IT services are now more important than ever, and the complexity of these services has also increased due to the increasing integration of new technologies into IT infrastructure.
In addition, the growing need for secure solutions for remote work and uninterrupted connectivity have created unprecedented challenges in providing organizations with the resources they need to remain competitive. As a result, many companies are turning to IT service management (ITSM) to meet these needs.
ITSM is based on the principle that IT resources should function more as a service, rather than the traditional view that they’re products. This approach focuses on meeting user requirements and aligning IT systems with business objectives.
ITSM goes well beyond the basic IT functions that a support desk typically provides by encompassing all aspects of an organization’s IT, including the configuration of equipment, identifying service interruptions, and responding to disruptions.
This guide provides everything you need to know about ITSM, including its benefits, components, and frameworks.
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What is ITSM?
ITSM is the activities and processes used to design, deliver, manage, and improve IT services. This strategic approach also ensures IT services align with the company’s business needs through the use of various standardized practices and processes.
ITSM provides IT services throughout their lifecycle, in addition to designing and deploying them. The overall goals of this strategy include increased productivity and process efficiency, lower costs, and improved end-user satisfaction.
Popular ITSM frameworks
The framework that ITSM uses can profoundly affect the efficiency and utilization of IT services. Many options are currently available, with the most popular including frameworks associated with IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and DevOps. These models are currently some of the most important in the IT domain, and they have many features in common.
For example, ITSM frameworks are all highly focused on the delivery and management of IT services. However, they also have their own distinct set of principles and practices, based on specific business goals or industries. Some organizations may also use more than one framework, which can result in a complex interaction within their IT infrastructure.
Differences between ITSM and ITIL
ITIL is the most widely accepted approach to ITSM. It focuses on practices that align IT services with business objectives, especially when adapting existing infrastructures during digital transformation initiatives or scaling of operations.
The current version of ITIL as of 2024 is ITIL 4, which was released in 2019. This update requires most IT teams to make a paradigm shift, as it uses a holistic, customer-centric approach to ITSM that encourages greater flexibility in how team members work together. Additional principles of ITIL 4 include collaboration, feedback, and simplicity.
Some IT professionals believe ITIL is a set of rules for performing ITSM, but it’s really more of a set of guidelines that’s open to interpretation. While it does include the documentation of processes, it doesn’t need to generate an excessive amount of bureaucratic overhead. In addition, ITIL doesn’t require practitioners to hide behind processes or rules.
Differences between ITSM and DevOps
DevOps is an IT philosophy that emphasizes a close relationship between software development and IT operations, which have historically been separate aspects of IT.
While ITSM and ITIL primarily focus on service management, the main goal of DevOps is to shorten the software development lifecycle while also providing the continuous delivery of high-quality software. Its most significant features include the integration of development and operations (generally for the purpose of increasing automation), efficiency, and collaboration between these two teams.
Some analysts view DevOps as having a sharp contrast with ITSM, but the two approaches have significant commonalities. For example, they both focus on aligning IT with organizational goals and the importance of collaboration between teams. ITSM and DevOps also emphasize a user-centric mindset among team members.
ITSM common elements
Technology will always be an integral part of IT processes, but it isn’t the primary focus.
ITSM offers a more comprehensive domain with goals that also include business objectives with types of management like:
- Asset management,
- Service management,
- Change management,
- Incident management,
- Problem management,
- Knowledge management, and
- Configuration management.
Asset management
IT asset management (ITAM) tracks an organization’s assets, whether tangible or intangible. These actions include asset deployment, maintenance, upgrade, and disposal. Asset management also ensures that the organization uses assets correctly.
Service management
Service management is a repeatable process for handling any type of customer service request. Within the context of ITSM, these requests often include requests for access to applications, software updates, and hardware upgrades. These workflows often consist of recurring requests, so service management often benefits from automation and self-help resources.
Change management
ITSM uses change management to prioritize, approve, schedule, and execute changes to IT systems. These changes can directly impact the productivity of employees and their engagement with tasks, so they require the right practices for documenting changes. In addition, change management ensures that changes align with an organization’s goals.
Incident management
Incident management within the context of ITSM refers to the tracking and resolution of incidents that disrupt an organization’s operations. Its primary goal is to restore those operations as quickly as possible.
It commonly handles requests for new software, hardware or IT services, so incident management also involves the prioritization of incidents and their corresponding service requests based on organizational impact. This step allows IT staff to allocate resources to where they’re most needed.
