Product editions

This product is provided in multiple editions as follows to match the needs of a wide variety of customers. Customers can assign employees to tasks without having to worry about the impact to product licensing; users have access to all of the features and capabilities provided by their edition.

  • IBM® Control Desk
  • IBM Control Desk Internal Service Provider
  • IBM Control Desk Managed Service Provider
  • IBM Control Desk for Maximo®
  • IBM Control Desk for Maximo Internal Service Provider
  • IBM Control Desk for Maximo Managed Service Provider
  • IBM Control Desk on Cloud (SaaS)
  • IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise
  • IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise Plus
Note: Internal and Managed Service Provider editions are summarized as IBM Control Desk Service Provider editions.
IBM Control Desk

This edition provides a comprehensive range of product features. Users can use special tools to import and discover assets and configuration items (CIs) across the data center; manage licenses, including software contracts; manage assets, changes, releases, and configuration; operate a full-featured service catalog and service desk; and generate and manage incidents and problems. This edition includes several sophisticated workflows that enable you to direct IT processes in predictable, repeatable ways, along with integration and customization capabilities. In addition, it includes the CMDB for storing and managing data.

IBM Control Desk for Service Providers

The Service Provider edition contains all of the features and functionality provided in IBM Control Desk. In addition, this edition includes applications and capabilities that are specifically designed for service providers who are managing the data centers of multiple customers.

IBM Control Desk for Maximo

IBM Control Desk for Maximo is the newest member of the IBM Control Desk family of products. Like IBM Control Desk, IBM Control Desk for Maximo provides tools to import and discover assets and configuration items across the data center; manage licenses, including software contracts; manage assets, changes, releases, and configuration; operate a full-featured service catalog and service desk; and generate and manage incidents and problems.

IBM Control Desk for Maximo, in combination with IBM Maximo Asset Management, enables holistic management of end-to-end enterprise services and their associated assets. The solution is unique in the ability to manage connected enterprise assets as both physical enterprise assets and as part of the IT topology. High value impacts include:
  • Configuration and Change Management: Quantify potential impacts of changes to end-to-end enterprise services and more effectively manage test and verification plans and the forward schedule of change.
  • Incident Management: Efficiently recover enterprise service outages from the digital war room, where relevant IT and/or LOB teams are working with full knowledge of all planned changes.
  • Knowledge Management: Enable IT and LOB teams to easily capture learning from joint use cases and uses the knowledge in the future.
  • IBM Control Desk for Maximo is designed as a plug-in to an existing deployment of IBM Maximo Asset Management. Deployment and upgrade processes and dependencies are simplified for the purpose of built plug-in.
Additional features, available only in IBM Control Desk for Maximo, include the following Maximo applications. For more details, see Applications by edition.
Table 1. Additional features, available only in IBM Control Desk for Maximo
Module Application
Assets Condition Monitoring
Preventive Maintenance Preventive Maintenance
  Master PM
Work Orders Quick Reporting
  Conduct an Inspection
  Work Supervision
  Work Execution
Administration Crews
  Crew Types
Planning Manage Inspection Forms
Safety Hazards
  Precautions
  Lock Out / Tag Out
  Safety Plans
Start Center All Custom Applications
Integration JSON Resources
  JSON Mapping
Work Centers Business Analysis
  Work Supervision
  Work Execution
  Data Set Designer
  Service Request
  Inspections
IBM Control Desk for Maximo for Service Provider

The Service Provider edition contains all of the features and functionality provided in IBM Control Desk for Maximo. In addition, this edition includes applications and capabilities that are specifically designed for service providers who are managing the data centers of multiple customers.

Note:
  • Due to the similarities between IBM Control Desk and IBM Control Desk for Maximo, for the sake of simplicity, both products are referred as IBM Control Desk in the IBM Knowledge Center. Any differences between the products are noted on the relevant pages.

  • Refer https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6198775 and download readme of the product that provides additional information for any differences between the products installation and deployment.

IBM Control Desk on Cloud (SaaS)

IBM Control Desk on Cloud is a Software as-a-Service offering formerly known as IBM SmartCloud® Control Desk (SaaS) and available through Service Engage. It is an integrated service management solution that helps you manage a comprehensive range of IT processes, services, and assets. This product enables a business to optimize the performance of the infrastructure and workforce in alignment with the overall business objectives. This reduces costs and increases satisfaction through self-service, automated service management, and integrated service desk capabilities. To learn more about IBM Control Desk on Cloud, see Service Desk on Service Engage. IBM Control Desk on Cloud (SaaS) is functionally equivalent to IBM Control Desk. For IBM Control Desk documentation, see https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SSWT9A.

IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise
IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise edition contains all of the features and functionality provided in IBM Control Desk on Cloud. In addition, this edition expand the capabilities and features of the base offering to satisfy the needs of larger businesses that require customization, configuration, and integration with other tools. The following features are available with IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise:
  • Integration with customer Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)/Active Directory.
  • Single sign-on/Security Assertion Markup Language (SSO/SAML) integration.
  • Integration support through scripting and REST APIs that includes:
    • Watson™ Explorer
    • Watson Assistant
    • Other scripting and REST API integrations
  • User interface (UI) look and feel customizations.
  • Access to log files for development and troubleshooting.
  • Dedicated DevOps services for change management support.
  • One DevOps environment that is included in subscription.

For more information about IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise, go to IBM Marketplace.

IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise Plus
IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise plus edition contains all of the features and functionality provided in IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise. In addition, this edition includes following features:
  • On-demand server start, restart, and add-remove Java™ virtual machines (JVMs).
  • On-demand database performance optimization and query optimization.
  • Dedicated data backup policies tailored to client needs.
  • Email listener integration.
  • Enable advanced reporting with integration to client-provided Cognos®.
  • Dedicated health checks on client instance.
  • Advanced support with dedicated support representative.
  • Access to additional fee services in support of:
    • Complete process integration with BigFix for support of:
      • Self-service provisioning of software packages
      • Help desk integration for provisioning of patches
      • Change process provisioning of software changes
    • Complete process integration with IBM Tivoli® Application Dependency Discovery Manager in support of:
      • Discovery of servers, middleware and applications
      • Service dependencies
    • IBM Control Desk (ICD) administration delegation

For more information about IBM Control Desk on Cloud Enterprise Plus, go to IBM Marketplace.