Overview
Activate Services Manager provides a framework for building and operating a structured Service Catalogue that supports request capture, approval workflows, automated provisioning and delegated administration. This document provides a technical overview for implementers responsible for designing and configuring Services Manager within Activate Studio.
Purpose of Services Manager
Services Manager is designed to standardise how business services are requested, approved and provisioned. It provides a configurable workflow engine, a set of provisioning tasks and a catalogue structure that can be extended to support a wide range of service types.
Its primary purpose in an implementation is to:
- Define catalogue items and associated metadata.
- Configure approval logic and workflow branching.
- Integrate with provisioning systems.
- Provide administrators with delegated capability to manage catalogue content.
Core Architecture
Services Manager operates as a set of service catalogue objects stored under Resources > Services in Activate Studio. Each service contains:
- Service metadata (name, description, price, keywords).
- Request parameters (web forms, required fields, conditional logic).
- Approval configuration (manager, financial, service-level, or custom workflows).
- Provisioning tasks that run when a request is approved.
Activate Orchestrator executes tasks defined for each service. Tasks can call connectors, write to queues, update AD objects, manage cloud resources or submit tickets to integrated ITSM platforms.
Catalogue Structure
Each service catalogue item includes several key components:
- Attributes – descriptive details displayed to the user.
- Approval model – preconfigured or custom workflow logic.
- Request form – optional forms built for user input.
- Provisioning logic – tasks that create, update or remove access.
- Lifecycle behaviour – optional expiry, renewal and review logic.
Key Features for Implementers
Browse and Search
End users access catalogue items through the Activate Web Portal. Categories and keywords determine navigability. These functions require correct configuration of:
- Service categories.
- Search terms.
- Display attributes.
Delegated Catalogue Management
Services Manager supports delegated catalogue maintenance. With the correct roles, non-technical administrators can:
- Create new basic services.
- Update descriptions and pricing.
- Maintain web forms.
- Add or remove approvers.
- Unpublish services.
Complex services, or services requiring scripting, conditional logic or integrations must be configured in Activate Studio.
Approval Framework
Services Manager provides several default approval stages:
- Manager approval
- Financial approval
- Service-owner approval
These can be enabled, disabled or extended. Implementers can also assign a custom workflow if specialised routing or logic is required.
Approval routing supports:
- Forking logic for multiple users in one request.
- Multiple approvers at each stage.
- Business rule–based outcomes.
Request Execution
A request moves through four phases:
- Request intake – user selects service and completes any required form.
- Approval workflow – Activate processes each stage in sequence or in parallel.
- Provisioning – tasks execute automatically or create ITSM tickets.
- Completion – Activate records the outcome and notifies the requestor.
Provisioning tasks operate through the relevant Activate products such as User Manager, Distribution List Manager or Role & Entitlement Manager.
Supported Provisioning Targets
Services Manager can provision to a range of platforms when the relevant Activate products are installed. Examples include:
- Active Directory users, groups and contacts.
- Microsoft 365 users, licences and mailboxes.
- SCCM and other deployment tools.
- Web service–enabled applications.
- File systems (via Folder Manager).
- Cloud collaboration platforms.
Integrations rely on connectors configured in Activate Studio. Workflows can combine multiple provisioning systems for a single request.
Interactions with Other Activate Products
User Manager
Required for:
- Creating or modifying AD users.
- Managing Exchange mailboxes.
- Managing shared mailboxes.
Distribution List Manager
Required for:
- Provisioning and removing DL memberships.
Role & Entitlement Manager
Required when services need to be assigned based on departmental or location roles.
Service Desk Integration Manager
Required for customers who choose manual fulfilment or hybrid automation. Services Manager can create tickets automatically in supported ITSM systems.
Technical Considerations
Implementers must consider:
- Naming conventions for services.
- Consistent workflow patterns.
- Role assignments for service owners and approvers.
- Connector availability and required permissions.
- Error-handling behaviour and fallback paths.
- Lifecycle processes such as expiry and renewal.
When to Use Services Manager
Use Services Manager when:
- A service requires structured approval.
- Requests require customisable input forms.
- Access or resources need to be provisioned automatically.
- Delegated business administration is required.
- Auditable request tracking is needed.
If the service involves complex multi-step logic, multiple system integrations or conditional provisioning, configuration must be completed in Activate Studio instead of the Web Portal.