Grand Valley State University Automates Software Provisioning

Grand Valley State Automates Software Provisioning

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Automated Software Provisioning

Reduce time spent on manual software provisioning with iPaaS.

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Instant Service Delivery

When access is requested, inventory is checked and the code is sent intantly.

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Automated Password Expiration

Automated management of upcoming password expiration with notification.

Automated Software Provisioning

At Grand Valley State University, Karen Burchard and her team are usingย iPaaS (integration platform as a service)ย to automate approvals for certain IT requests and to help automate software provisioning for end-users quickly and efficiently with the click of a button.

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Burchard, an Academic Systems Coordinator at the university, said they launched Velentix with a number of workflowsย aimed at expediting IT service delivery for students as they started the fall semester. One of the big ones was automating the process of students registering devices on the network. Another was assigning software licenses.

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โ€œWe allow end-users to request SPSS software licenses and we have a bunch of versions of it,โ€ Burchard said. โ€œEach license code allows a person to use the software for the school year. We get hundreds of requests each semester โ€“ this semester weโ€™ve had more than 600 requests and now we can automate the provisioning which saves many hours of manual processing.โ€

Outcomes

  • Instant issue resolution
  • Decreased time spent managing software licensing
  • Password expiration tracking and notification

Approval Workflows

To automate this process, Burchard set up a workflow using Velentix iPaaS that created a product model for each version of the SPSS and imported all of the individual license codes as assets. Using statuses, the workflow can detect whatโ€™s marked as inventory or in use when assigned, and assign the codes not in use to the requestor when the request comes in.

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To make the request, the end-user simply goes to the client portal and clicks the โ€œrequest accessโ€ button on the SPSS KB page. That button brings up a form with a single field that asks the user to select which version of the software they want. They can then submit the request and an email is sent back with their authorization code.ย  The workflow initiates, checks license inventory, checks out the asset and assigns it.ย  โ€œThey get the code almost instantaneously, and the whole process is automated. Itโ€™s wonderful,โ€ Burchard said.

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The licenses are tied to tickets, they can be tracked so the university can see when licenses are due to expire, they can then send a notification letting the end-user know when it expires along with a note with instructions as to how they can get a new license code.ย  ย โ€œWeโ€™ve been really happy with how this flow, it completely automates this process,โ€ Burchard said.

Software Provisioning

The workflow takes the request, evaluates inventory and sends the approval codes.

Password Expirations

Getting ahead of expiring passwords with automated tracking and notification.

ITSM integration with ipaas enterprise connectivity no-code ITSM with automation
They get the code almost instantaneously, the whole process is automated."

Delivering a Better End-user Experience

Aside from automating software quests and network request approvals, Burchard and her team are automating other notifications that can cause an influx of service desk inquiries, like password expiration notices.

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โ€œWith that one, weโ€™ve built a flow thatย pulls a reportย of upcoming expirations and checks the accounts against Active Directory,โ€ she said. โ€œIf that shows they havenโ€™t already changed their password, it sends an email message letting them know when their password will expire.โ€

Looking ahead, Burchard said she and her team at Grand Valley State University have been very pleased with iPaaS and canโ€™t wait to build out more flows, โ€œWe have so many ideas of what we want to automate next with iPaaS, weโ€™re just getting started.โ€

Automate Software Provisioning

Unlock the power of no-code iPaaS โ€“ easily integrate your ecosystem with a library of pre-built connectorsโ€ฆ watch automation take off.

Benefits of No-Code iPaaS

With the right iPaaS tool, anyone can become a citizen developer. What does this mean? Some iPaaS tools, like Velentix iPaaS, utilizeย visual flow buildersย with drag and drop functionality. These tools are codeless, meaning you donโ€™t need deep technical knowledge to get up and running. The benefit of this is you donโ€™t need to rely on central IT resources to start integrating data and automating your processes.

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You can also take advantage of the ease of use and easily build out automations for both simple and complex tasks. From password resets and email notifications to onboarding and offboarding employees โ€“ you can use iPaaS to integrate systems and automate actions saving time, money and resources.

We have so many ideas of what we want to automate with iPaaS. We are just getting started."

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