Adobe Flash replacement options when upgrading BMC Service Request Management to version 20.02.02
Adobe announced the end of development and distribution of Adobe Flash Player by the end of the year 2020. Flash-based capabilities in Remedy IT Service Management Suite (Remedy ITSM Suite) will no longer work after December 31, 2020. BMC has taken proactive steps over the recent releases to manage the deprecation of the Flash-based capabilities in Remedy ITSM Suite. BMC has also been providing replacement capabilities for the majority of areas where Flash was used in the past.
BMC recommends that you upgrade Remedy platform components (Remedy AR System Server, Remedy Mid Tier, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator) to version 20.02.02 before December 31, 2020 to avoid any problems as a result of the Adobe Flash Player retirement.
How can I find out if I am impacted by the end of life of Adobe Flash?
If you are using any of the capabilities listed in the table in the next section, then end of life of Adobe Flash will have an impact on the behavior of your ITSM implementation.
What Flash-related changes can I expect when I upgrade to ITSM version 20.02.02 ?
The following table lists the capabilities that are available in the ITSM components and provide a comparison between its behavior in your current installation and in version 20.02.02.
Capabilities replaced in BMC Service Request Management version 20.02.02
| Component | Capability | Behavior in versions earlier than 20.02.02 | Behavior in version 20.02.02 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SRM | Create a PDT | You can create a PDT in Service Catalog Manager Console by using the Visual Process Editor that uses Adobe Flash. | You can create a PDT in Service Catalog Manager Console by using the enhanced Visual Process Editor.
See
Creating a standard PDT
The following video provides details of Adobe Flash replacements for PDT and Process View: |
| SRM | View Fulfilment process | When you click the Process View tab, you can view the process steps and fulfillment applications of the service request. We recommend that you hide the Process View tab because Process View uses Adobe Flash. | This patch offers HTML rendering for the Process View tab and enhanced visualization features, such as creating and viewing processes in Service Request Management.
See
Viewing and managing your requests
The following video provides details of Adobe Flash replacements for PDT and Process View: |
Which features are deprecated when I upgrade to ITSM version 20.02.02?
The following table lists features that are deprecated in version 20.02.02. We have provided alternative solutions, wherever possible.
| Component | Capability | Deprecated in Release | Current Behavior | Behavior in 20.02.02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMPM | SMPM process model - landing page | Deprecated in version 20.02.02 | The Home page of Service Management Process Model (SMPM) uses an Adobe Flash-based display. |
|
| AR System | Agent-to-agent chat | Deprecated in version 20.02.02 It works only if your browser supports Adobe Flash. | The Openfire Chat feature of Remedy AR System uses Adobe Flash. You can use the chat feature only if your browser version supports Adobe Flash. | The Openfire Chat plug-in works only on browser versions that support Adobe Flash. We recommend to use Smart IT Openfire Chat for agent-to-agent communication. See
Chatting with other agents to resolve a ticket using Openfire
|
Are there any upgrade requirements to get the replacements of Adobe Flash-based capabilities in ITSM ?
If you are a BMC Helix ITSM subscriber, BMC plans to upgrade your SaaS environments before the end of 2020 to replace the Flash-based capabilities, which will be scheduled in coordination with you.
For Remedy on-premises, BMC has delivered replacement capabilities for these remaining Flash-based capabilities via 20.02 Patch 02 (20.02.02) release for the Remedy platform components (Remedy AR System Server, Remedy Mid Tier, CMDB, and Atrium Integrator). You must install Patch 02 on top of the Remedy platform version 20.02. This patch was made available for download from the BMC Electronic Product Distribution (EPD) site in October 2020.
Remedy version 20.02.02 (Patch 02) contains the updates delivered in Remedy version 20.02.01 (Patch 01).
- For information about the updates delivered in Patch 01, see
Updates in Remedy version 20.02.01
in the Remedy deployment documentation. - For instructions on upgrading to Patch 02, see
Deployment instructions for version 20.02.02
in the Remedy deployment documentation.
For detailed information about the patch and the list of issues that have been corrected in this release, see the following patch bulletins:
-
Replacement of remaining Adobe Flash capabilities in Remedy
in the Remedy ITSM online documentation.
-
20.02.02: Patch 2 for version 20.02
in the Remedy AR System online documentation.
-
20.02.02: Patch 2 for version 20.02
in the BMC CMDB online documentation.
If you are using Remedy ITSM on-premises, we recommend that you upgrade to 20.02 Patch 02 before December 31, 2020 to avoid any problems as a result of the Adobe Flash retirement. Based on the capabilities you require, upgrade as follows:
- To replace all remaining Flash-based capabilities, upgrade the Remedy Mid Tier or the Remedy platform (Remedy AR System Server, CMDB, and Atrium Integrator) to version 20.02 Patch 02. You need not upgrade the Remedy ITSM applications.
- To replace the Approval Process Visualizer and the SRM Process Designer and Visualizer capabilities, upgrade only the Remedy Mid Tier. You need not upgrade the entire Remedy platform.
What other enhancements can I expect when I upgrade to ITSM version 20.02.02?
The following table lists other enhancements in AR System and CMDB.
| Release | Action Request System Enhancement | CMDB Enhancement |
|---|---|---|
| 18.08 | ||
| 19.02 | ||
| 19.08 | ||
| 19.11 | ||
| 20.02 | ||
| 20.02.02 |
How do I upgrade to ITSM platform version 20.02.02?
If you are a BMC Helix ITSM subscriber, see
BMC Helix Upgrade policy
in the BMC Helix Subscriber Information documentation.
If you are a Remedy on-premises customer, see
Planning an upgrade
in the Remedy deployment documentation.
How can I simulate and test the product behavior without Adobe Flash?
Turn off the Flash plug-in in your browser and test your product behavior without Adobe Flash.
Alternatives for customers who want to continue to use the Flash-based BMC products
| HARMAN International Packaged Browser solution | HARMAN International has an exclusive agreement with Adobe to provide extended licensing and support agreements for the enterprise Adobe Flash Player until the end of 2023. For details, go to
https://services.harman.com/partners/adobe
BMC Software provides Limited Support for Adobe Flash-based capabilities in Remedy version 9.1.03 or later when used in combination with the HARMAN Packaged Browser application—Electron/Chromium version. Limited Support is provided temporarily until Dec 31, 2021, to cover the time period until customers upgrade to the latest BMC product version that has replaced the Flash-based capabilities. Important: For known issues, go to the "HARMAN International Packaged Browser solution known issues" section in the "Known and corrected issues" page for the Remedy component and version you are running. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Enterprise Enablement for legacy browser versions | Important The ability to run Adobe Flash Player depends upon the browser vendor's support. Running BMC Software products with outdated browser versions requires you to turn off automatic updates. This approach should be carefully considered and should be in alignment with your company's security group recommendations. With Adobe Flash Player 32.0 Enterprise Enablement, companies can allow Flash Player content to be loaded from a set of trusted URLs by performing these actions:
BMC Software has validated the Flash Player will continue to run with Flash Player Enterprise Enablement on these browser versions:
|
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