IT service catalog explained

The hum of servers and the rapid click-clack of keyboards are the soundtracks of an IT organization. A world where the sheer volume of service requests and the diversity of user needs make every day a formidable jigsaw puzzle. In such a vibrant world, the IT Service Catalog emerges as the linchpin — a solution that alleviates the relentless pressure by orchestrating seamless service delivery and operations.

What is an IT service catalog?

The IT Service Catalog is a consolidated directory offering a panoramic view of IT services within an organization. It is the central hub where organizations meticulously enlist available IT services, detailing how to procure them and bringing clarity and ease to the intricate world of IT. It is the pivotal point of interaction between IT service providers and users, aiding in the seamless navigation and procurement of IT services, and refining the overall user experience.

This catalog embodies a spectrum of IT services that an organization extends to its employees or customers, functioning as the single, unambiguous source for discovering the available services in an organized and intuitive manner. The catalog transcends being just a list. It’s a strategic enabler, allowing users to send concise, clear, and relevant requests, ultimately paving the way for enhanced productivity and mutual understanding between IT professionals and users. It’s crafted to include internal services, vetted external supplies, and composite services. Each bundled to meet diverse needs, sometimes conforming to ITIL best practices or being listed as ITSM, depicting its versatility and expansive nature.

Service requests

Service requests are integral elements of any service catalog. They are formal pleas from users for provisions, like information or advice, enabling end-users to access services from IT, HR, finance, legal, and more via the service catalog. However, the line between service requests and incidents is often blurred. 

Below are different examples of service requests:

• Hardware provisioning

• Software installation

• Access permissions

• Email account creation

• IT support and troubleshooting

It’s important to keep service request best practices in mind when adopting an IT Service Catalog protocol within your organization.

IT service catalog vs. service portfolio

The IT Service Catalog and the Service Portfolio are siblings in the IT world. The catalog is the proactive, user-centric component, focusing on active and requestable services. Conversely, the service portfolio is a comprehensive repository, housing services in varied states—active, in development, or retired.

The Service Catalog concentrates on actualizing service delivery, spotlighting available business services, and possibly incorporating those from external vendors. However, the service portfolio dives deeper, encapsulating all organizational services, irrespective of their availability, offering a panoramic view of services across their lifecycle.

In the service portfolio, expect to find:

• Unreleased Services: Those currently under development

• Retired Services: Those that are no longer available

When services are revamped, the catalog showcases the new versions, retiring the antiquated ones.

IT service catalog vs. self-service portal

The Self-Service Portal is the façade through which users interact with the IT Service Catalog. It’s a specialized arena allowing users to autonomously untangle their issues and satisfy their requests, amplifying IT teams’ efficacy and utility.

While an integral part of the IT Service Catalog, a Self-Service Portal empowers users to sift through guides, access pivotal information, raise IT tickets, and communicate with their IT team. It’s a reservoir of actionable user information that is just a click away, diverging from the service catalog that predominantly lists available services.

However, the differentiation doesn’t sideline the synchronization between the two. They usually operate in unison, with the service catalog nestling within the ITSM/ITIL self-service portal, demonstrating their intertwined existence.

What does an ITIL service catalog contain?

An ITIL service catalog is a structured compilation aligned with the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework, designed to offer a cohesive and comprehensive overview of an organization's IT services.

This catalog bridges IT service providers and their users, presenting a clear portrait of available services, their features, and the means to access them. Conforming to ITIL standards ensures a standardized approach to IT service management, focusing on delivering value to businesses and their customers.

The common categories typically contained within an ITIL service catalog include:

• Email and Calendar Services: Offering organization, scheduling, and communication services to enhance workflow efficiency.

• Hardware: Provisioning and managing physical devices and equipment necessary for organizational operations.

• Software and Applications: Providing access to essential software, tools, and applications to meet varied operational needs.

• Network Access: Ensuring secure and reliable connectivity to facilitate seamless information exchange.

• Support Resources: Offering helpdesk and support services to efficiently address issues, inquiries, and service requests.

• Training and Development: Delivering learning resources, workshops, and training sessions to foster continuous learning and skill enhancement.

