4.1. Overview

The Managed Services Provider (MSP) market is forecast to reach $329.1 Billion dollars by 2025 – Ref.

Targeted at this MSP market, CIOCTO is a multi-tenant cloud-based Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) platform and control plane, that is fully compliant with the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework, that delivers tools and business intelligence to manage complex IT & Communications environments built around an Entity Relationship Management (ERM) model..

XSTRA operates as an MSP and currently uses Version 4 of the CIOCTO platform as its Professional Services Automation (PSA) system under the moniker of XCRM.

Key Features of CIOCTO include:

• Web-Based User Interface
• “API First Design” model:
  • Restful API – both Public & Private access
• “Ticket First” approach to every action
• Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse
• Entity Relationship Management (ERM) model which supersedes the traditional CRM models so common in comparative solutions:
  • 3-Dimensional
  • Super Mesh Grid for visualisation of ERM (think Autocad)
  • Entity Types Supported:
    • Companies
    • Locations
      • Sites – are physical and they have addresses – (can contain multiple of lower level locations)
        • Warehouses – are physical or virtual and can contain Shelves, Pallets, Bins, Rows or as defined – (can contain multiple of lower level locations)
          • Spaces – are ethereal ad-hoc entity locations – (can contain multiple of lower level locations)
    • Users
    • Devices
    • Groups – with Group types including:
      • Billing – (for invoice routing)
      • Security
      • Geographical
      • Departmental (eg: Committee or Board that has an interest in multiple Companies)
      • Distribution
    • Nested Groups
    • Files
• Entity Relationships
• Smart Electronic Forms/Document Signing System to confer contractual agreements between Entities – (think BPMN)
• Hosted in Azure / AWS
  • Geo-Redundant
  • Cloud-Flare integration for “edge-hosting”
• SAML integration for login and authentication
• Custom CSS framework
• Industry Dash Boards – (think AdminDroid)
  • Office 365
  • OLA / SLA
• Worlds Best Practice workflows incorporating:
  • ITIL – incident, request, problem, change, release, service level, knowledge and configuration management
• CIOCTO Universal Agent
  • Runs as a Windows Service
  • Store & Forward design based on a database local to the Agent – (think Firebird, XML/Jason)
  • Has a Heart Beat that tracks the Agent ID, Date & Time history
  • Installation: Unique Agent ID is set during installation, calls home, and gets “Adopted”
  • Logs all errors it encounters in undertaking tasks set for it
  • Agent performs many regular tasks. Examples include:
    • Active Directory management including 2-way-sync for:
      • Azure AD
      • Active Directory
    • Data collection
    • Network tests
    • Router configurations
• RMM using CIOCTO Universal Agent for End Point control and Access (Same or better than Atera version) including:
  • PowerShell
  • Telnet
  • SSH
  • MRTG – (PRTG replacement – see https://www.mrtg.com)
• Built-in application functionality including:
  • Word Processor
    • addition of OneNote type functionality
  • Spreadsheet
  • Email Client (connected to Microsoft Exchange)
    • All email functionality is “email chain” cleansed (maybe via AI)
  • Chat client (extended to Teams chat 2-way sync as needed)
  • Telephony client (connected to FreePBX API)
  • Folders – functionality for file storage with folder hierarchy that mirrors the ERM structure in CIOCTO. This also holds all of the CIOCTO created files. Offers global search capability similar to SharePoint only better and Public Sharing Feature – via URI links (secured & un-secured) for various CIOCTO components like Documents, Spreadsheets and whole folders
• Real-Time Server to Client communication using Signal-R
• Reporting – using Telerik Reports as an interim solution
• Vendor Bill Transformation services
  • Functionality similar to MagicOrange
  • Clients own Accounts Codes can be uploaded and used to assign costs when anchoring products to entities
• Chromium Plugin for:
  • Single Sign-On (SSO)
• Client Portals
• Client Dashboards and Business Intelligence
• Many 3rd Party Integrations integrations including:
  • Ingram
  • O365
  • Telstra
  • DNSMadeEasy
• Full Product Life-Cycle Management
• Seamless Integration with Device42 for:
  • DCIM – Data Center Infrastructure Management
  • CMDB – Change Management Database
• XERO Accounting Integration
• QUICKBOOKS Accounting Integration
• Multi-Currency
• Many API implementations including:
  • Company Number Lookup
  • Logo Implementation
  • Email Validation
  • Phone Number Validation and Normalization
  • Physical & Postal Address Validation and Normalization
  • GICS codes for entity identification
• Custom Lookups – allowing quick access to groups of entities
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) metrics at all CRM entity levels
  • Ability to separate NPS scores from 3rd parties at fault
• Help and Service Desk Ticket Routing
  

• BPMN – Process Implementation with PMBOK methodology using Smart Tickets including:
  • Incorporating PIMS (Project Information Management Systems)
  • Participants
    • Pools
    • Lanes
  • Activities
    • Tasks
    • Sub-Processes
    • Call Activities
    • Event Sub-Processes
    • Adhoc
  • Gateways
  • Events
  • Definitions
  • PMBOK Methodology
• Complex Task Definitions =
  • Control Sheets +
  • Procedures +
  • Checklists

• Ticket functional automation using Smart Tabs

• IoS and Android App incorporating:
  • XCRM login Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Reporting
  • Ticket Management
  • User information management
  • Smart Ticket responses
  • Business Card Photo Mobile App – allowing quick snaps of business cards to be associated with the correct User entity in XCRM
• Xpression – is a C# module that overlooks the SQL database and automatically provides logic, workflow and external system interactions
  • SMS
  • Smart Ticket scheduling

• Knowledge Base
  • A unique approach where common content is able to be anchored outward against Client entities and separated for custom modifications to suit each Clients unique requirements, but, still trackable from the source content after separation and a side-by-side comparison against the source KB article can highlight changes

• Products
  • Product Catalog
    • Multiple Catalogs
    • Category Tree Per Catalog
    • Serial Number Tracking
  • Common Product Specification Templates
  • Warehouse Management

• Template Editor

• Custom Modules and Module Manager incorporating information exchange with 3rd parties using the following technologies:
  • API
  • Screen Scrape
  • Offshore Human Data Processing and Entry services

• Gamification for users and clients and other entities
  • Application controls can have rewards associated with different control states in the application
  • Users of the system are instantly rewarded for doing the right thing at the right time
  • Users enjoyment in using the system is heightened and stake-holder “buy-in” increased across the board at all levels

XSTRA has adopted many of the CIOCTO methodologies as shown HERE