Have you ever taken a minute to wonder how all the information technology services
rendered to billions of people all over the world are organized? Have you thought about
how these services alongside billions of data points are managed efficiently? This
process is called IT service management or ITSM. Let’s find out what ITSM is, how it
works, and how you can efficiently implement it in your organization.
IT service management is basically the planning, strategy and formation behind how an IT
company renders IT services to their customers. It describes the approach these
companies take in order to make their services top-notch to individuals and businesses.
One important part of IT Service Management is the development of these strategies,
formation and services over time. These companies do not just emerge and get everything
done all at once. They take time to understand user needs, new technologies, new
strategies and more so they can develop and be better at their game which is why people
and technologies are very vital parts of ITSM.
There are a lot of reasons why ITSM is important. It serves as They a balancing beam to
strike an ideal or perfect balance between the effort and aim of IT companies with that
of individuals and businesses.
They coordinate and develop the activities and procedures carried out by IT companies to
ensure that their end users (individuals and companies) get only the best out of their
services and correct the inevitable errors as soon as they surface or resurface as the
case may be.
They also help in the promotion of transparency, honesty and accountability between IT
companies and their end users through their highly strategic and systematized system.
These and more is why ITSM is important for you and your business.
There are many important internet service management processes for us to
consider.
1. Configuration Management:
This refers to the brainwork and physical aspect of the IT services the company is to
render.
2. Change Management:
As its name implies, it is all the steps, precautions and methods taken to manage every
change that has ever occurred, is occurring and will still occur in the process of
rendering IT Services.
3. Release Management:
This is the process of testing, verifying and releasing all changes made to the IT
Services. It is first tested and verified before its release so as to ensure quality
service.
4. Problem Management:
This is a daily routine that takes place to ensure services are back to normal in no
time whenever any threat or problem is being faced by end users. It is important to know
that no matter how developed an IT system might be, it is always prone to hacks, attacks
from viruses and more hence why this process is very important to any IT Service
Company.
5. Capacity Management:
This is another very vital process of ITSM as it deals with the optimization, management
and utilization of resources. If managed badly, there can be no future goals for the
company but if managed properly, the company will have more than enough resources to
build and develop.
6. Service Level Management:
Ever been on a customer service call and you are told that the call is being recorded
for quality and assurance purpose? That is the exact description of this ITSM process.
It is to ensure, improve and maintain the quality of service rendered to customers of
the IT Company.
7. Project Management:
This ITSM process is there to ensure IT companies avoid problems like outdated or fake
systems. They are responsible for the originality and up-to-date systems used to render
IT services to end users.
8. Knowledge Management:
This process is basically there to help the company avoid duplicate work and to know the
exact amount of information needed at any point in time.
1. They are very popular for cutting down the expenses of IT companies which in turn
helps them maximize the profits they gain from their investment and to have more in
their budget for other purposes which could include expansion of their services and
more.
2. They clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the various departments of IT
Companies.
3. They Improve Relationship and Customer Service experience between The IT Companies
and End Users.
4. They offer exquisite and top-notch services at pocket-friendly cost just to ensure
their end-users are satisfied and keep coming back for more.
5. They help to Identify Problems and Create Speedy Solutions to them.
Like we stated earlier, their services are not perfect but are also prone to some
challenges which include:
1. Difficulty of team adaptation. It is not just easy to get into a new team and adapt
even as professionals.
2. Regulatory compliance is very hard to maintain. The maintenance of regulatory
compliance in these IT Firms give even the best of the best hands a lot of
issues.
3. Security concerns play a big part in their challenges as people could try to hack
into their services.
4. There is no visibility among team members and there is little or zero coordination
among developers.
The following are some tips you can practice improving your ITSM:-
1. Learn your framework which includes bringing together all the documents required to
improve decisions of the management.
2. Do not wait for the best time to implement your services. Have it at the back of your
mind that every time is actually the best time.
3. A very key practice is for you to study your customers and know exactly what they
want, how you can improve on your services and how you can distribute it to your
audience. Always remember that without them, your business cannot exist.
There are a few metrics for IT service
management that you should consider. These
include:
1. End-user or customer satisfaction
2. Availability of service
3. Time available to resolve issues
4. Score given by Net Promoter
5. Cost of each contact
Like any other venture, IT services needs tools to function properly and efficiently.
Some of these tools include: Zendesk Support Suite, Fresh Service, Solar Winds Service
Desk, SysAid, Jira Service Management and ServiceNow.
Basically, ITIL is the most reliable and successful framework of ITSM. Infrastructure
library was once the full meaning till it was outgrown several decades later. In
essence, one of the reasons ITSM is successful is because it has ITIL as its
backbone.
The aims of ITIL includes promoting efficiency in business and the smooth and effective
organization of businesses so that they are not drawn back or hindered by the several IT
goals they have set for themselves but are now pushed forward by focused IT management.
ITIL is still very current as its latest iteration, ITIL 4 still premiered as at April
2019. It’s core comprises of the four dimensions model and the service value
system.
This is not an easy question to answer. In a few years if not sooner, ITSM would
certainly be at the center of every companies’ daily operations. Not only does ITSM
increase IT efficiency and process implementation based on industry practices, but it
also increases value and reduces impact on organizations. The future of ITSM will
revolve around the maturity of your overall IT team, the problems you are trying to
solve, as well as the framework you choose to achieve the right structure.
ITSM is very important for many companies to succeed in the delivery of solutions to
their clients. Through our IT consulting practice at Inventive IT, we strive to help
organizations create value by delivering first class services to their clients. Find out
more about how Inventive IT can assist in your IT service management needs by
contacting us today.
