OSCOSM, launched in 2013, has partnered with publicly listed German-based company, OTRS AG, the world’s leading provider of open source help desk software, which includes OTRS Help Desk and ITSM suite, OTRS ITSM.
OSCOSM, a company that consults and specialises in seamlessly implementing open-source technologies, is the first official OTRS partner in South Africa, which aims to grow Service Management solutions for the SME market.
OSCOSM founder and Principal Service Management Consultant, Clinton Bruigom, says “The partnership will see OSCOSM offering customer orientated services based on an Outside-In approach and Service Management good practices”.
The OTRS software ranges from service desk software to an ITSM suite including Incident, Problem, Change Configuration and Service Level Management modules. The software is 100% free to download and install, so no licence fees are applicable, with various support services offered through both OSCOSM and OTRS. OTRS can furthermore run on open source OS’s like, Ubuntu, as well as other open source databases such as MySQL.
It can run on-premise or through the cloud as SaaS. This results in a total open source solution which is robust, high performing and scalable. Some of OTRS’s customers include, Lufthansa, Virgin Australia, KFC, Phillips and Deutsche Post, to name a few.
Christopher Kuhn, COO of OTRS, states, “South Africa is a region with huge potential to unlock the efficiency of service management organisations, as well as their demand to save on IT costs, especially relating to licensing.
“We chose OSCOSM as our trusted partner, because of our similar mind-set in terms of supporting customers, namely: Putting ourselves into their shoes and providing them with a solution that perfectly fits their needs, in addition to fulfilling their future demands.”
OSCOSM’s solution will focus around professional services which enhance communication and processes for service desks, IT functional departments, as well as business areas such as sales, finance or other shared service business units.
OSCOSM customers will also benefit from heightened local support as well as specialised Service Management consulting around service improvement, policy and process establishment, to Service Catalogue and CMDB implementations.
Bruigom continues, “Our distinction is – OSCOSM will ultimately use simplistic service models that are designed with customer experience in mind, implemented to drive customer satisfaction and customer productivity, which historically are not always considered in large implementations.”
Both organisations look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead, as well as creating a new market space in South Africa for these types of solutions.