UC Management

In this episode of the Commsverse 2024 Live Podcast, Micah Singer, CEO of Kurmi Software, talks through the company’s origins, mission, and evolution to address the contemporary needs of unified communications.

Micah addresses the common challenges faced by UC administrators, particularly the complexities of managing Microsoft Teams via PowerShell, and how Kurmi simplifies and replaces PowerShell for a more efficient workflow. Micah shares how Kurmi revolutionizes the management of Microsoft Teams, transforming day-to-day administration into a seamless and intuitive experience. He details how Kurmi’s advanced abilities—such as extensive customization, streamlined provisioning, and effortless integration—benefit IT teams. Security and accessibility are also key themes. Micah emphasizes how Kurmi’s Cloud deployment enhances management capabilities by boosting team flexibility and responsiveness.

Take the chance to learn how Kurmi can transform your communications environment and drive your organization’s success, watch the video now!

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Telecom Reseller, a leading publication specializing in IT and unified communications (UC), shared Kurmi’s ServiceNow integration app announcement. The release highlights how the new app combines Kurmi’s UC management capabilities with ServiceNow’s service management platform to improve UC user management overall.

This collaboration is set to reduce manual oversight and boost efficiency, reaching Telecom Reseller’s highly targeted audience of IT and UC decision-makers.

UC Today recently featured Kurmi’s new ServiceNow app, ‘Kurmi Integration,’ highlighting this exciting development. The article emphasizes how the app will transform user management in unified communications (UC) by connecting Kurmi’s UC management solutions with ServiceNow’s service management platform.

UC Today highlights the benefits of the integration, noting that Kurmi’s Provisioning Suite allows for automated requests on tasks like user creation, voice package updates, and PIN resets. Once requests are approved in ServiceNow, Kurmi’s API automatically executes them, which reduces manual oversight, minimizes errors, speeds up resolution times, and boosts end-user satisfaction.

For more insights into how this integration will benefit UC user management, read the full article here

PowerShell is a powerful task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft that allows Teams administrators to write scripts that automate repetitive tasks. PowerShell’s ability to automate complex administrative tasks on Windows systems enhances efficiency and reduces errors compared to manual processes.

While PowerShell scripts can help your IT team save time managing Microsoft Teams and Teams Phone, implementing these scripts come with their own limitations – primarily around who is able to run them (hint: highly technical employees) and tracking what they’ve done.

That’s where Kurmi can help. By adding Kurmi to your IT team’s toolset, you’re equipping them with a Microsoft Teams management platform that complements your existing operations while gaining the ability to delegate and track – improving security and further streamlining processes.

Let’s take a deeper look.

Why Integrate PowerShell Scripts with Kurmi?

By using Kurmi’s Software Development Kit (SDK), you’re able to bring your own PowerShell scripts, essentially creating your own connector between Microsoft and Kurmi. And, when you design a new connector using the SDK, all of Kurmi’s functionality is enabled—enhancing what you’re able to do with just PowerShell alone. IT teams typically see the benefits across four main areas:

Security
Kurmi’s PowerShell SDK Connector significantly improves security compared to calling scripts with traditional Windows tools. By integrating PowerShell scripts into Kurmi, IT administrators can use client secrets or certificates or store passwords securely in Kurmi’s database (btw the Kurmi platform meets ISO 27001 requirements, too!). This approach minimizes the risks associated with the use of credentials by individual users, ensuring a higher level of security and reducing the potential for theft or misuse of credentials.

Tracking
One of the key advantages of using Kurmi for PowerShell script management is the robust tracking capabilities Kurmi offers. IT admins can monitor who executed scripts, when they were run, and what parameters were used. This level of detail provides comprehensive audit trails, which are crucial for security, compliance, and troubleshooting purposes. By maintaining a clear record of script executions, organizations can quickly identify and resolve issues, ensuring a transparent and accountable IT environment.

Delegation
Kurmi enables IT administrators to delegate management tasks efficiently. Thanks to the PowerShell SDK connector, non-technical or help desk administrators can call in-house PowerShell scripts without the need for technical knowledge. This delegation capability ensures that routine operations can be handled quickly and efficiently, reducing the risk of errors and support tickets.

Filtering
Kurmi allows IT administrators to store only the most valuable information, making it easier to retrieve and use when needed. This filtering capability, combined with our Excel export capability, allows administrators to find and analyze relevant information in no time.

This structured approach not only optimizes security, tracking, delegation, and filtering but also ensures that IT operations are smooth and efficient, leveraging the full potential of Kurmi’s features.

What Can Be Achieved by Integrating PowerShell Scripts into Kurmi?

Integrating PowerShell scripts into Kurmi opens a wide range of possibilities, particularly for managing Microsoft 365 environments. Any PowerShell script that can be called from a Windows Server is eligible for integration into Kurmi. This capability is particularly valuable for managing resources not yet natively supported by Kurmi. While our roadmap is aligned with Microsoft, the breadth of Microsoft’s applications is vast, and Kurmi cannot cover all aspects of the Microsoft 365 roadmap simultaneously.

