A team of Agile developers using Jira Software to manage tasks and track work items wants to sync their environment with the IT service management team (ITSM) working out of ServiceDesk Plus.
To have both systems (and teams) in proper sync, the managers must find a way to map all the fields, entities, and objects that are relevant to the project or specific incident. This sync could be unidirectional or bidirectional depending on the information being shared.
With a solution like Exalate, managers can configure and customize any Jira to ServiceDesk Plus integration, based on specific requirements and business workflows.
You can also deploy Exalate for ServiceDesk Plus and Jira on Docker.
Exalate Installation and Configuration Steps
Here is a short breakdown of how to set up a ServiceDesk Plus Jira integration.
- Install the Exalate app for ServiceDesk Plus. You can get started by requesting a trial from the integrations page.
- Install Exalate for Jira from the Atlassian Marketplace. Or you can get it from our integrations page.
- Choose the connection type: Basic mode or Script mode.
The Basic mode connection gives you access to simple integrations for things like descriptions, comments, attachments, etc. The AI-powered Script mode makes it possible to write the rules for your own connection or let AI Assist generate them for you.
Use AI Assist to Configure Advanced ServiceDesk Plus and Jira Integration
The Exalate configuration panel is embedded with an AI-powered scripting engine, known as AI Assist, which allows you to generate sync rules based on specific context.
You can use natural language prompts to explain the configuration scenario, and the AI Assist tool will generate the correct output to help you set it up.
If you’re familiar with Groovy scripting, you can get started with Script Helpers to script connections.
Let’s explore this further using actual Jira to ServiceDesk Plus integration use cases.
Use Case 1: Replicate ServiceDesk Plus Tickets as Jira Work Items
Let’s say you want to be able to create tickets from ServiceDesk Plus and make them show in Jira without manually copying the data back and forth.
So if IT requests a fix for the website, the developers will instantly receive a work item (bug) that details the issue with the website. Once the devs have fixed the issue, they will update the status to “done” so the IT team can validate it on their end.
This connection should allow a two-way information flow so that the IT team can update the ticket to provide engineers and developers with more context in real time.
The fields mapped could include assignee, comments, attachments, custom fields, status updates, priority, due dates, ticket owner, and many more.
Use Case 2: Route Issues and Defects to the Right Team
So let’s say a customer creates a ticket (incident) on ServiceDesk Plus reporting a signup issue with specific comments and attached images.
The ticket should be assigned to the support team (Jira Service Management) if it is a non-technical issue. But if it is a technical issue, it should go to the devs (Jira Software).
For this use case, the manager can use Exalate to separate the tickets based on priority or even assignee. So “critical” incidents will go to the devs, while “medium” priority incidents will end up with the support team.
Use Case 3: Sync a ServiceDesk Plus Instance with Multiple Jira Projects
As an MSP working with external partners, you might end up having to share information with your (internal) team as well as the partner’s (external) customer portal.
So your ServiceDesk Plus in the center should be plugged into both Jira instances at the same time. The external Jira could also contain specific custom fields for receiving additional information that is not supported by the default fields.
If a ticket comes into ServiceDesk Plus with a status of “In progress” or “On hold”, updates should only go to the internal Jira instance. If the status is “resolved” or “closed”, the updates should head to the external customer portal.
Note: When prompting AI Assist for your use case, always review the output and refine your prompts accordingly. You can discard, accept, or refine them to your satisfaction.
AI Assist, like any other AI, can make mistakes. So, keep your prompts very precise and detailed.
Note: The code snippet might not work precisely as intended due to changes to the environment or other reasons. If you encounter any problems, reach out to us for clarification.
Automate ServiceDesk Plus Jira Integration Using Triggers
Exalate uses every platform’s native query language and search syntax to set trigger conditions. On the Jira side, the triggers are based on Jira Query Language (JQL). Here is an example:
status IN ("To Do", "In Progress") AND priority >= MediumThe status part filters work items that are either "To Do" or "In Progress". Also, only work items with a priority of Medium or higher will be synced automatically.
ServiceDesk Plus uses standard SQL (Structured Query Language).
Supported Jira and ServiceDesk Plus Entities
Check out the comprehensive list of supported entities on Jira Cloud and Jira On-Premise. Some popular fields in work items and sprints include summary, status, priority, description, assignee, reporter, resolution, change history, and custom fields.
ServiceDesk Plus users can sync custom fields, requester information, resolution, ticket ID, comments, attachments, status, priority, etc.
Here is a sample mapping between ServiceDesk Plus tickets and Jira work items:
ServiceDesk Plus Incident <> Jira work item
description ↔ description
priority ↔ priority
status ↔ status
requester ↔ reporter
technician ↔ assignee
internal comments ↔ comments
attachments ↔ attachments
custom fields ↔ custom fields
any field available via REST APIs
Video Tutorials
Watch the installation and configuration tutorial for ServiceDesk Plus and Jira.
Watch the installation and configuration demo for all connectors.
Other resources
Talk to Aida, our AI-powered integration sidekick, to get instant answers to your integration-related questions.
If you have a specific use case to discuss, book a discovery call with our engineers.
Check our Trust Center for security updates or read our security and architecture whitepaper.
Visit the Exalate Academy to get access to learning materials.
Subscribe to Exalate Hack to get email updates and expert tips about the product.
If you have a specific use case to discuss, book a discovery call with our engineers.