Enhance IT efficiency with 3blx from webINTELLECT

Newly established webINTELLECT is well poised to take the IT services management (ITSM) market by storm with its in-house-developed solution, 3blx (pronounced "cube blocks"). The suite is the first locally developed product of its kind, which, according to webINTELLECT CEO Poena le Roux, holds significant financial advantages for users.

"Based on the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) process framework, which is geared to delivering cost-effective IT operational excellence, 3blx is a comprehensive, browser-based application framework that provides a holistic approach to ITSM," he explains. "It addresses all the main components of IT service management in an integrated manner, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and reducing costs.

"With IT budgets becoming tighter and tighter, IT managers and CIOs are under increasing pressure to get the most out of their existing IT investment," he continues. "One of the biggest cost factors in an IT environment is downtime, hence the need for ITSM. 3blx aims to reduce downtime by focusing not only on the technology, but also the relevant people and processes involved and integrating them with all the other aspects of the business."

"Because 3blx is home-grown, it is rand-based, making it far more affordable than its pound- or dollar-based counterparts," Le Roux adds. "Additionally, support is locally based, while the fact that we own the source code means the product is easily customised according to the client`s specific requirements."

3blx consists of six fully integrated management components:

Incident Management provides valuable information about infrastructure errors and reduces or eliminates the effects of actual and potential disruptions in IT services so that users can get back to work as quickly as possible.

Problem Management investigates the infrastructure and available registrations, including the incident database, to identify the underlying causes of actual and potential errors in the provision of services. Problem Management continues to track and monitor known errors in the infrastructure, and records information about all identified known errors, their symptoms, and the solutions available.

Configuration Management provides reliable and up-to-date details about the IT infrastructure and how the specific items relate to one another. The status of the IT components is also monitored by a comprehensive scanning agent that scans all hardware and software configurations.

Change Management manages the process of change and consequently limits incidents related to changes. If these are not brought under control, the IT service provider and the business, can spiral out of control.

Release Management ensures the quality of the production environment by using formal procedures and checks when implementing new versions of software. Release Management works closely with Configuration Management and Change Management to ensure that the common configuration management database (CMDB) is updated with every release, and also ensures that the contents of releases in the Definitive Software Library (DSL) are updated.

Service Level Management finds the right balance between quality supply and demand, customer friendliness, and the cost of IT services through the inter-relationship between services, configuration items and users.

WebINTELLECT has adopted an aggressive marketing strategy with 3blx, and Le Roux plans to penetrate the upper mid-market by partnering with a network of reseller companies.

"We intend signing up partners already active in this marketspace in order to obtain at least 20 customers by the end of 2004," he says. "This will enable us to concentrate our efforts on further research and development of 3blx, of which version 2 is due to be released in June, followed by version 3 in December."