This is where the “PowerShell Connector SDK” becomes highly relevant. Even if Kurmi does not natively support a particular area, IT administrators can still manage these resources by integrating custom PowerShell scripts or by leveraging scripts developed by our delivery team. The flexibility of this approach means there are virtually no limits to what can be achieved.
Case in point – two real-life, recent examples of how the PowerShell Connector SDK was used:

Exchange Resource Mailboxes: Manage the full lifecycle of Exchange resource mailboxes, including adding delegates and incorporating the resource mailbox into a distribution group. This ensures comprehensive and efficient management of resources.

Exchange shared voicemail (unified group): Manage the complete Exchange shared voicemail lifecycle, streamlining processes.

By integrating PowerShell scripts into Kurmi, IT administrators can extend the platform’s capabilities to cover a wider range of tasks, ensuring that even the most specialized requirements can be met efficiently.

How to Integrate PowerShell Scripts into Kurmi

The integration mechanism is straightforward and relies on XML declarations within Kurmi. IT admins can define the attributes stored in Kurmi and associate them with four primary operations: add, update, delete, and get. For each operation, the admin specifies the script or function to call.

Kurmi provides examples and best practices to help admins get started and produce functional connectors efficiently. This guidance ensures that even those new to the platform can quickly create robust integrations, leveraging the full potential of Kurmi’s features to streamline their administrative tasks.

Wrapping It All Up

Integrating PowerShell scripts into Kurmi transforms IT administration by enhancing security, tracking, delegation, and filtering capabilities. This integration allows IT administrators to manage resources effectively, especially those not yet natively supported by Kurmi. With the PowerShell Connector SDK, the possibilities are endless, enabling comprehensive management of various Microsoft 365 services and beyond. The straightforward integration process, supported by Kurmi’s best practices and examples, ensures that IT admins can quickly and efficiently leverage the platform’s full potential. By incorporating PowerShell scripts into Kurmi, organizations can achieve a more streamlined, secure, and efficient IT management experience.

Announcing the New, Certified Kurmi Integration App Available in the ServiceNow Store

Managing unified communications (UC) in a large enterprise can be complex and time-consuming, especially with multiple platforms and diverse user needs. IT teams are constantly seeking ways to optimize processes, reduce manual tasks, and ensure seamless service delivery. That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of Kurmi’s new ServiceNow Integration App, now available in the ServiceNow Store.

A New Way to Connect Kurmi and ServiceNow

Kurmi provides a centralized platform with advanced automation capabilities to manage UC ecosystems. Through the new Kurmi/ServiceNow integration, IT teams can perform routine tasks—or automate them—across multiple UC systems directly from ServiceNow without needing individual connections to each system.

While customers have been able to connect Kurmi and ServiceNow by building their own custom integrations using Kurmi’s API, this new pre-built, certified Kurmi Integration App simplifies implementation and adoption. This integration is perfect for IT admins looking to enhance their workflows without extensive custom development.

How It Works

Day-to-day tasks can be completed for Cisco UCM, Webex, Microsoft Teams, and more, all securely from within ServiceNow. Changes made in the application are pushed to Kurmi, which then automatically applies them to the customer’s UC systems. Admins can track completed tasks from within ServiceNow’s request history or the Kurmi platform. Erroneous changes can be reversed using Kurmi’s unique rollback feature.

Out-of-the-box capabilities include:

Creating/Deleting Users
Activating Voice
Updating Phone Numbers
Resetting a User’s PIN
Updating Kurmi Package & Department for Users

Key Benefits of the Kurmi Integration App

Securely Delegate Tasks: Enable helpdesk and other employees to complete routine UC management tasks from within ServiceNow, giving them access only to what they need to resolve requests quickly.
Streamline Complex Workflows: Resolve common UC user requests, including user provisioning, PIN resets, and more, across Cisco UCM, Webex, and Microsoft Teams, with precision and speed.
Boost Operational Efficiency: Reduce manual tasks and human errors, ensuring consistent and reliable operations across your UC environment.
Simplify Integration Management: Eliminate the need for maintaining custom code or updating multiple APIs. Kurmi provides a single, managed connection to all your UC systems, ensuring seamless integration and simplified maintenance.

Choosing the Best Integration Method

The best Kurmi/ServiceNow integration method depends on your organization’s needs. The pre-built integration app is ready to deploy with minimal configuration required, allowing IT teams to get up and running quickly. With the out-of-the-box capabilities, IT teams can accomplish many of their day-to-day UC management tasks. For more advanced needs, building a custom integration using the Kurmi API might be the way to go. The Kurmi team is continuously working to add more functionality to the pre-built integration app, so contact your Customer Success or Account Manager for more information.

Wrapping it Up

The Kurmi ServiceNow Integration App combines Kurmi’s UC management capabilities with ServiceNow’s robust workflow and service management features. This integration simplifies day-to-day UC management and aligns UC operations with your broader IT service management strategy. By leveraging this powerful combination, IT admins can enhance efficiency, improve data accuracy, and ensure seamless management of IT services.

Want to see the app in action? Join us for our upcoming Virtual Roadshows or schedule a demo with the Kurmi team.

After evaluating numerous leading service management platforms, Kurmi is excited to be acknowledged by UC Today as one of the top solutions in UC service management.

As communication systems become increasingly complex, Kurmi continues to excel in helping companies manage their technologies efficiently. As part of their selection, UC Today highlights Kurmi’s capability to integrate with a wide range of solutions, including Avaya, Zoom, Microsoft, Cisco, and others, which is especially important in today’s multi-vendor environment.

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UC Management

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