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What is ITSM?
What is ITSM? This blog will define IT Service Management, what kind of processes and frameworks are involved, and the value of ITSM. Read on to learn more.
What is ITSM (IT Service Management)?
IT Service Management (ITSM) involves delivering technology-related support to businesses who may be struggling to keep their devices secure, efficient and up-to-date.
If you’re considering whether or not IT Service Management is something your business could benefit from, this blog will explain in depth what could be involved and how it could help you reduce maintenance costs while staying competitive and innovative.
We will cover the following subjects:
After this, you should have a clear understanding of not only what ITSM is, but how it is applied and how you can get the most out of it.
ITSM Frameworks
Defining IT management can be difficult, because it is a broad term that encompasses a lot of different ideas.
In order to offer businesses a structured solution for their IT infrastructural problems, there are different frameworks that IT service managers might adopt. Each has a slightly different focus, so understanding the differences between these frameworks will help you understand what you’re in need of.
Here are some services you might hear about in conjunction with ITSM:
Difference between ITSM and ITIL
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a set of practices for ITSM - it is specifically useful for companies delivering IT services, analysing everything from the service strategy to service operations to identify opportunities for improvement and create a higher-quality offering. This set of best practices has been in place since the 1980s, and you can find certification bodies that train people around ITIL specifically.
Difference between ITSM and DevOps
These are both IT service practices, but ITSM and DevOps take quite different approaches to improving services and processes. While ITSM generally uses traditional auditing and risk management processes to identify opportunities for improving, DevOps has a keener focus on how a business can be structured so that development changes can be implemented at a faster pace. The primary concerns of DevOps are speed and innovation.
Difference between ITSM and ESM
ITSM and ESM (Enterprise Service Management) are very different managed services. Where one digs into technology and a company’s IT infrastructure, the other has a much wider scope and focuses on all facets of a company. While the IT department might be considered with ESM, other departments including HR, marketing, and finance are also assessed to create a more holistic improvement plan.
ITSM Processes
In the same vein that there are different ITSM and service management frameworks you could adopt depending on your company’s unique needs, there are also different processes you can adopt once you know the specific areas of your IT infrastructure you want to improve.
Here are a few examples.
- Service Request Management
This focuses on customer enquiries and helps IT services better respond to and fulfill their requests. For companies struggling to manage incoming requests, or looking to standardise how they respond, Service Request Management is extremely useful. Services like Hybrid Mail or Telecoms Solutions might be recommended to help. - IT Asset Management
This process hones in on an organisation’s IT assets (hardware, and software) and ensures that they are deployed, maintained, updated and disposed of when necessary. Services like DaaS (Device as a Service) use IT Asset Management processes. - Knowledge Management
This process is all about controlling how important information is organised, disseminated and used across an organisation - if employees are struggling to find the information they need, or there are concerns that important information is too easy to access for unauthorised parties, Knowledge Management processes can be employed to fix these issues. Services like Document Management and Cloud Working may come into play. - Incident Management
These processes are designed to resolve issues that might disrupt an organisation’s operations and services, whether it’s by improving their cyber security or creating a formal, consistent process on how to respond to incidents so they are taken care of quickly and efficiently.
IT service managers will work with their clients when considering ITSM processes, assessing which processes they could benefit the most from and tailoring their strategy around that.
What is the value of ITSM?
The value of ITSM is that it offers both fantastic short-term results and establishes sustainable changes that benefit the structure and culture of the organisation long-term.
Short-term, IT service management cuts maintenance costs down significantly, guaranteeing fast fixes if you experience problems with your devices and hardware. This, in turn, frees up your IT department to focus on more valuable, impactful tasks. Your staff are producing more profitable work, and you can feel confident that your devices are secure, efficient and running as they should.
At the same time, working with IT service managers encourages your company’s leadership to adopt a growth mindset and challenge the infrastructures and processes in place if they don’t seem to be as efficient as they could be. This is key to embracing digital transformation and staying competitive and in touch with what your customers need for a long time.
To find out more about digital transformation, read our blogs on Why Digital Transformation is Important and the Benefits of Digital Transformation.
What are ITSM Best Practices?
If you decide that ITSM is for you, here is how it might work.
IT service management companies like Apogee will perform a full technology audit, digging into your current processes and devices, and develop a personalisation solution designed to address your top priorities and aid your KPIs. This will also be tailored to the unique needs your organisation may face, depending on which sector you’re in.
Once you have agreed on specific IT solutions like Buy Back IT, your IT service managers will install all the new hardware and software involved, and then they will monitor it regularly for health and security updates, intervening when updates and repairs are due. The life-cycle of every device is accounted for.
You can bring in an ITSM company as a short-term solution to dismantle and rebuild your IT infrastructure, or as a long-term solution to keep your IT infrastructure fully-optimised for the length of the partnership. To find out more, explore Apogee’s Managed IT Services or use the contact form below.
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