For organizations and businesses to provide IT services to their clients, many different moving parts need to work together effectively. From service design, technology development and product delivery, IT teams must manage a wide range of tasks and ensure that each part of the service delivery workflow is executed successfully. Information technology service management can help.
What is ITSM?
ITSM, or information technology service management, is a tactical approach to IT management that defines the roles and tasks required for each step of IT service design, delivery and improvement. This approach can improve processes for providing IT services to customers. IT service management tools include features that can standardize procedures, simplify process orchestration and facilitate communication between tech pros and end users.
ITSM vs. ITIL
People often confuse ITSM and ITIL because both relate to IT service management concepts. However, ITSM describes the entire approach to managing IT services in an organization; it includes all policies and processes for managing IT operations and service functions.
ITIL, or Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a specific framework of best practices for IT service management. The ITIL framework includes a group of documents that inform readers of recommended processes for developing an ITSM solution that will reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Basic concepts of ITSM
While different ITSM structures may have unique approaches to the IT management process, many of them follow formats that include similar elements. The most important concepts of ITSM include improving IT management processes with an emphasis on customer satisfaction and establishing performance-based goals.
Maintaining a customer-centric approach
Successful ITSM structures must consider the customer in all areas of IT service management processes; this requires improving the customer experience while resourcefully and cost-effectively organizing service delivery. Therefore, an ITSM methodology should function as a framework with the primary objective of delivering improved customer service.
Using KPIs
Monitoring KPIs can help organizations determine where their business stands in performance and development and where it can be improved. KPIs such as customer reviews and sales can also help to determine an organization’s overall customer satisfaction.
Developing achievable business goals
While an overarching goal of any good ITSM model is to provide excellent customer service, organizations should develop smaller goals based on quality, performance and other business metrics. Adherence to business goals for budgeting and resourcing can enable an organization to thrive and mitigate risks.
Promoting collaboration
ITSM structures consist of different tasks and different professionals, so coordination between internal departments is essential for supporting IT service management initiatives. In addition, ITSM structures should include collaboration between IT and development teams and include customer feedback for consideration when developing tactics for process improvement.
Enable customer self-service functions
In a society driven by the desire for instant gratification, the time it takes to respond to customer requests is crucial. Providing customers with self-service functions can enable an organization to meet customer needs quickly through automation. ITSM tools can be helpful for this purpose, as many of these software solutions include automated self-service features for customers.
Benefits of using ITSM
ITSM solutions and processes can provide many benefits for organizations that use them. ITSM tools and techniques often contain similar technologies or features that enhance IT service structures and offer more significant organizational benefits.
Better service request management
A critical factor in delivering good IT service management is the proper handling of service requests. Effective service request management ensures that each request is addressed on time by assigning tickets that include relevant information about the situation and the workflow to resolve it, so no tickets slip under radar.
Ability to address problems and manage incidents
Incident management skills help users address IT problems that occur and minimize their impact. Problem management features in ITSM tools can help IT teams document the error resolution process and develop solutions; many solutions have the ability to identify future risks, take a proactive approach to solve them and reduce the severity of their effects.
Faster end-user satisfaction
ITSM technology can lead to faster end-user satisfaction. Customers can quickly take multiple incident resolution actions through various channels, including using self-service portals, including submitting service requests, chatting with IT professionals and access to knowledge bases for information on common IT issues.
Insights from data analytics and reporting
Users can generate reports on detected and predicted critical factors related to performance and customer satisfaction. Generating these reports can help organizations reach data-driven insights and enable them to develop actionable decisions.
Defined roles and workflow management
Workflow management through defined roles and procedures will help to determine the sequence of tasks required throughout the service process and allocate tasks to ensure smooth operation and maintain individual user on track.
Direct asset management
Asset management helps IT teams track every device and add-on involved in the ITSM environment. Equipment and devices can easily go missing if organizations can’t track them, which can cause a data security breach if that technology falls into the wrong hands.
Better license management
IT departments handle many software tools that enable them to fulfill their duties, and keeping track of software licenses is important. License management describes processes for managing this information by tracking software usage and checking software license certificates to ensure they are compliant and no licenses have expired.
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ITSM software
The implementation of ITSM processes within an organization can be significantly simplified by using ITSM software tools. These ITSM tools support IT teams and end users with processes involved in strategizing IT service operations.
ITSM software can provide many capabilities that support IT teams. For example, workflow management capabilities in ITSM solutions use automation to organize and deliver service processes through refined roles and procedures. Another popular feature is service request management, also called ticketing, which helps to organize, document and assign service requests. For example, Zendesk provides a customer service solution that enables internal and external teams to collaborate on challenging tickets.
These ITSM solutions also help users perform tasks required for security and compliance processes such as asset management and license management. Incident management features can make it easier for users to resolve IT problems, detect risks and mitigate their impact. For example, ClickUp offers an ITSM template with features to help IT teams with incident management, problem management, change management, simple asset management and even knowledge management.
In addition, ITSM tools support users in satisfying customer concerns. For example, ITSM systems with data analytics and reporting technology use data related to key performance indicators to reach insights and help IT teams improve their operations. And, features like self-service portals allow users to quickly address their IT service concerns and take control into their own hands, improving their overall satisfaction. ServiceNow’s ITSM tool provides automated service to customers through a chatbot tool they can use to address common questions and get immediate resolution.