Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) is an established set of well-defined Services that focuses on managing IT infrastructure, business components, applications, and associated processes. Many industry groups have well-defined recommendations on the services, and processes called frameworks, that can be used to solve varied business needs or requirements.
When appropriately applied, ITSM solutions help IT Operations teams to successfully manage progressively more complex, hybrid environments and accelerate the delivery of Cloud services. These solutions provide advanced automation, performance management, and orchestration abilities.
IT service management (ITSM Software) consists of the activities, tools, processes, and policies that businesses and other organizations use to deliver IT services. Although many of the best practices and models that are used for delivering IT services are beginning to spill over to other departments, (such as HR and finance), IT remains the most dominant use case for service management frameworks.
ITSM characteristically involves the following:
Techniques, tools, and processes through which IT departments support and empower their environment to deliver business services
Framework by which efficiency and IT service value are measured
Assistance for Agile and Waterfall DevOps integration
Assistance both engineering and operations domains
Applicable to both pre-production and production environments
ITSM emphasizes approaches that are led by processes. These processes consist of set best practices and are called frameworks. An ITSM framework focuses on services rather than systems – unlike other IT disciplines such as network management, which is more focused on technology.
ITSM framework refers to the collective processes and practices that are needed to manage and support Information Technology services. ITSM framework supports the full spectrum of IT services - right from network, application, and complete business services, in a vendor-independent manner. Several ITSM frameworks and standards such as ITIL, IT4IT, eTOM, or COBIT contribute to defining standard operation techniques and supporting services within establishments while providing value and efficiency gain for the IT operation teams.
Along with frameworks such as DevOps, Lean, and Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT), the most popular and widely used ITSM framework is called ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). ITIL aims at improving IT delivery to support multiple business objectives.
Enterprises across the world every so often leverages ITIL and other frameworks together in conjunction with a service desk to manage their service delivery needs. Each framework has its own range of possibilities and distinctive approaches catering to an organization’s unique challenges. Here are some of the popular frameworks implemented alongside ITIL:
Although there is no sanctioned affiliation between ISO 20000 and ITIL, ISO 20000 basically draws on ITIL principles. Although not noticeably stated in ISO2000 standards, preparing an IT enterprise for ISO 20000 certification normally involves disseminating ITIL principles.
The COBIT IT governance framework and supporting toolset are developed by ISACA. ISACA views ITIL as a framework that counterparts COBIT. While COBIT offers governance and assurance, ITIL provides supervision for service management.
As a collective effort, TeleManagment Forum and itSMF built an Application Note to eTOM (GB921) that shows how the two frameworks can be charted with each other. It elucidates how eTom process elements and flows can support the processes identified in ITIL.
FitSM is a standard for lightweight service management. This ITIL process framework is relatively similar to that of ISO 20000 of ITIL Version 2 but includes Service Portfolio Management from later ITIL versions.
DevOps uses the methodology of cross-functional teams, stimulated by open communication. The DevOps framework brings together an unattached set of principles that are united, depending on the business needs of an enterprise.
Scaled Agile Framework lets the application of the Agile structure be used by software development teams by scaling Agile on bigger applications. SAFe empowers a single, all-inclusive view of the complete process.
IT4IT uses a value chain approach to produce a model of the functions accomplished by IT to help organizations detect and classify the activities contributing to business success. IT4IT also focuses on the mandatory technical competencies to support the IT function, as an alternative of the activities and processes defined by ITIL.
Knowing the most popular frameworks and processes other organizations implement helps to understand that multiple options are always available to meet IT service delivery needs. A list of the more universally used frameworks and processes helps shape an organization's choices to determine its own ITSM strategy.
Knowing which frameworks and processes are more viable and popular is important for those looking for a solid career graph in ITSM or IT support. It also helps identify potential employers or customers. For example, while ITIL is a colossal name in ITSM frameworks, it is worth knowing that Microsoft Operations Framework and DevOps are making a reputable name for themselves as worthy contenders.
Many C-suite leaders express frustration as their teams try to end the disorder with restricted guidance and direction due to the lack of a framework to manage IT services. IT departments struggle to deliver timely IT services, and employees face disruptive services which hinder their everyday work. A robust ITSM framework like ITIL can help an organization close this unremitting cycle, emphasizing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and higher Returns On Investment (ROI).
Successfully adopting ITIL with IT Service Management (ITSM) enables to deliver the following:
A streamlined approach to delivering IT services
Improved employee/customer satisfaction
Improved ROI of IT
Lowered total cost of operations (TCO)
Enhanced delivery of third-party services through the specification of ITIL®.
Improved agent productivity, skill, and competencies
Reduced training costs
Increased staff retention
Reduced hidden costs
A better view of IT spending, costs, and assets
Greater ability to manage and curtail business risk, service interruption, or failure
Reduced redundant work through workflow automation capabilities
Measurable performance indicators for benchmarking and direction
Any ITIL process or ITIL framework is varied and comprises many aspects of IT. Instead of introducing the full set of ITIL references together, it is imperative for an organization to pinpoint what needs to be addressed with immediate effect and begin there.
