Configuring Microsoft Teams bot for streamlining incidents

Using BMC Helix Ops Swarmer , BMC HelixGPT facilitates integrating Microsoft Teams and BMC Helix ITSM. This integration provides streamlined communication and accelerates issue resolution. 

A service desk administrator can initiate incident-related chats, add participants, and track updates within the familiar Microsoft Teams UI.

To set up and enable this integration, an administrator must create and configure a Microsoft Teams bot and application, connect it with BMC HelixGPT Manager, and complete the required Azure and ITSM configurations.

Before you begin

Perform the following steps only if you want to set up the xMatters integration to send notifications and recommend participants.

1. Set up the xMatter connection. For more information, see Adding data sources in BMC HelixGPT.
2. (Optional) Map support groups if the BMC Helix ITSM support group names differ from the group names in xMatters.
   1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio.
   2. On the Workspace tab, click HelixGPT Manager. 
   3. Click Records > Edit data.
   4. Select the xMatters record definition.
   5. In the Configuration field, enter the group mapping in JSON format.
      See the following example:
      {
         "xmatters_group_mapping": {
             "AU Support 1": "DSOM Helix Communication Managers APAC Weekdays DL",
             "CA Support 1": "DSM Support SaaS Weekend Americas DL",
             "DE Support 1": "ARC/Quickstart EMEA-AP on-call",
             "IN Support 1": "24x7 DSM Helix ITSM Manager OnCall APAC DL",
             "LA Support 1": "DSOM DWP Americas SME",
             "GB Support 1": "24x7 DSM Helix ITSM Manager OnCall EMEA DL",
             "US Support 1": "DBA-DS-AMERICAS-Evening-WEEKEND-DL"
         }
      }
3. Enable xMatters in the participant recommendation agent.
   1. In HelixGPT Manager, click the Agents tab.
   2. Select the Participant Recommendation Agent and click Edit.
   3. Click Tools add the xMatters tool to the agent.

Process overview

The following image shows the process of integrating Microsoft Teams with BMC Helix ITSM in your environment:

Task 1: To create a Microsoft Teams bot

Perform the following steps in Microsoft Teams:

1. In Microsoft Teams account, click the View more apps option.
   The following screenshot shows the View more apps option.
   

2. Search for the Developer Portal and launch it.
   Add the Developer Portal if it is not available.
3. Select Tools >  Bot Management > New Bot.
   The following screenshot shows the new bot option:
   
4. In the Add bot dialog box, enter the bot name.
5. In Bot management, select Configure.
6. In the Endpoint address field, copy the Webhook URL you have added in the Webhook URL field while adding Microsoft Teams as a channel through the HelixGPT manager. For more information, see Add a webhook.
   The following screenshot shows the Endpoint address field:
   
7. Click Client secrets and add a new secret value, and note down the value. 
    

The bot is successfully created.

Task 2: To create a Microsoft Teams application

Perform the following steps in Microsoft Teams:

1. In the Developer Portal, click Apps > New app.
   Create new app dialog box is displayed.
2. Enter the application name and click Add.
   The following screenshot shows the Create new app dialog box:
   
3. Review and update the Basic information screen.
   Note down the App ID. The App ID is required for BMC Helix ITSM integration.
   The following screenshot shows the sample App ID:
   
4. In the Configure option, click App features > Bot.
5. From the Select an existing bot list, select the bot you have created in the previous task.
6. In Scope, select the following options:
   • Personal
   • Teams
   • Group Chat
7. From Publish, select Publish to org.
8. Click Publish your app as shown in the following screenshot:
   

Task 3: To configure the bot in the Microsoft Azure portal

1. Access the following URL with your administrator credentials:
   https://portal.azure.com/#home 
2. Click App registrations.
   The following screenshot shows the App registration option:
   
3. Click All applications and search for the bot you have created.
   The following screenshot shows the All application option:
   
4. Click on the bot you have created. 
   The bot details are displayed.
5. Expand the Manage option and click Authentication.
   The following screenshot shows the Authentication option:
   
6. Select Web.
7. Add the Redirect URIs as shown below.
   https://<host name>/arsys/pwa/assets/swarm/swarm.html
8. Click Configure.
   Make sure that the URL is displayed as shown in the following screenshot.
   
9. Click Manage and then click API permissions, as shown in the following screenshot:
   
10. Click Add a permission.
11. Click Microsoft Graph.
12. Select Delegated Permissions.
13. Select the following permissions.
    • Chat.Create
    • Chat.ReadWrite
    • User.Read
    • User.Read.All
      The following screenshot shows the permissions:
      
       
14. Click Add permissions.
15. Click Grant admin consent for ***.
16. Select Yes to grant permissions for all the permissions.
    The following screenshot shows the configured permissions:
    
17. Click Overview and note the details highlighted in the following screenshot:
    

Task 4: To publish the application in Microsoft portal

Perform the following steps in Microsoft Teams:

1. Access the following URL:
   https://admin.teams.microsoft.com/policies/manage-apps
2. Select All apps and identify the application you have created.
3. Select your application and click Publish, as shown in the following screenshot:
   
4. Open All apps and verify that the Status as Unblock.
5. To provide consent for using the application, click the following link:
   https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/adminconsent?client_id=<clientID>&state=12345&redirect_uri=https://<localhost>/myapp/permissions

The application is published.

Where to go from here

Enabling Microsoft Teams as a communication channel