Managing multiple Service Management projects for external and internal customers.

[Liina Savtšik]

Hello

I have found several articles with advice to create separate Service Management projects for external and internal requests. Can you please explain why it is more secure and efficient?

Now we are receiving internal requests from our employees and also requests from our external customers who are using our services. Why isn't it a good practice to use one project for this? For example internal requests will come from customer portal and external from the email related to this project. In that case will the external customers have access to other tickets/project or any info that shouldn't be shared?

Also, in case when we have 2 separate SM projects for external and internal requests, will there be 2 separate service desks and our support team should manage tickets from 2 different places?

Thank you!

[Walter Buggenhout]

Hi @Liina Savtšik,

When people talk about external customers, that often implies a public context. Imagine you are e.g. a government agency and deliver services to all citizens of your country or Community, that may imply that potentially every citizen is a potential customer to your service desk. To allow them to sign up and create requests, you would have to open up your service desk to the entire internet (allowing public access), as you cannot possible determine up front who all these customers are, nor define them in your user directory up front. In such a setting, it is very common to set up a separate project for them with public access, while you may restrict access to other service desks (such as e.g. the HR service desk where people can request certain employee services).

If that scenario is not yours and you have e.g. just 1 single service desk to support both internal and external people and they come there to ask the exact same questions to one and the same support team, feel free to manage this with just 1 JSM project.

Best practice is the practice that fits your team.

Hope this helps! 

[Liina Savtšik]

Thank you for the answer! And what about this question:

Also, in case when we have 2 separate SM projects for external and internal requests, will there be 2 separate service desks and our support team should manage tickets from 2 different places?