ITIL provides guidance that can be reviewed to suit the needs of a certain organization – not as a rigid book of rules. Here are three common methodologies for establishments implementing ITIL:
Providing Better Support - focused on IT offering better support to users
Enabling Business Change - providing a governance and reassurance role
Providing Better Services -provide data for CSI initiatives of an organization, as well as warranting that relevant service level targets are achieved actively.
Developed by the British government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) during the 1980s, the ITIL primarily comprised over 30 books outlining the best practices in information technology gathered from many sources. ITIL's reliability and utility augmented over the years, and in 2005 its practices contributed to and were associated with the ISO/IEC 20000 Service Management standard - the first international standard for IT service management.
Since 2013, ITIL is owned by Axelos — a joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Capita. Axelos permits businesses the license to use the ITIL framework while handling ITIL process changes and updates.
Several amendments have been made to the ITIL – In 2000, the original 30 books of the ITIL were first abridged to seven books, and later combined into five volumes containing 26 ITIL processes and functions. 2011 another update — ITIL 2011 — was published under the Cabinet Office. ITIL 4, which was released in 2019, focuses on automating ITIL processes, refining service management, and integrating the IT department into the business. It accommodates and responds appropriately to modern technology tools and software. ITIL processes and frameworks have made IT teams indispensable to businesses, helping them become more agile, holistic, and flexible.
ITIL consists of nine directorial principles for organizational change management, communication, and measurement & metrics. These principles embrace:
Focus on value
Design for experience
Start where you are
Work holistically
Progress iteratively
Observe directly
Be transparent
Collaborate
Keep it simple
ITIL processes boost teamwork between IT and other departments, mainly as other business units increasingly rely on technology to complete tasks. ITIL also highlights customer feedback, as it is easier than ever for companies to comprehend their public insight, contentment or discontent.
ITIL framework ideas include the delivery of valued service offerings, as well as catering to customer needs, and accomplishing business goals of the said organization. Regardless of the individuality of each organization, ITIL offers guidelines for achieving these goals and measuring success with KPIs.
ITSM processes that are defined below par have often resulted in a rift between traditional IT organizations and their frontrunners. However, no common approach or a single solution exists to outline and implement IT management processes. Businesses and service providers need to gauge their goals and costs, resource limits, and organizational principles to decide the right processes that are most hands-on to adopt.
Applying ITIL processes that suit business needs bridges the business and the IT team. ITIL consists of five basic publications with best practices for every phase of the IT service lifecycle:
1. ITIL Service Strategy—plans business goals and customer requirements
2. ITIL Service Design—transitioning plans into action items to help the business
3. ITIL Service Transition—applying services within the business ecosystem
4. ITIL Service Operation—describes key processes associated with the IT service management
5. ITIL Continual Service Improvement—helps ITIL users apprise and bring in IT service enhancements
ITIL’s acceptance is part of the reason why it gets mixed up with ITSM. ITIL is the default ITSM framework. It represents everything in the ITSM description above. However, ITSM explains the “what”, while ITIL explains the “how”. Implementing ITIL processes and gaining ITIL certification offers substantial business benefits. These benefits include managing service disruptions, building value-based relationships by delivering services that meet end-user demand, and augmenting service efficiency, employee efficiency, and business value while decreasing service overheads.
ITIL is the ITSM framework used by organizations of all sizes, across several industry verticals, and in nations across the world. While it is common to see ITIL as the most frequently adopted ITSM framework among large enterprises, it brings value to small and mid-sized organizations too. Smaller companies often implement only a subcategory of ITIL processes that are observed to offer the most substantial or perceptible return on investment. According to a study by Macquarie University, the three ITIL processes with the maximum adoption rates amongst those organizations that have incorporated ITIL were Incident Management (95% of respondents), Change Management (88%), and Problem Management (71 percent).
Narrowing down the right ITSM framework should result from carefully evaluating the organization’s business goals, IT service management needs, operating costs, available resources, and practicality. Once you choose the ITSM framework of your choice, the next step is to choose an IT helpdesk/service desk solution. This is your organization's most critical investment as part of your ITSM strategy.
It can be quite a daunting task to choose the right ITSM solution for your business. But we’ve made that process easy for you. With everything detailed above, Freshservice, a right-sized ITSM solution could be the best fit for your business. Freshservice is Freshworks’s intelligent, right-sized, cloud-native service management solution. It takes a fresh approach to building and delivering modern employee experiences and unified service management —empowering businesses to achieve efficiency, fast time-to-value, and improved employee satisfaction, and productivity.
Freshservice provides an out-of-the-box, end-to-end consumer-grade experience that empowers employees to work anywhere, anytime. Built on the latest ITIL version, Freshservice provides top IT processes like incident, problem, change, and release management, in addition to IT asset management, configuration management, project management, service level agreements (SLAs), and service request management. With AI-powered automation capabilities, it provides efficiency and agility and helps drive your digital transformation efforts through contextual, intelligent experiences. It powers integrations and workflows at the enterprise scale, building upon an open platform and marketplace with connectors and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to extend and customize. Enterprises using Freshservice will realize higher ROI, efficiency, and effectiveness.
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