Problem management
Problem management primarily consists of streamlining the workflow for investigating incidents, from detection to resolution. It uses many ITIL processes, including error control and problem control.
The goal of this ITSM component is to eliminate recurring incidents, which generally involves removing the effects from the IT infrastructure. Problem management thus stabilizes the IT environment, resulting in greater service reliability.
Knowledge management
Knowledge management is a crucial component of ITSM that includes the collection, organization, analysis, and distribution of knowledge for an organization. This information may include anything related to IT infrastructure, such as technical specifications, solutions to common problems, lessons learned, and best practices.
Knowledge management ensures that the right information is available to people when they need it. This improves collaboration, productivity, decision-making, risk reduction, and training.
Configuration management
Configuration management tracks an IT system’s configuration items for documentation, hardware, software, and personnel. These processes provide practitioners with reliable information on a system’s functioning, the relationships between an IT infrastructure, and the services it provides.
Configuration management therefore improves control over the infrastructure and ensures that it remains aligned with business needs.
ITSM benefits
ITSM connects an organization’s IT professionals to both internal and external users who require IT services. It also provides a structured approach to this process that offers many benefits for stakeholders such as IT departments and individual users.
These benefits include:
- Reduced costs,
- Improved IT support,
- Enhanced compliance,
- Better process scalability, and
- Faster incident detection and response.
Reduced costs
ITSM can significantly reduce operating costs for an organization through the visualization of workflows, which can improve operational efficiency and minimize waste. It also streamlines processes, reduces resource utilization and eliminates redundant tasks.
Improved IT support
ITSM generally requires around-the-clock support for IT infrastructure, resulting in improved employee productivity. It also provides guidance regarding the availability of IT services, reducing the barriers to requesting services while balancing IT bandwidth.
Enhanced compliance
Many ITSM frameworks align with legal requirements, assisting organizations in maintaining regulatory compliance. It also helps ensure that processes comply with industry-specific regulations, even when they aren’t legally required.
Better process scalability
ITSM makes IT processes more efficient, allowing organizations to handle and develop more processes without compromising on quality. It also allows those processes to scale more smoothly as an organization grows.
Faster incident detection and response
ITSM improves IT visibility, allowing personnel to anticipate problems more quickly and respond before a problem can escalate. This proactive approach also reduces downtime and its associated costs.
ITSM frameworks
ITSM frameworks provide structured approaches for guiding the management of an organization’s IT services. They include standardized practices, procedures and processes that assist organizations in consistently delivering quality IT services.
In addition, following one of these frameworks ideally ensures that their IT infrastructure remains aligned with business goals, makes optimal use of resources and continually improves its processes. Some frameworks will be a better fit for a given organization than others, often because some frameworks are specifically designed for a particular industry.
The most widely used ITSM frameworks include:
- ITIL,
- CMMI,
- COBIT,
- eTOM,
- TOGAF,
- Six Sigma, and
- ISO/IEC 20000.
ITIL
ITIL is probably the most widely used ITSM framework. It includes a set of best practices for ITSM, with an emphasis on the alignment of IT services with business needs. ITIL uses a modular approach to define the lifecycle of IT services. Most commonly adopted ITIL practices include the management of change, incidents, and problems.
Most organizations that follow ITIL implement service catalogs, including self-service. They also mapped high-performing services to ITIL processes, which helps keep employees productive and engaged. ITIL also helps ensure that an organization is addressing its business needs.
CMMI
Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is primarily designed to improve an organization’s processes through best practices in product development and maintenance. This ITSM framework is extremely effective in evaluating the maturity of processes, which improves product quality. CMMI is also easy to use, flexible, and intuitive, allowing practitioners to integrate it across multiple methodologies.
COBIT
Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) is an ITSM framework that provides comprehensive IT management and governance. It’s specifically designed for enterprises, but COBIT is effective and accessible for businesses of all sizes.
This framework focuses on aligning an organization’s IT goals with its strategic business objectives, especially the optimization of IT investments and regulatory compliance. COBIT also provides best practices and guidelines for IT governance and management. The greatest advantage of this framework over others is that it’s easy to use with other frameworks.
eTOM
The Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) is specifically designed for the telecommunications industry. It uses a comprehensive business-oriented approach to ITSM that provides standardized processes and a common language for efficiently providing high-quality telecom services.
