BMC Software, which makes products for managing corporate computers and employee help desks, is releasing a product that personalizes delivery of things like documents and corporate software to personal devices. People will be able to use it to order their own computers, automatically know if something urgent is going on in their businesses, or make appointments to talk to a help desk, instead of just waiting on the phone to describe a problem.
If someone is traveling, the system uses the personal device's geolocation service to help find a local office on Google Maps. A company can put its own floor plan into the map, so people can find meeting rooms or the location of a printer that has been set up to work with the device. Secure content, like sensitive corporate documents and internal phone numbers, can be stored online and retrieved through the service.
“Right now, compared to what consumers have, when you walk into an office and have to use the help desk , you go back in time,†said Robert Beauchamp, BMC's chief executive. “Context-aware content delivery will transform the experience of using corporate information technology.â€
It should also cut down the cost of running a help desk, since it automates activities like telling people that an online expense reporting system isn't working, setting up voice mail or providing preapproved applications.
When there are calls to the help desk, they will most likely be prioritized, much the way credit card companies can tell when a high-value customer is calling in. “We have customers with aerospace engineers and truck drivers, and they all get treated the same by the information technology department,†Mr. Beauchamp said. “Now, who the user is will be known by the I.T. department.â€
BMC is also hoping that the product, called MyIT, gives it a little more visibility. BMC sells products to more than 50,000 companies, and it is a critical part of the connec tion between corporate servers and the people who use them, but few people outside of I.T. know about it. MyIT will be branded on user devices, Mr. Beauchamp said, much the way Intel put “Intel Inside†stickers on personal computers.
BMC will also be capturing a lot of user data by running MyIT, which can be analyzed to learn more about how people use their tablets from the road, and how I.T. services should be changed. In the future, that could mean new businesses, or at least even more personal attention during office hours.
