Text: Sietse Eling

Photography: Robin Kuijs

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 15

TOPDESK PRESENTS
In this article, Sietse Eling (technical product consultant), Harmen den Boer (functional designer) and William Notenboom (technical product consultant) share their TOPdesk expertise: learn more about updating safely, using the Dashboard for your reports and KPIs and the new Kerberos authentication system.

Five tips for updating to a new version of TOPdesk

Sietse Eling

TOPdesk 4.2 to 4.4, you will have to update to the intermediate versions last service pack which in this case would be 4.3 SP2. You can then update to the intended version. If you still have questions about performing updates, please contact TOPdesk Support.

Tip 3 | Test your bespoke work

If you use bespoke work, you can test it in the latest version. A new bespoke work version, including add-ons and XFG cores, is always available from the latest versions service pack. If your bespoke work is not working properly, please let us know via the Extranet. Here at TOPdesk, we are constantly improving our software with the help of your logged incidents and feature requests. This means that we frequently release new versions of our product. What better way to take advantage of these improvements than to perform regular updates? Here are five tips to ensure that this meticulous task is a success.

Tip 4 | Create a backup of your TOPdesk database and installation folder

It is important to create a backup of your entire TOPdesk database and installation folder before performing an update. This will let you go back if something goes wrong. If you run into problems during the upgrade, you can always contact TOPdesk Support. Make sure that

Tip 1 | Use the documentation

Our Help & Support site features important technical documentation for every TOPdesk version. This includes manuals, but also release notes, update instructions and lists of known errors (available on the Extranet) for Application Managers, outlining the most salient points to take into account when updating.

you have a recent set of logfiles and even a backup of your database. This will enable us to help you as quickly as possible.

Tip 5 | Perform an acceptance test before updating

Make sure to perform a thorough acceptance test before updating your production environment. This will prevent you from running into surprises when using new features or functionalities that have been changed.

Tip 2 | Update to each intermediate version

Updating to a new Service Pack is the same as updating to a new version of TOPdesk. We always support updates with one intermediate version. For instance, if you want to update from

16 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Text: Harmen den Boer

TOPdesk Dashboard: all reports and KPIs in one place

Harmen den Boer

We developed the TOPdesk 5 Dashboards with managers in mind. This page displays a variety of reports and KPIs for any module you wish, letting you gauge the status of your services at a glance. You can determine what the dashboards display: to-do overviews, reports, KPIs or selections.
View, create and group reports and KPIs at one location.

A place for all reports and KPIs

The Dashboard provides a single location for all the reports and KPIs you need. It includes handy overviews that display your commonly used reports. You can also generate new reports or KPIs in a matter of clicks.

Completely customizable
The Dashboard is ideal for managers: you can adjust it to ensure that it only displays the reports that you need. Being able to view reports side by side will grant extra insight into your processes. For instance, you can compare reports on calls for this month and last month, or view KPIs next to a report, gaining insight into how the current state of affairs relates to past results.
The Dashboard grants extra insight by letting you view reports on different topics next to each other, such as the IT and HR call overviews in the screenshot above.

Map out correlations

The Dashboard displays reports from several modules at once, making it perfect for mapping different processes. You can easily determine the connection between a decrease in open second line incidents and an increase in requests for change, for instance.

The Dashboard lets you combine several modules. This makes it easier than ever to spot the correlations between calls and changes, for instance.

Text: William Notenboom

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 17

Logging in automatically with Kerberos: secure and flexible

William Notenboom

Microsofts Windows is just one of the many operating systems that have Kerberos as preferred secure login method. Hosting providers also recognize Kerberos as a safe system, making it possible for organizations that outsource their IT to log in to TOPdesk automatically.

Easy access for users and other applications

Thanks to Kerberos, user authentication is easier and faster than in TOPdesk 4. Each user logged in to the operating system can be authenticated in TOPdesk from several other domains. Whats more, your users will experience marked improvements in speed. TOPdesk 5 also offers improved integration with other systems. Kerberos makes it easier to grant access to other applications. The new authentication method lets you integrate the Self Service Desk with other environments within your network. Your (SSD) users can use links in emails to get to work in TOPdesk without having to log in, making it much easier for your employees to respond to calls. Sharing TOPdesk data in other applications is also extremely straightforward. For instance, you could publish the TOPdesk news item overview on your intranet.
Kerberos requires only minimal management in TOPdesk.

Kerberos makes management easier

Kerberos also offers simplified management. You only need to set up the authentication once during the installation process; no further adjustments are required.

Your SSD users can use links in emails to click straight through to incidents in TOPdesk; they will no longer need to log in first.