TOGAF
The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) is an ITSM framework designed to develop efficient IT strategies by improving an organization’s IT architecture. It covers all phases of this process, including design, planning, implementation, and governance.
In addition, TOGAF facilitates communication across business areas. This framework also uses a methodology and resources that align an organization’s IT operations with its business strategy.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma uses a data-driven approach to ITSM designed to improve processes and maintain operational excellence. Its overall goal is to eliminate errors by quickly identifying their root causes, especially for manufactured products.
The identification and elimination of these errors focuses on reducing variability, increasing the efficiency and quality of IT services. The phases of Six Sigma include definition, measurement, analysis, improvement, and control (DMAIC).
ISO/IEC 20000
ISO/IEC 20000 is based on the British Standards Institute (BSI) 15000 framework as an international standard for ITSM. It outlines the requirements for improving an organization’s existing ITSM, including the planning, development, implementation, operation, and maintenance of IT components.
ISO/IEC 20000 also supports many other frameworks and approaches to ITSM, ensuring that an organization maintains quality standards while it also delivers consistent, reliable services.
What to consider when implementing ITSM in your company
Implementing an ITSM strategy and framework can substantially change the way in which an organization uses its IT functions to deliver value. This process requires careful planning to properly customize it, as ITSM frameworks aren’t intended as a one-size-fits-all solution.
A company must therefore consider its structure and other unique attributes before implementing an ITSM solution. These considerations include (but aren’t limited to) goals and bottlenecks, frameworks, and cultural or organizational shifts.
Goals and bottlenecks
Any organization that wants to implement ITSM should first identify the specific problems that it expects to overcome. This problem statement should describe the organization’s current state, including recurring issues and desired cost reductions.
An organization can also introduce processes that provide predictability when addressing these concerns. A thorough understanding of all goals and challenges is also highly useful for ensuring the ITSM implementation aligns with organizational needs.
Frameworks
Choosing the best framework is a key requirement for implementing ITSM. Important factors to consider include the organization’s specific goals and requirements for this process.
ITSM frameworks use a variety of methodologies targeting specific organizational needs. Selecting the right framework ensures it aligns with the problem statement and provides support for overall strategic objectives.
Cultural or organizational shifts
End users in an organization that implements ITSM should view their IT department as a service provider, rather than a product provider. This mindset may require a cultural shift, requiring substantial time and effort to accomplish. Major approaches for obtaining a service-oriented culture include clear communication, training, and ongoing support.
4 important considerations for choosing ITSM software
Choosing the right ITSM solution is crucial for allowing an IT department to seamlessly deliver across all departments within an organization. This investment helps streamline processes and promote collaboration, which is essential for improving operational efficiency.
Here are four features to look for when selecting an ITSM solution.
1. Simple setup and ease of use
An ITSM tool that’s difficult to set up may require more effort than it saves. Look for solutions with an intuitive, visual interface, fast implementation and deployment, and easily scalable improvements and expansion.
ITSM solutions should also be user-friendly to encourage their adoption throughout the organization. In addition, they should include a self-service portal that allows users to find reliable solutions and track the progress of problem resolution.
2. Adaptability and scalability
Today’s organizations are constantly changing, so ITSM solutions must be highly adaptable. In particular, it’s important to choose one that can handle rapid growth and process evolution. This capability allows an ITSM solution to continue offering value as an organization and its systems and processes evolve.
3. Total cost of ownership
The most important considerations for choosing an ITSM solution are usually financial, including its long-term effect on revenue and cost reduction. An ITSM solution’s total cost of ownership (TCO) includes the cost of its purchase, implementation, maintenance, support, and upgrades.
A TCO analysis helps ensure that the ITSM solution aligns with the organization’s budgetary constraints, resulting in a favorable return on investment (ROI).
4. Integrations
An ITSM solution should be able to integrate with an organization’s existing infrastructure. One way to enable this process is to choose a solution with an integration layer through an integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS), which can greatly improve service delivery.
An iPaaS allows an organization to pull systems in its tech stack into a single platform, so the ITSM platform can automate the mundane tasks that often overwhelm the service desk. These tasks typically include name changes, onboarding, offboarding, and password resets.
Another way to easily integrate an ITSM solution is to use a no-code/low-code (NCLC) platform. This approach allows anyone to benefit from it, even if they don’t have technical knowledge or coding experience. A NCLC platform empowers business teams to create their own workflows (in some cases, up to 85%), reducing IT dependency and improving operational efficiency.
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