As we head into the second quarter of 2022, we would like to take the opportunity to provide you with an overview of some of the key new features that were recently released during the first quarter of 2022.
As an organisation, we would like to thank all of those who have provided feedback and suggestions for new features. We have and continue to take into account our clients ideas, in addition to our pool of thoughts internally. Overall, we’re making sure everything you need is all in one place.
1. New Features
1.1 Embed the Self-Service portal into Microsoft Teams
Changes have been made to the self-service portal to allow it to be shown in a tab in the Microsoft Teams app. This will be active without any configuration needed for the default Portal application after upgrading. When inside Teams, the Portal’s authentication flow will be inside pop-out windows instead of the usual redirect to the login screen.
1.2 Microsoft Teams Bot
We have created a Microsoft Teams bot, which can be found in the Teams app store. With this integration, there are features that you can make use of within a 1-2-1 chat with the Halo bot and general chats with colleagues/clients/teams.
In the 1-2-1 chat with the Halo bot, there are several several commands that you can make use of and as seen below, these include: Connecting a Halo account to your Microsoft Teams account; Disconnecting a Halo account; following a ticket, unfollowing a ticket; and finding a ticket via the ticket number or search phrase.
Outside of the halo bot chat, you can create tickets from messages and add notes where necessary. In addition to that, you can search for tickets and send the relevant ticket details to whom you like, all directly in Teams. This can be done for both private and team chats.
1.3 CMDB Enhancements
- New overview screen
- Range of new configuration settings to change how the CI is displayed
- New table view for linked CIs
1.4 Azure Translator (incoming notes/outgoing emails/notes)
You can now instantly translate notes from users or other agents into the language that you are currently viewing Halo in.
When active, a translate button will show for each action note. Press it to translate the note. This will auto-detect the language of the note and translate it into your current language using Azure translator.
The note will then be replaced with the translated version and pressing the button again will revert to the original.
Any notes which are translated are stored in the database and the translation is automatically loaded the next time you view the ticket.
To configure, set up a Translator within Azure > Cognitive Services, and obtain an API Key from “Keys and Endpoints”, and paste your API key in Config > Integrations > Azure Translator – Translator API key.
There are options to choose between translating only plain text (to reduce usage costs), or HTML (to include images and preserve the formatting in the translation). A monthly character limit can also be added here.
1.5 Group tickets by a Column in the ticket list
In the column profile settings, set Grouping to “Group by this column” and the tickets list table will be pivoted by the column, showing a heading each value in that column and rows underneath which have that value.
The example below is grouping by the status column.
Some columns such as time-taken and estimate show an aggregate within the header.
A setting has also been added to Config > Tickets > General Settings titled “Ticket details title and workflow display”. When set to “Display above the tabsheet” this will alter the ticket details screen display to show the title and workflow above the tab sheet.
1.6 Dashboard Enhancements
- New widget types – ticket list and ticket list counter
- New doughnut charts
- Colour palettes
- Widget rules/colour indicators
- Import/Export dashboards
1.7 Additional Features
- Approval signing in end-user portal
- Colour code widgets conditionally
- Doughnut Charts
- Additional display preferences
- Calculated custom fields
- Publish change calendar to self-service portal
2. New Integrations
3. Upcoming Developments
For more information:
If you would like to learn more about future developments, check out our roadmap here.
Want a more in-depth discussion of specific features, or simply have a question? Feel free to reach out to your customer success manager or Contact us, and we’ll get back to you shortly.
