BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog

BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalogis a component of the BMC Helix Digital Workplace solution that serves as a centralized repository of products and services from multiple business units including IT, HR, and Facilities. Catalog administrators configure the service catalog by designing services and workflows, building reusable questionnaires, creating promotional banners, and defining entitlements. 

 

Required license

DWP Advanced icon.pngBMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced

The following video (3:15) provides an overview of the key capabilities of BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog and the product components: 
 

 

icon_play.pngWatch the YouTube video about BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog product overview

 

Service Catalog Curator

As a catalog administrator, use the Service Catalog Curator, an AI agent powered by BMC HelixGPT, to create a catalog service. Enter prompts and other inputs for the service you want to create, review the summary, make real-time edits, and efficiently create a service. This AI assistant offers a solid foundation for developing your service and saves your time and effort.
Key concept catalog curator

For more information, see Leveraging Service Catalog Curator for creating services.

Service fulfillments

BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalogintegrates with external fulfillment systems through service connectors to enable communication between the catalog application platform and the different fulfillment systems. To learn more, see Connecting-your-catalog-to-external-systems. 

 

Enriched catalog profiles

Enhance the service catalog experience by creating profiles for service items that include:

  • Multimedia carousel of videos and images to illustrate the selected service.
  • Rich text descriptions with business and technical details to help users make decisions when requesting services.
  • Downloadable files and links to internet and other web resources.
  • Service ratings and timeline to help users evaluate solutions.

The enriched catalog profiles are displayed in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace end-user console, as shown in the following image:

Rich catalog profile 19.02.png

 

Rich text formatting

Users can benefit from the powerful text editing panel when they submit comments to service requests.

Important

  • For services created directly in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog, end users can add rich text formatting in comments and answers to a questionnaire.   
  • Rich text format is supported in approvals of only BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog requests and BMC Helix Business Workflows cases. 
  • In Mozilla Firefox, when adding an image to a comment, end users must select the Upload check box after selecting the image file. If the Upload check box is not selected or is selected before choosing the image file, the upload is unsuccessful. 

The following text customization options are available:

  • Bold, Italic, and Underline fonts
  • Color selection
  • Text alignment
  • Hyperlinks
    Hyperlinks are added in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace administrator console. For the configuration steps and supported formats, see Defining-navigation-through-links-in-pages.
  • Numbered and bulleted lists
  • Drag-and-drop and copy-and-paste features
  • Image icon to insert up to two images
    The maximum size of each embedded image is 5 MB. You can reduce the maximum size by updating the settings in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace administrator console, see Updating-the-attachment-settings-and-URI-schemes. 
  • One attachment
    RTF_comment.png

Comments with rich text formatting added in BMC Helix Digital Workplace are supported and retained by BMC Helix Business Workflows. These comments can be seen in request details in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog and are preserved in email notifications.

However, in BMC Helix ITSM, comments are shown as plain text, and inserted images are shown as attachments.

As a catalog administrator, you can also enable end users to leverage rich text formatting in questionnaires. To learn more, see Adding-questions-to-a-questionnaire.

 

Catalog banners

Notify users of important information and draw attention to featured services in your catalog by using promotional banners of different sizes. You create these banners in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog and add them to the catalog display in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Admin console The banner is then visible to the end users in the end-user console. 

The following image is an example of a full-width hero banner displayed in the end user console:

Hero banner example 19.02.png

The following image is an example of feature banners displayed in the end user console:

Feature banners 19.02.png

 

Catalog service bundles

Help users select options for requested items. Service bundles can contain optional items that the user can switch on or off before submitting the request. The catalog manager can can control which optional items are included when packaging a bundle.

The following image is an example of a bundle with optional items:

Bundle details view 19.02.png

 

Catalog filters

Provide filters to make it easier for users to browse the catalog.

The following image is an example of a category selection filter for Cloud Services:

Enhanced catalog Browse categories view 19.02.png

 

Catalog search

Make it easier for users to find items in the catalog. Users can search the catalog for words found in the following catalog profile sections:

  • Service name or title
  • Service version
  • Service description
  • Service tags

Best practice
We recommend that you develop a consistent tagging scheme for your organization.

Testing your knowledge

Check your knowledge. See if you can answer each question. Click the questions to view the answer.

What is the primary function of BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog?

It serves as a centralized platform where catalog administrators design and manage services, workflows, and entitlements for multiple business units, such as IT, HR, Facilities, etc.

How does the Service Catalog Curator, powered by BMC HelixGPT, assist catalog administrators?

The BMC HelixGPT-powered Service Catalog Curator helps catalog administrators efficiently create catalog services by allowing them to enter prompts, review summaries, make real-time edits, and establish a solid foundation for service development.

In what scenario can end users apply rich text formatting in their comments, and what is a known browser-specific consideration?

End users can apply rich text formatting when commenting on services created in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. In Mozilla Firefox, users must check the upload check box after selecting an image file to ensure the image uploads correctly.

How does BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog enable integration with external fulfillment systems?

It uses a service connector to facilitate communication between the catalog application and external systems.

When building a catalog service bundle, how can a catalog manager give users flexibility in their request submission?

The catalog manager can include optional items in the service bundle that users can toggle on or off before submitting the request, ensuring personalization while maintaining control over included services.

 

Learn more

To learn more about BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog, refer to the following links:

Action

Reference

Learn about the best practices to design a catalog.

Learn about the Catalog architecture.

Learn about the roles and permissions required to set up a catalog.

Learn about subcatalogs, catalog services, and fulfillments.

 

 

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