JIRA alternative: Today we find out about the helpdesk software Integria IMS
In the market there are several applications that allow us to manage incidents and projects in our business, besides being able to provide more functionalities. One of the best known and most reputable ticketing tools is JIRA. JIRA is a software of the Australian manufacturer Atlassian that is present in more than 100 countries in all continents, so it has a very extensive portfolio of customers. It is intended for large enterprise environments, where several projects can converge in the same instance, independently of each other, each with its own individualized configuration. In today’s article we present you one of the main alternatives to JIRA, Integria IMS.
Integria IMS is a flexible and competitive ticketing tool that allows a customized development according to the client’s request. If you are looking for a tool that provides a quick solution, Integria is the right one. It stands out for its economical price according to its services.
Installation
Both applications can be installed in both Linux and Windows environments and require a database management system. JIRA has support for Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQL Server. Integria IMS has support for MySQL only.
As for the installation of Windows, in both applications is done in a guided way through the installation wizard, following the steps and indicating the information that is required, and so, we will have the installation completed in a few minutes.
On Linux systems, we will have to run the installation of the corresponding packages and start the appropriate services to raise the applications.
At this point it should be noted that Integria IMS has an ISO containing a modified CentOS system, with the Integria IMS software pre-configured, which will allow us to perform the installation quickly along with the operating system, which is a very good option if we want a quick and clean deployment. In addition to distributing CentOS ISO, we can find a Virtual image in Sourceforge that contains Integria IMS ISO already installed, it being compatible with VMware ESX, VMware Workstation, VirtualBox and Hyper-V.
Ticket Management
Ticket management may be the point, where both tools work very well and is the point where both tools stand out remarkably.
In Integria IMS we have a global view in which we can define an auto-refresh time so that in the assigned interval the window is reloaded and we can control the new tickets that match the indicated filters. In addition, we can save these filters so that we can search again based on these parameters. By default, this view shows all tickets in the “Not Closed” status.
The ticket window displays information about the ticket, such as custom fields, SLA compliance, priority, comments, attachments, a history of changes made during the ticket’s lifetime… etc.
In terms of ticket management, workflows can also be created. They define what changes of status can occur, we can even set up actions on workflows so that at the moment that certain conditions occur, the actions configured on the tickets are carried out.
In JIRA we also have a ticket view that shows those created in the tool. Tickets are managed in queues, which we can be customized, just like in Integria, with filters to show us the tickets that match those filters. The filters in JIRA are based on JQL, with a syntax similar to the one we would use in SQL.
With this JQL we would obtain the requests that are open and that the logged-in user has assigned.
Queue management at JIRA looks like this:
It is a visually pleasing environment, with the management of queues on the right side and a counter next to it, which indicates the number of tickets belonging to that filter.
Filters are based on JQL sentences. As an example, with this sentence we would obtain the list of requests that are open and that the logged-in user has assigned.
On the other hand, the ticket window shows the ticket information. In it, all the fields that we have enabled in the configuration can be seen.
JIRA has a portal for users to register their requests, in which the user is guided to categorize their incidence so that later, the technicians have as much information as possible to resolve it. This portal also has a very interesting characteristic: it is individualized by project, so we can have several portals, each with a specific configuration and ticket opening.
The creation of workflows in JIRA is done quickly through its editor. We can set as many states and transitions as we want, even create different workflows depending on the type of incidence.
Knowledge Base
JIRA by itself does not include this tool, although Atlassian has another software, called Confluence, which integrates with JIRA to share files or directories, and collaborates with it in some other ways.
In contrast, Integria IMS does include its own knowledge base, wiki and download section, in which we can include files and even allows us to create a public link for downloading, which makes it one of the best alternatives to JIRA by including this tool in the product, without additional payments.
Gestión de proyectos
Integria IMS has dynamic project management that includes planning, monitoring and reporting by users. In this way it is possible not only to plan (times and costs) but also to see the evolution in time thanks to the allocation of hours of the people who work on the projects themselves. This assignation is done in detail, in the form of Workunits (which can be hours or days, depending on the level of detail required) and assigned specifically to each task of the project.
Gantt charts, costing, automatic notifications of task completion notifications and milestones, etc. are automatic system actions that feed on all data that is entered over time by users.
In JIRA with the add-on Portfolio for JIRA we can have a high level global vision of multiple projects and teams, allowing us to obtain a global planning and roadmap of all the initiatives and projects of our organization. In addition, it allows you to manage multiple teams and their skills to detect and avoid bottlenecks and ensure that people are assigned to the right projects with availability when needed. It also enables quick decision making and prioritization.
Inventory (CMDB)
Integria IMS includes among its tools the inventory management, this information can be obtained automatically, through the monitoring tool Pandora FMS that integrates with Integria and overturns the results obtained to the tool. Once configured, we can assign an inventory item to the tickets. It can be a good alternative to JIRA to control our organization’s inventory as it includes this functionality natively in the tool.
On the other hand, JIRA does not include this tool, although we can use third-party plugins to perform this function, for example, with Insight. Through this tool we can have this functionality so that an inventory element can be assigned to an incident. Through Insight Discovery we can discover the different elements that make up our infrastructure in order to have the most up-to-date inventory possible.
Client Management (CRM)
JIRA does not have this feature, it would be necessary to use one of its add-ons, such as CRM for JIRA, to integrate it into the tool. Although it does not allow many options, Integria can be one of the alternatives to JIRA to consider.
Integria IMS has the ability to manage customer relations by including its CRM management tool. From this section we can manage the relations with the clients of our company.
It offers a wide range of options, including managing the company’s roles, contacts, and even managing the different contracts.
In addition, it has a functionality with which we can generate invoices.
Reports and dashboards
Integria has the ability to make customized reports. You can create and share customized reports on Tickets without any programming or SQL knowledge, can be viewed in both HTML and PDF.
Quickly and without SQL knowledge you can create reports based on the following types: Project, incident, people and custom reports.
Integria has an overview, a dashboard from which we can see in a global way the status of tickets of our organization.
JIRA natively has a small section in which you can see certain reports, for a greater functionality and to be able to develop much more of these functions again should use third-party addons to integrate this functionality, such as EazyBi or PowerReports.
In addition, JIRA has the possibility of incorporating dashboards, in which, in a fast and visual way, we will see the status of all tickets, through different widgets.
Marketplace
Integria IMS does not have an application store, although it does allow custom development for the customer.
JIRA has a Marketplace, integrated by different developers so we can find a lot of addons that incorporate different functions to the tool. The inclusion of more tools by means of third party addons is a positive thing, although it also has an economic impact because apart from the license that must be paid for the installation of JIRA, we would also have to pay for the different addons that we can find in the Marketplace.
In conclusion, we can assure you that both JIRA and Integria IMS are good tools that offer a lot of potential and are able to adapt to the client’s environment. Although Atlassian’s tool is the best known, Integria IMS can be one of the alternatives to JIRA that we must take into account in the management of tickets and projects, mainly due to its value for money.
In many cases, in order to provide functionalities, JIRA always has to resort to third party addons through the Marketplace in order to incorporate more tools, which means that the total cost of the tool can be increased in large quantities, since, apart from the JIRA license, it would also be necessary to pay a license fee for each addon installed, so that a JIRA instance can increase its cost considerably, depending on the needs we want to incorporate.
On the contrary, Integria IMS has several tools natively and there is the possibility of developing customized developments for clients. Integria is an application that feeds on the needs and opinions of real production environments.
Which one is the best tool? The one that best adapts to your business.