Think fast
Thoughts and ideas on how to build tools, automate workflows and speed-up the workplace.
What is an IT Helpdesk Chatbot? + Design, Architecture, and Implementation
IT helpdesk chatbots are possibly the most widespread real-world use case for agentic AI. On the one hand, IT teams face ever-growing demand for services. On the other, the majority of service interactions are highly repetitive tasks, often requiring fairly basic actions to resolve. This means that IT support workflows are uniquely well-positioned to benefit from intelligent self-service automation tools. Today, we’re diving deep into how we can achieve exactly this, including when and where chatbots are used, the benefits they offer, the specific technical considerations we’ll need to keep in mind, and the practical implementation challenges we might face.
Ronan McQuillan
Oct 21, 2025
5 ITSM Automation Use Cases and Examples
IT teams are under greater pressure than ever before. With tightening budgets and exploding demand for services, almost all teams are considering strategies to build efficiency into their internal processes. As a result, the need for effective ITSM automation has never been greater. However, this is a broad, highly varied topic. That is ITSM workflows present a range of different challenges, many of which are suitable to distinct automation approaches.
Ronan McQuillan
Jul 3, 2025
Top 7 Open-Source IT Ticketing Systems for 2025
Ticketing is absolutely fundamental to how IT teams interact with their service users across the organization. But, they come in a variety of forms, with many vastly different platforms on the market. At one end of the spectrum, we have very basic tools that allow users to submit simple requests. At the other, we have highly customizable solutions with more advanced capabilities for integrating with our wider ITSM stack. Today, we’re looking at one cluster of options by checking out the top open-source IT ticketing systems.
Ronan McQuillan
Apr 19, 2025
Top 5 Problem Management Software Tools
Problem management is one of the fundamental ITSM processes, aimed at identifying the root causes of recurring issues and incidents. The goal is to increase the resilience, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of our wider IT estate and service portfolio. The challenge is that problem management is highly interrelated with a host of other processes. So, consolidating all of the data we need, let alone making sense of it, can be hugely difficult.
Ronan McQuillan
Mar 28, 2025
Illuminating the Shadows: How to Manage and Mitigate Shadow IT
Shadow IT isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s been in organizations for years, surfacing whenever employees can’t find (or don’t trust) official channels to get the tools they need. And as digital transformation accelerates, those unofficial pathways multiply. According to Qualys’ State of Cloud and SaaS Security Report , 28% of organizations experienced a cloud or SaaS-related breach in the last year, with over a third of those hit multiple times within 12 months.
Jamie Birss
Mar 24, 2025
Top 8 Free Asset Management Software Tools for 2025
Asset management is one of the most common, mission-critical ITSM workflows. Efficiently handling requests for devices helps us to minimize internal admin costs. This ensures that our IT resources are deployed as effectively as possible. At the same time, we can improve experiences for service users with a centralized, accessible tool to submit and manage requests. Today, we’re checking out a range of open-source and free asset management software. We’ll be picking out tools from different corners of the market, from COTS applications, to highly customizable solutions.
Ronan McQuillan
Mar 15, 2025
Top 5 Incident Management Tools for 2025
Incident management is one of the most challenging aspects of IT service delivery. However, it’s also critical, as incidents can come with huge costs, including financial, security, compliance, reputational, or service continuity issues. Of course, prevention is always better than cure. However, the reality is that we can’t prevent every possible incident from occurring. So, where problem management and risk management might stop incidents from occurring, incident management is concerned with minimizing the impact of those that still do.
Ronan McQuillan
Feb 28, 2025
Top 6 Software Asset Management Software Tools
Businesses of all sizes face a growing challenge of staying on top of the software tools they use. Combating shadow IT, managing costs, and ensuring our team have the capabilities they need can be a massive undertaking. But, the actual practicalities of this can vary from one organization to the next. For example, because of the scale of your team, the scope of the tools they need, or the complexity of your wider IT environment.
Ronan McQuillan
Feb 21, 2025