IT Service Management: what is it and what is it for? 

IT service management, often referred to as ITSM (IT service management), is the set of policies and practices for the implementation, provision, and management of IT services capable of satisfying a company’s needs. 

The main purpose of the ITSM approach is to enable and maintain optimal management of each individual IT resource, in line with the company’s strategic objectives. 

All this entails the need to define the correct sizing of resources, including processes, technologies, roles and skills. In defining the best strategy, it also outlines the roles and responsibilities of each figure and department relating to IT services. The main benefits for the organization are to increase productivity, reduce business costs and improve Customer Satisfaction. 

What is do we mean with IT service? 

An IT asset is a generic term for hardware, software systems, or information that is important to your business. 

It is important to note that an organization’s IT resources have a limited period of use. To maximize the value that an IT resource can generate, it is therefore necessary to proactively manage its life cycle. 

Each organization has the possibility of defining specific phases of the life cycle according to its internal needs, however there are some general aspects that all companies have in common such as planning, procurement, distribution, maintenance, and collection. 

IT process management: ITSM, ITIL and DevOps 

ITSM 

ITSM is an IT service management framework that provides various capabilities for business. In fact, it defines operational procedures, techniques, and support services with the aim of defining its ITSM strategy. How a team approaches ITSM can be structured to align with ITIL practices and influenced by DevOps concepts. 

ITIL 

ITIL is the approach most widely associated with ITSM. ITIL focuses on practices to align IT services with business needs. 

The recent update of the ITIL standards (ITIL 4), represents a paradigm shift for IT teams, orienting them towards an increasingly customer value-based approach, encouraging a more flexible and efficient methodology. 

DevOps 

DevOps combines development (Dev) and operations (Ops) with the aim of integrating an organization’s traditional processes more efficiently. A more agile software development lifecycle translates into a competitive advantage for companies and their customers. 

ITSM software: advantages and functions 

ITSM brings various advantages to companies that invest in it, in terms of increased productivity and efficiency. A scientific approach to service management allows you to align the IT department with company objectives, standardizing processes, resources, and results, thus leading to improved customer experience and satisfaction. 

Some of the most common benefits introduced by ITSM include: 

• Reduction of first level support costs; 
• Reduction in help desk call volume; 
• Efficiency of the provision of IT services; 
• Improvement of User Experience and satisfaction. 

ITSM processes and services 

ITIL 4 recently moved from recommending ITSM “processes” to introducing ITSM “practices”. This change in approach better reflects the realities of modern businesses, as new elements such as: technology, knowledge base and data management are taken into consideration. 

Some of the key ITSM capabilities are listed below: 

Knowledge management 

Knowledge management is the process of creating, sharing, using, and managing knowledge and information about a product, service, department, or topic. 

In other words, the knowledge base is the foundation of knowledge management practices. Knowledge management helps you create, curate, share, use and manage knowledge across your entire enterprise and across all industries. 

IT asset management 

IT asset management (also known as ITAM) concerns the process of analyzing the costs, maintenance, and life cycles of IT assets. 

The correct management of IT assets is not an occasional activity, but it is a process that teams perform regularly or following changes in resources, objectives and tools. 

It includes some important aspects in management such as: inventory resource definition, life cycle costing, tracking, maintenance, and financial planning. 

Enterprise Service Management

Enterprise service management, often referred to by the acronym ESM, refers to the expansion of traditional IT service management (ITSM) principles to enable better integration between service delivery and business objectives. 

To simplify the concept, an example of ESM is the creation of a service desk that can be leveraged by everyone in the organization. ESM is based on IT workflows, to better manage the demand and distribution of services through a dedicated tool. 

Incident management 

According to Wikipedia’s definition: business continuity refers to the ability of an organization to continue to provide products or services at predefined acceptable levels following an incident. 

This aspect becomes crucial in the correct management of every modern business. 

Problem management 

Problem management is the process of identifying and managing the causes of incidents within an IT service. Problem management is not just about recognizing and resolving critical issues, but also about identifying and understanding the causes and their best resolution. 

Change management 

Change management is an IT practice designed to minimize the impact of risk and IT service disruption when changes are made to IT systems and infrastructure. 

Change management practices are designed to reduce contingencies and meet regulatory standards to ensure efficient and timely management of changes to IT infrastructure and code. 

ITSM software: choose Deepser as your strategic partner! 

As stated before, ITSM software enables IT teams to align with business needs and take a strategic approach to change, transformation and growth. There is a wide variety of ITSM software tools available on the market, from standalone applications to platform services. 

Deepser is modular and scalable software that offers you the right tools, at fair prices, to better manage your IT infrastructure, and more. 

For more information, try the free demo!