Integrating BMC Helix ITSM and BMC Helix AIOps with Microsoft Teams for incident collaboration

As an administrator, use the BMC Helix Ops Swarmer AI agent to integrate BMC Helix ITSM and BMC Helix AIOps with Microsoft Teams. This integration enables service desk agents and incident response teams to initiate Microsoft Teams chats directly from incidents.

This integration is used during incident triage and resolution, especially for major incidents, to ensure faster coordination and reduce resolution time. It improves cross-team communication, accelerates incident handling, and minimizes business disruption.

Before you begin

• You must have a Microsoft Azure account with an active subscription and have application administrator permissions in Microsoft Azure.

Process overview

Task 1: (Optional) To configure integration tools

Before creating a Microsoft Teams bot, you can configure either PagerDuty or xMatters to automate incident response and access Microsoft 365 data and services for improved collaboration and resolution.

To configure PagerDuty connection

With a valid PagerDuty license, configure PagerDuty connection to automatically manage on-call schedules and quickly send critical alerts to the right person. If you configure a PagerDuty connection, you cannot configure an xMatters connection.

To configure xMatters connection

 An administrator can configure the xMatters connection to send notifications and recommend participants. If you configure an xMatters connection, you cannot configure a PagerDuty connection.

To configure MSGraph connection

An administrator can add the details of the Microsoft Teams application to the MSGraph data connection to enable the Microsoft Teams bot to fetch details such as the incident ID from the chat title.

Task 2: To create a Microsoft Teams bot

Perform the following steps in Microsoft Teams:

1. In the Microsoft Teams account, click 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.
4. In the Add bot dialog box, enter the bot name.
5. In Bot management, select Configure.
6. To get the endpoint details, log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and lauch BMC Helix Agent Studio application.
7. From the Application list, select BMC Helix Collaboration Agent.
8. Select the Collaboration Agent skill.
9. Click Channels, select MS Teams channel for collaboration agent and click Edit.
10. Copy the Webhook URL.
    
11. In the Endpoint address field, copy the Webhook URL .
    
    
     

Task 3: To create a Microsoft Teams application

 Perform the following steps in Microsoft Teams:

1. In the Developer Portal, click Apps and then click New app.
2. Enter the application name and click Add.
   
    
3. Review and update the Basic information screen to include the folloiwng information:
   • Short name - 30 characters or less
   • Full name - up to 100 characters (optional)
   • Short description - 80 characters or less
   • Long description - 4,000 characters or less
   • Developer or company name
   • Website (must be a valid HTTPS URL)
   • Privacy policy
   • Terms of use
     Note down the App ID. The App ID is required for BMC Helix ITSM integration.
     
4. In Configure, click App features and then click Bot.
5. From the Select an existing bot list, select the bot you have created in step 4.
6. In Scope, select one of the following options:
   • Personal
   • Teams
   • Group Chat
7. From Publish, select Publish to org.
8. Click Publish your app.
    

Task 4: 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.
   Or
   If you do not see the App resigration option in the new Microsoft UI, perform the following steps:
   1. Click Microsoft Entra ID.
   2. Click the number link displayed next to the Application.
      
3. Click All applications and search for the bot you have created.
   
4. Click on the bot you have created. 
5. Expand the Manage option and click Authentication.
   
6. Select Web.
7. Add the Redirect URIs and click Configure.
   Make sure that the URL is displayed as shown in the following screenshot.
   
8. From the Supported account types, select Account in any organizational directory (Any Microsoft Entra ID tenant - Multitenant). 
9. Click Manage and then click API permissions.
   
10. Click Add a permission and then click Microsoft Graph.
    
11. Click Delegated Permissions and select the following permissions.
    • Chat.Create
    • Chat.ReadWrite
    • User.Read
    • User.Read.All
12. Click Application Permissions and select the following permissions.
    • Chat.ReadBasic.All
    • ChatMessage.Read.All
    • User.ReadBasic.All
13. Click Add permissions and then click Grant admin consent for ***.
14. Select Yes to grant permissions for all the permissions.
15. Click Overview and note down the details highlighted in the following screenshot:
    
16. Click Certificates & Secret and then click New client secret and add the required details.
    
17. Click Add and copy the highlighted TestSecret value.
    
18. Click Overview and note the following details:
    • Application (Client) ID
    • Directory (Tenant) ID
      
19. Open Mid Tier and Map the following values on the CFG:CR_ConfigurationSetting form:
    • Application (Client) ID  to the Client Id field
    • Directory (tenant) ID to the Tenant Id field
       

Task 5: To publish the application in the 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.
   Your application might be in the blocked status.
3. Select your application and click Publish.
   
4. Open All apps and verify that the Status is set to 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://<host name>/arsys/pwa/assets/swarm/swarm.html
   The application is published.
    

Task 6: To update MS Teams channel

1. Open HelixGPT Agents Studio.
2. Click Channels, select Microsoft Teams, and click Edit.
   1. In the Edit Channel dialog box, enter the following details:

      Field name	Description
      Channel	Office 365: Microsoft Teams
      Name	Enter agent name
      Microsoft Bot ID	ID of the bot created in Task 3 step 4.
      Microsoft app password	TestSecret value copied in Task 4 step 17.

       

3. Click Update
   
    

Task 7: To lauch ChatOps for collaboration

1. In Mid Tier, select Administrator Console > Application Administration Console.
2. On the Custom Configuration tab, expand the Foundation option.
3. Expand the Advanced Options, and then click Collaboration Room Configuration.
4. Specify the following details in the Collaboration Room Configuration Settings form:

   Field name	Description
   Company	Select the company name or select Global if the configuration is same for all companies
   Tenent ID	Directory (tenant) ID value obtained in Task 4 step 18.
   Client ID	Application (client) ID value obtained in Task 4 step 18.
   Secret Key	TestSecret value copied in Task 4 step 17.
   Chat type	MS Teams
   Midtier Base URL	Mid Tier URL ending with a forward slash (/)

    

5. Click Save.
   For more information, see Launching ChatOps for collaboration.

Task 8: To add bot ID for Grpup chat integration

1. In Mid Tier, open the AR System Generic Configuration UI form.
2. In the Component Type dropdown, select com.bmc.arsys.server.shared and locate the field labeled ChatBot-Id.
3. Enter the value of the application ID
4. Click Save.

The Launch ChatOps button is enabled for the Incidents. 

Related topic

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