21.02 enhancements

Review the BMC Helix ITSM 21.02 enhancements for features that will benefit your organization and to understand changes that might impact your users.

The following video (4:01) provides a summary of some of the new features and enhancements in BMC Helix ITSM version 21.02.

https://youtu.be/qjT8YLQGlQA

Related topics

Known and corrected issues

Release notes and notices

BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT enhancements

Progressive Web App screens for six more ticket types

To offer a customizable dynamic modern UX that exactly fits your needs, the support for Progressive Web App (PWA) screens has been extended to the following ticket types in Smart IT:

PWA screens are already available for Incidents and Work Orders. See Enabling the Progressive Web Application screens.

To learn how you can customize these screens in Developer Studio, see AR System 21.02 enhancements.

BMC Helix ITSM extends Russian language support and adds Polish language support

BMC Helix ITSM solution now supports Russian and Polish localization as a part of the standard SaaS setup. Learn more about Supported languages and locales.

BMC Helix ITSM enhancements

Version 20.08 and earlier	Version 21.02 and later
Remedy Action Request System (Remedy AR System)	Action Request System (AR System)
Remedy IT Service Management Suite (Remedy ITSM)	BMC Helix ITSM
BMC CMDB	BMC Helix CMDB
Remedy with Smart IT	BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT
Remedy Smart Reporting	BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting
Remedy Change Management	BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management
Remedy Knowledge Management	BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management
Remedy Asset Management	BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management
Remedy Service Desk	BMC Helix ITSM: Service Desk
Remedy Single Sign-On	BMC Helix Single Sign-On

Product name changes in Remedy platform and Remedy ITSM applications

Consult the following tables for changes to the product and component names starting with version 21.02. While the product names have changed in 21.02, some instances in the product documentation still refer to the previous product name.

For information on product name changes in BMC Helix Platform and applications, see BMC Helix Innovation Studio enhancements .

Identify problems proactively by leveraging machine learning

Leverage the power of machine learning to detect high-value clusters of recurring incidents and initiate the otherwise expensive and cumbersome process of problem investigation.

BMC Helix ITSM Insights enables problem coordinators to:

Automate the identification of recurring incidents by applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI clustering to open text fields
Analyze incident data to identify the most valuable incident clusters for root cause analysis and incident reduction
Transition to formal Problem Management seamlessly, thus reducing the effort for incident analysis and problem creation

For more information, see Determining areas for problem investigation.

Identify and track multiple incidents for the same issue

Identifying incidents that reflect the same acute issue is difficult for Service Desk managers and agents as manual reviews are needed and there is no easy way to see the trending issues.

With the Real-time incident correlation workspace in BMC Helix ITSM Insights, Service Desk managers can

View the trending issues or hot spots in real time
Identify and track incidents related to same issue with the help of an improved AI-based algorithm
Relate incidents as duplicates to streamline incident management and reduce duplicate work
Identify the probable cause and restore the service quickly

For additional information, see Identifying and correlating incidents that refer to the same issue.

Launch Probable Cause Analysis from incidents

Launch the Probable Cause Analysis (PCA) functionality in BMC Helix Service Monitoring (Powered by AIOps)directly from the PWA (Progressive Web Application) incident screen to determine the most likely causes of the incidents that you are working on.

Incident Management users (with entitlement to use BMC Helix Service Monitoring (Powered by AIOps)) can use Probable Cause Analysis to:

Analyze operations and service management data including events, changes and incidents
Restore the service faster by reducing the time to identify cause of incidents

For additional information, see:

Explore probable causes for an incidents (Smart IT documentation)
Probable cause analysis (PCA) (BMC Helix Service Monitoring (Powered by AIOps) documentation)

Enhanced documentation

We have completely restructured and edited the BMC Helix ITSM documentation spaces to help you find the required content with fewer clicks. Here is what we have done to improve your experience with BMC documentation.

Merged many smaller topics into parent topics to reduce the total number of topics by 60%. The useful content is no longer too deep in the navigation hierarchy.

Redesigned the Home pages and landing pages.

Changed the topic names based on the use case and added better cross-references.

Added many new and updated graphics and videos.

Added the processes and best practice recommendations from the Service Management Process Model (SMPM).

For the links to some of the old popular pages, see FAQs.

BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting enhancements

BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting on BMC Helix Innovation Suite

BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting is now available on BMC Helix Innovation Suite. BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting serves as a single reporting application for both, Service Management and BMC Helix Innovation Studio applications. In addition to Service Management applications, an administrator can perform the following actions in BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting forBMC Helix Innovation Studio applications such as BMC Helix Virtual Agent and BMC Helix Business Workflows:

Onboard users and import content.
Perform reverse cross-launch to BMC Helix Innovation Studio applications. For more information, see Configuring settings to cross-launch reports.
Access reporting content for BMC Helix Innovation Studio from BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting Admin Console.

