Provance also has customers in other countries. In terms of industry verticals, Provance states that it sees strong adoption within state and local government, technology-managed service providers (MSPs), education, manufacturing, finance, and professional services.

Provance’s go-to-market strategy is focused on customers leveraging their existing Microsoft investments (and benefiting from Microsoft’s global cloud scale, security, and flexibility). Its route to market is both direct and through partners and resellers. Provance also works in partnership with Microsoft field teams under the Microsoft co-sell partner programs.

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is marketed with six key benefits:

1. Evolve with Microsoft technologies and leverage the best
2. Support business growth
3. Get answers and intelligent insight
4. Exceed agent and customer expectations
5. Go beyond case management and improve service delivery
6. Achieve maximum flexibility.

Partner Ecosystem

Provance’s key global partners for ServiceTeam ITSM include:

• Microsoft Enterprise Services – Global
• Operaio – Switzerland and DACH countries
• Cluster Dynamics (Cluster Reply) – Germany and DACH countries
• Orbis – Germany and DACH countries
• AlfaPeople – Global
• EY Professional Services (formerly Pythagoras) – UK
• Customer Capital Consulting – Singapore

The complete Provance partner list is available here: https://www.provance.com/partners/find-a-partner/ 

Microsoft is Provance’s strategic and most important technology partner. Provance is engaged with Microsoft product teams on multiple levels, including  ISV Success, fast-track, and early access programs. This partner relationship is considered a key aspect of Provance’s business and an important differentiator.

Key Customers

Provance states that it has hundreds of customers and hundreds of thousands of end-users. Key customers include:

• VDE Services GmbH
• City of London 
• Waterfield Tech
• Trustmarque
• Mazars USA LLP

Detailed customer success stories are available here: https://www.provance.com/customers/. Customer reviews can also be found on Microsoft AppSource – search for Provance.

Company Overview

Founded in 1997, Provance is a private company headquartered in Gatineau, Canada, that has a long history of providing ITSM and ITAM software. Provance is a Microsoft independent software vendor (ISV) partner and states that the Provance product team has an excellent working relationship with the Microsoft Engineering teams for the technology it leverages. It is part of several Microsoft ISV Fastrack programs, including Open AI and Early Adopter programs, and Power Platform Catalog Private Preview. According to its website: “Provance is a Microsoft Global ISV Partner that delivers the most Microsoft-centric IT Service Management and IT Asset Management solutions on the market built on Power Platform.”

Provance states that approximately 85% of customers use Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Enterprise, and 60% also license the ITAM solution. More ServiceTeam ITSM information can be found at:

• ServiceTeam ITSM features: https://www.provance.com/product/serviceteam-itsm/
• ServiceTeam ITSM benefits: https://www.provance.com/product/serviceteam-itsm/why-serviceteam-itsm/
• Microsoft Power Platform Partners Case Study on Provance: https://powerplatformpartners.transform.microsoft.com/download?assetname=assets/Provance_case%20study_05182023.pdf&download=1
• Latest on-demand webcasts: https://www.provance.com/resources/webcasts/
• Request a demo: https://www.provance.com/request-demo/
• Free trial: https://www.provance.com/free-trial-page/.

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM Solution Summary

In ITSM.tools’ opinion, Provance ServiceTeam ITSM is a capability-rich ITSM solution aimed at organizations of all sizes across all verticals. An existing or new investment in the Microsoft ecosystem is required, but this also offers access to a wealth of Microsoft technologies – such as business intelligence and machine learning – that can be applied to ITSM operations.

Provance ServiceTeam ITSM offers a robust set of ITSM capabilities for the cost, which is enhanced further with the optional ITAM capabilities. The use of the Microsoft Power Platform and its capabilities fits well with the growing industry trend for low code and AI and exploiting enterprise service management opportunities through wider ITSM tool use and bespoke applications.

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