ITSM is more than service management; it’s a framework for supporting business needs. As new technology moves in and digital transformation takes hold, ITSM strategies must grow and adapt.
IT service management is a constantly evolving practice that adapts and grows with the pace of technology — or at least, a good ITSM strategy does. By being flexible enough to accommodate sudden and rapid changes, ITSM at leading organizations ensures service and support practices and processes continually align with transforming business needs.
“IT service management is not going away, but rather will continue to evolve to meet the needs of businesses. Emerging technologies may help streamline processes or automate change, but the need for managing services to the expectations of businesses will remain,” says David Rea, practice advisor of cloud infrastructure at SPR.
A push for automation
Automation has helped streamline IT support — especially when it comes to routine tasks such as ensuring tickets get routed to the correct person or department. With AI and machine learning, businesses can automate redundant work, so employees are free to focus on more complex tasks.
Businesses will need to make room for more automation and determine which tasks will benefit from AI or machine learning.
Open and collaborative work environments
As IT deploys more collaboration software, it’s easier for business units to interact with IT staff, check on the status of projects and collaborate directly with IT. Your ITSM strategy will need to accommodate an open work environment, where IT is more accessible to the organization than it has been in the past.
“An open work environment for IT teams increases visibility and understanding of recent releases the software team has shipped,” says Buffington.
Slow and steady ITSM strategies
If your ITSM strategy is lagging behind, you can’t expect it to adjust overnight. It takes time to rebuild and restructure your service management philosophy.
You’ll run into plenty of roadblocks along the way — especially when it comes to governance and compliance. But as long as you set firm business goals and stay on track, your ITSM strategy will eventually grow with your business.
Embracing agile for faster delivery
Businesses are embracing agile as a way to improve service management and to speed up software and product delivery times.
Agile adoption typically starts with smaller IT teams and spreads out to other business units and departments. With this method of “starting small and growing,” you can give everyone time to adjust to using agile in the workplace.
DevOps to bridge communication gaps
DevOps is a “set of practices that spans the entire pipeline from development to deployment,” and it’s driven by agile, according to Shaw. When used in ITSM, agile can help bridge communication between IT and developers, maintain consistency in performance and get IT on board early in the development process.
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