Important

BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting is not available for reporting on BMC Digital Workplace .

For more information on the convergence of the platform, see AR System enhancements in the Action Request System documentation.

BMC Helix CMDB enhancements

CMDB Explorer optimizations

CMDB Portal provides the following enhancements for better view and management of CIs from CMDB Explorer:

Locate CIs - Search for a CI by entering the CI name in the Locate CIs field in the CMDB Explorer.
Remove CIs - Use Select Mode to select a CI and remove it from the Explorer view.
Layout - Use the Layout toggle key to switch between Linear view and Curve view of the relationships between CIs in CMDB Explorer.

For more information about simplifying the CMDB Explorer view, see Searching and viewing CIs and relationships in CMDB Explorer.

Edit standard identification and merge rules

CMDB Portal offers the ability to edit the standard rules for identification and merge activities that are available by default. It is easier to manage the standard reconciliation jobs that have Identify and Merge activities by changing the standard rules instead of creating custom rules and custom reconciliation jobs.

For more information about editing the standard rules, see:

View and cancel queued jobs in reconciliation

From BMC Helix CMDB 21.02, the jobs that are stuck in queue are displayed on the reconciliation page in the Queued tab. You no longer need to access the queued jobs by using backend forms. You can view and cancel the jobs from the queue from the CMDB Portal. For more information about queued jobs, see Monitoring a reconciliation job.

New launch point in CMDB Portal for accessing Adobe Flash-based CMDB components

If you are using a browser that supports Adobe Flash, you can still access the Flash-based BMC Helix CMDB components from CMDB Portal. For more information about accessing the components in Flash-based UI, see Accessing components of BMC Atrium Core Console.

View audit history for related classes

After you make any changes to a CI, you can view the audit history for that class and for all the related classes. You can use the Include related records check box to view the audit history for the related records.

For more information about viewing audit history, see Viewing the history of changes to a CI.

Action Request System enhancements

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BMC Helix Single Sign-On enhancements

Ability to lock a local user account after unsuccessful login

A BMC Helix SSO administrator can enable account lockout if a local user enters incorrect credentials. As a BMC Helix SSO administrator, you can configure the lockout threshold and lockout interval. The locked user can be unlocked by the BMC Helix SSO administrator or automatically. For more information, see Managing local users and passwords.

Ability to force local users to reset password

As a BMC Helix SSO administrator, you can force local users to reset their password after they successfully log in to the BMC application integrated with BMC Helix SSO. For more information, see Managing local users and passwords.

What else changed in this release

The following sections list the changes in the product behavior of different BMC Helix ITSM components.:

What else changed in BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT
What else changed in BMC Helix ITSM
What else changed in BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting
What else changed in BMC Helix CMDB
What else changed in Action Request System
What else changed in BMC Helix Single Sign-On

