With the launch of our Asset Management course last week, Cireson Learning is now offering the most comprehensive free SCSM training materials available!
Check out our Cireson Learning course catalog here!
Over the years, one of the things we’ve been asked about most here at Cireson is how a company using SCSM can ensure they maintain valuable SCSM expertise. In 2019, we began developing our Cireson Learning platform. The goal was to provide free training resources for Service Manager and Cireson products to System Center professionals across the globe.
Empowering the System Center and Service Manager community is a significant part of our mission here at Cireson. Providing the best software and services to help companies get the most out of SCSM was the first step, but we did not stop there. Launching our Cireson Community as a place for System Center professionals to interact and help each other was a big undertaking and has proven tremendous value in recent years. But there was still something missing, leading us to launch Cireson Learning.
The Need for SCSM Training
The average SCSM shop will usually find themselves in one of two scenarios.
- They have SCSM in place but there is no subject matter expert (SME) dedicated to the product. Most of the time, they either never trained someone, or their original admin left and was never replaced.
- They have a dedicated admin that is focused on administration. This admin may want to expand the capabilities of the system, to get more value, but struggles with knowledge outside of daily operations.
Of course, there are many organizations that have a mature implementation in place. In these cases, we’ve found that the differentiator is a well-trained staff. They usually have a strong admin or team of SMEs maintaining the system and constantly finding new ways to leverage the power of SCSM.
Emphasizing proper training and empowering employees to drive more value will create the formula to really accelerate success with SCSM and futureproof your ITSM strategy. Most organizations have the people and are willing to support them. They just need proper training resources.
3 Ways to Maximize Our Free SCSM Training
The value of technology training is obvious across all industries but it’s rare that a given subject has free comprehensive training materials. Looking back at the two most common customer scenarios above, an abundance of available training resources would help but it doesn’t end there. Let’s take a look at a couple of ways to maximize Cireson’s free training materials to elevate an organization out of the doldrums of SCSM uncertainty.
1) Cross Train Your Staff to Ensure You Have SME Redundancy
One of the most common limitations of any SCSM shop is either a lack of subject matter expertise within the organization or losing your SME to another company, leaving you with no expertise at all. Asking multiple team members to complete SCSM training can give you some redundancy in case an SME is out of office for an extended period or abruptly leaves the company. Gamifying the completion of training across the team or implementing a training schedule for staff members can encourage participation and even competition.
2) Identify Products that Add Value to Your Implementation
During Cireson Learning courses, there are other technologies referenced as part of the training material. This is meant to highlight what is needed when implementing and configuring certain solutions. System Center components outside of SCSM may be recommended, or even needed, to maximize Cireson product value. You can take the opportunity to compare what you come across in the training to what your organization is using today. You may also identify technology that you own but aren’t using currently. This is a great opportunity to understand if you can consolidate technology as part of your SCSM implementation.
3) Use Training Materials as a Roadmap for Innovation
Another common sign of an organization heading toward SCSM stagnation is the inability of a seasoned admin to expand beyond day to day administration. Cireson Learning courses cover multiple subjects outside of implementing and configuring service management processes. SCSM admins will find:
- Free Cireson apps that will make them extremely popular with the service desk.
- Remote troubleshooting tools that can increase first call resolution and decrease escalations.
- IT Asset Management content that can help your organization gain control of what you own.
It’s a great checklist of new areas to explore if you feel like you’re just going through the motions or if your uncertain where to go next with SCSM.
Summary
System Center Service Manager is an extremely powerful engine for ITSM. When someone begins working with this product, it can feel like your transitioning from driving a car to now flying a plane every day. Even when you learn to fly this new plane, it can feel uncomfortable to explore too far off course, for fear that you might do irreparable damage.
Upon first logging in, there is an obvious adjustment to how you manage daily work but, beyond that, there are multiple layers of potential for what you can do with the system if you just know where to start. In short, it can be overwhelming.
There are now free training resources for new admins and seasoned experts alike. Check out our Cireson Learning course catalog and sign up today. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to the Cireson team for all your Service Manager needs.
