To some, this may seem like just another Microsoft employee leaving for greener pastures, but in reality this is big news for a number of reasons.
Travis Wright has long been the face behind System Center Service Manager for Microsoft. In the beginning, customers simply asked for a HelpDesk application that could tie into System Center Configuration Manager, but what they got (after being rewritten from scratch a couple times) was Service Manager. You can read the full history of Service Manager HERE.
I've said before that Service Manager is the odd child in the System Center 2012 suite. The product has not truly caught on like the other products in the suite, primarily due to its complexity and required time for IT Pros to invest to learn and customize. So, for the product to be even moderately successful, it needed a good vendor to develop automated solutions and it needed a person within Microsoft as an evangelist. Travis Wright was that evangelist. That vendor is Cireson.
Today, at 2pm EDT, Cireson formally announced that Travis has joined Cireson as a partner and director of product management, leaving his high-profile personality at Microsoft behind.
The reasons why this is big news is not that the face of Service Manager has left Microsoft, but that his move brings new hope to the product. Cireson has done more for Service Manager than, it seems, Microsoft itself has done, and I believe in no way reflects on Travis, but on Microsoft. In his new role, Travis will be free to help build real solutions that integrate directly with Service Manager, giving the product new life and value. I truly look forward to what will be accomplished through this new endeavor.
The full press release: Microsoft's Travis Wright Joins Cireson as Partner, and Director of Product Management
Travis has also now taken to the Microsoft Service Manager blog to make his own announcement: New-SCSMAnnouncement –Title "Travis is joining Cireson"
For individuals interested in learning more about this big announcement, Travis will be hosting a webinar, scheduled October 2nd at 09:30am US Pacific / 12:30pm US Eastern /18:30 Europe - to discuss his reasons for joining Cireson, the future of System Center, and how Cireson will be at the forefront of this strategy. Register here: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/319415166.