What else changed in BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT

Update	Product behavior in versions earlier than 21.02	Product behavior in version 21.02
Workspaces menu in the Smart IT menu bar	This option is not present.	Users with appropriate permissions can access the Workspaces list in the Smart IT menu bar. From this list, you can launch the Proactive problem management and Real-time incident correlation functionality provided by BMC Helix ITSM Insights. For more information, see: Proactive problem management (BMC Helix ITSM Insights documentation) Real-time incident correlation (BMC Helix ITSM Insights documentation) Users can access the Workspaces list in Smart IT only when the following conditions are met: BMC Helix ITSM Insights is licensed. The `innovation_suite.base.url` parameter has been set. Users have the appropriate Smart IT incident or problem permissions.
View probable causes or an incident	This option is not present.	To understand the probable causes of an incident, you can launch BMC Helix Service Monitoring (Powered by AIOps) directly from PWA incident screen. By launching PCA, you can get more insights about status of associated services and probable events which might have caused this incident. For more information, see Creating a ticket from the Create New menu.
New configuration parameter: `enableAIOPSIntegration`	This configuration parameter is not present.	You can configure this parameter to enable the integration of BMC Helix Service Monitoring (Powered by AIOps) with Smart IT. For more information, see Centralized configuration.
New configuration parameter: `Helix-Portal-URL`	This configuration parameter is not present.	You can configure this parameter to specify the Identity Management System (IMS) server base URL to be used for authentication. For more information, see Centralized configuration.
New configuration parameter: `Helix-Portal-Tenant-Id`	This configuration parameter is not present.	You can configure this parameter to specify the BMC Helix Portal tenant ID to be used for authentication and integration. For more information, see Centralized configuration.
New configuration parameter: `innovation_suite.base.url`	This configuration parameter is not present.	This parameter is used to specify the server base BMC Helix Innovation Suite URL to be used for authentication and integration. For more information, see Centralized configuration.
New error message in the login page of Smart IT	In an environment where BMC Helix Single Sign-On has been integrated, if you log in to Smart IT with a demo user credential, instead of displaying an error message, it displays a spinning wheel.	In an environment where BMC Helix Single Sign-Onhas been integrated, if you log in to Smart IT with a demo user credential, the following error message is displayed: `You are not authorized to access this page` Important: If you want to navigate to the login page of Smart IT, you should clear the cache of the browser.
Default value of the following configuration parameter: `explicitStatsRefresh`	The default value is false.	For fresh installation, the the default value is true. For more information, see Centralized configuration.
Support for Internet Explorer version 11 is deprecated	Smart IT supports Internet Explorer 11.	As announced , the support for Internet Explorer 11 is now deprecated. We encourage you to switch to other fully supported browsers listed for Smart IT in the BMC Solution and Product Availability and Compatibility utility . For a complete list of BMC products that no longer support Internet Explorer 11, see the BMC Customer Support Communities page .
(Google Chrome browser version 80 and later) No support for active links that run on `Close window` and `Un-display` events	When you click the browser close button, the current window or all open browser windows are closed.	With Google Chrome version 80 and later, the active links that run on the `Close Window` and `un-display` event might not work as expected. Set the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration to `False`. For more information about the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter, see Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks . (Default) When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to `False`: The `Close Window` and `Un-display` events are disabled in Developer Studio. You cannot create new active links with `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. If you select `close` `Window` and `Un-display` execution options for any existing active link, the options are displayed as selected and disabled. You can modify active links for all options except `Window` and `Un-display`. When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to `True`: Mid Tier tries to run the active links with `close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. This might not work as expected in Google Chrome version 80 and later. However, this might work in other browsers. The `Close Window` and `Un-display` events are not disabled in Developer Studio. You can create new active links with `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. The behavior of existing active links using `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options does not change. For information about the list of modified active links, see List of active links modified in 21.02 .

What else changed in BMC Helix ITSM

Update Product behavior in versions earlier than 21.02 Product behavior in version 21.02

Support for Internet Explorer version 11 is deprecated

BMC Helix ITSM supports Internet Explorer 11.

As announced , the support for Internet Explorer 11 is now deprecated. We encourage you to switch to other fully supported browsers listed for BMC Helix ITSM in the BMC Solution and Product Availability and Compatibility utility .

For a complete list of BMC products that no longer support Internet Explorer 11, see the BMC Customer Support Communities page .

(Google Chrome browser version 80 and later)

No support for active links that run on Close window and Un-display events

When you click the browser close button, the current window or all open browser windows are closed.

With Google Chrome version 80 and later, the active links that run on the Close Window and un-display event might not work as expected.

Set the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration to False.

For more information about the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter, see Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks .

(Default) When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to False:

The Close Window and Un-display events are disabled in Developer Studio.
You cannot create new active links with Close Window and Un-display execution options.
If you select close Window and Un-display execution options for any existing active link, the options are displayed as selected and disabled.
You can modify active links for all options except Window and Un-display.

When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to True:

Mid Tier tries to run the active links with close Window and Un-display execution options. This might not work as expected in Google Chrome version 80 and later. However, this might work in other browsers.
The Close Window and Un-display events are not disabled in Developer Studio.
You can create new active links with Close Window and Un-display execution options.
The behavior of existing active links using Close Window and Un-display execution options does not change.

For information about the list of modified active links, see List of active links modified in 21.02 .

What else changed in BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting

Update	Product behavior in versions earlier than 21.02	Product behavior in version 21.02
Ability to view and manage all content, including private content created by other users.	You can view the private content created by other users only if you are given access to it.	You can view and manage all content, including private content created by other users. For this, a super administrator must assign the Super Content User function to your role. For more information, see Granting Content Super User permission to access and manage all content.
BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reportinglog file changed from log4j.properties to log4j2.xml.	You can view and manage the BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting logs in the log4j.properties file.	You can view and manage the BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reporting logs in the new log4j2.xml file. For more information, see Configuring Smart Reporting log settings.
Support for Internet Explorer version 11 is deprecated.	BMC Helix ITSM: Smart Reportingsupports Internet Explorer version 11.	As announced , the support for Internet Explorer 11 is now deprecated. We encourage you to switch to other fully supported browsers listed for Action Request System in the BMC Solution and Product Availability and Compatibility utility . For a complete list of BMC products that no longer support Internet Explorer 11, see the BMC Customer Support Communities page .
(Google Chrome browser version 80 and later) No support for active links that run on `Close window` and `Un-display` events	When you click the browser close button, the current window or all open browser windows are closed.	With Google Chrome version 80 and later, the active links that run on the `Close Window` and `un-display` event might not work as expected. Set the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration to `False`. For more information about the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter, see Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks . (Default) When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to `False`: The `Close Window` and `Un-display` events are disabled in Developer Studio. You cannot create new active links with `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. If you select `close` `Window` and `Un-display` execution options for any existing active link, the options are displayed as selected and disabled. You can modify active links for all options except `Window` and `Un-display`. When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to `True`: Mid Tier tries to run the active links with `close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. This might not work as expected in Google Chrome version 80 and later. However, this might work in other browsers. The `Close Window` and `Un-display` events are not disabled in Developer Studio. You can create new active links with `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. The behavior of existing active links using `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options does not change. For information about the list of modified active links, see List of active links modified in 21.02 .

What else changed in BMC Helix CMDB

Update	Product behavior in versions earlier than 21.02	Product behavior in version 21.02
Dataset configurations for normalization	You cannot disable normalization for a dataset. You must define the appropriate normalization job settings in the Normalization configurations for all datasets in Core configurations and on the normalization job creation page in CMDB Portal.	You can enable or disable normalization for specific datasets by using the Enable normalization option in Normalization mode. For more information about normalization modes for datasets, see Configuring normalization settings for datasets.
Reconciliation jobs with missing job definitions	You must investigate every job to understand if there are any errors in the reconciliation job definitions.	If there are jobs with missing or incorrect information, the reconciliation page displays a message with a link to the list of such jobs. The following image shows the message with a link to the list of jobs that appears on the reconciliation page: For information about troubleshooting the jobs with missing job definitions, see Troubleshooting Reconciliation Engine jobs that do not start or finish.
CMDB Explorer	You cannot specify the hierarchy levels for CIs that are displayed in CMDB Explorer	From the CMDB UI Preferences tab in Configurations, you can customize the CMDB Explorer view by configuring the following parameters: Graph Levels - Set the number of CI levels to be displayed in CMDB Explorer. Graph Limit - Limit the number of CIs to be displayed in CMDB Explorer. Graph Limit Warning Threshold - Get a warning in the Explorer view if the number of CIs exceeds the specified limit. For more information about configuring the CMDB Explorer view, see Searching and viewing CIs and relationships in CMDB Explorer
Audit	You cannot view the CI changes that affect related classes.	From the CMDB UI Preferences tab in Configurations, you can set the default view for viewing the audit history of related classes. For more information about audit history of related classes, see Viewing the history of changes to a CI.
Support for Internet Explorer version 11 is deprecated	BMC Helix CMDB supports Internet Explorer version 11.	As announced , the support for Internet Explorer version 11 is now deprecated. We encourage you to switch to other fully supported browsers listed for BMC Helix CMDB in the BMC Solution and Product Availability and Compatibility utility . For a complete list of BMC products that no longer support Internet Explorer 11, see the BMC Customer Support Communities page .
Append to lists option in custom merge precedence rules	The source dataset with highest precedence value overwrites the value in production dataset.	Use the Append to lists feature while configuring the merge precedence rules. You can specify whether the the value from the source dataset with the highest precedence appends to or overwrites the value in the production dataset. For more information about merge precedence rules, see Creating precedence sets and associations for reconciliation merge activities.
(Google Chrome browser version 80 and later) No support for active links that run on `Close window` and `Un-display` events	When you click the browser close button, the current window or all open browser windows are closed.	With Google Chrome version 80 and later, the active links that run on the `Close Window` and `un-display` event might not work as expected. Set the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration to `False`. For more information about the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter, see Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks . (Default) When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to `False`: The `Close Window` and `Un-display` events are disabled in Developer Studio. You cannot create new active links with `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. If you select `close` `Window` and `Un-display` execution options for any existing active link, the options are displayed as selected and disabled. You can modify active links for all options except `Window` and `Un-display`. When the Execute-Window-Close-Undisplay-Activelinks parameter in Centralized Configuration is set to `True`: Mid Tier tries to run the active links with `close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. This might not work as expected in Google Chrome version 80 and later. However, this might work in other browsers. The `Close Window` and `Un-display` events are not disabled in Developer Studio. You can create new active links with `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options. The behavior of existing active links using `Close Window` and `Un-display` execution options does not change. For information about the list of modified active links, see List of active links modified in 21.02 .

What else changed in Action Request System