• Business and Finance Services: Managing financial transactions, budgeting, and other business-related services to streamline organizational finances.

Why do you need an IT service catalog?

An IT service catalog is pivotal—it bridges users and the IT services they seek. It’s a driving force for seamless service delivery, promoting precision and swift responses and fostering a proactive approach to IT management. It’s akin to the user interface of an e-commerce website, where users can browse, understand, and select the services they require with ease and clarity.

IT Service Catalog Benefits include:

• Streamlined Communication: It eradicates redundancy in interactions, focusing on pertinent inquiries and ensuring efficient workflows.

• Optimized Costs: IT departments can allocate resources effectively to business-critical services by analyzing demand and user behaviors.

• Standardization of Services: It presents clear, specific workflows for each service, streamlining inquiries and actions simultaneously.

• User Empowerment: Coupled with a user-centric self-service portal, it educates users to resolve common issues independently.

• Continual Service Improvements (CSI): It aids in constantly evolving and optimizing services through meticulous tracking, reporting, and analysis.

Examples of IT service catalog use cases

To see how IT service catalogs make a real difference, let’s look at how they’ve worked for different kinds of businesses. These IT Service Catalog examples show the real, practical benefits of having a well-implemented IT Service Catalog in place.

• TEn Insurance: enhancing customer self-service

TEn Insurance uses Freshworks to manage many customer needs efficiently. They find the service catalog and knowledge base especially helpful for elevating customer experience. This feature lets customers type in an issue via a self-service portal and find a solution without needing to create a ticket, saving time for everyone involved. It keeps things clear and open, with each problem reported visible to customers, to us, and to other agents. This visibility makes customers happy and speeds up issue resolution.

• INCAE business school: holistic service management

For INCAE Business School, the largest in Latin America, the Service Catalog is a favorite feature of Freshworks. It’s their go-to for managing service and automation rules. What they value most is its versatility. It lets them manage all the services, not just in IT but across all departments inside the Institute. This means they can measure and manage various services within the organization efficiently.

These stories from TEn Insurance and INCAE Business School show how a well-applied IT Service Catalog can make a big difference, no matter the industry. It’s about creating a smooth, integrated service experience across the whole organization. With Freshworks’ IT Service Catalog, businesses can refine service delivery, enhance visibility, encourage self-service, and manage all their services more effectively.

How to create an IT service catalog

Creating a robust IT Service Catalog is a multifaceted journey, demanding an in-depth comprehension of user needs, integration of skilled teams, and crafting of catalogs that resonate with the user. It unfolds through several decisive steps to ensure enduring relevance, heightened effectiveness, and user-centric utility.

Steps to create an effective IT service catalog:

1. Understand user needs: Conduct thorough surveys to deeply understand users' needs, expectations, and preferred interaction points by conducting thorough surveys. Identify and resolve their pain points to develop a catalog that harmoniously aligns with their requirements while keeping business goals in mind.

2. Select the right team: Form a diversified team with expertise in various IT sectors like data management and email systems to ensure they can handle service catalog management responsibilities. Establish groups, allocate permissions, and set scopes for each service category to ensure a seamless and cohesive catalog creation.

3. Define service offerings and categorize services: Explicitly articulate the spectrum of services and organize them meticulously to eliminate ambiguities and ensure effortless navigation.

4. Design an intuitive interface: Adopt user experience tenets to design a visually compelling and user-friendly catalog. Deploy card-sorting exercises to intuitively arrange topics, ensuring a seamless user journey with minimal clicks.

5. Establish clear workflows and define SLAs: Develop clear workflows and formulate Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to foster transparency, dependability, and accountability in service execution.

6. Test and publish: Expose your design to stringent testing involving diverse focus groups to fine-tune based on authentic feedback. Once refined, collaborate with internal communication resources to enhance awareness preceding the launch. Employing a phased strategy often yields a more coherent rollout.

7. Maintain and update the catalog: Following the launch, diligent maintenance and regular updates are imperative to secure its ongoing relevance and utility. Establish success benchmarks and continuously scrutinize and refine designs and processes to preserve user-centric functionality.

8. Automate workflow: Wherever possible, streamline workflows from approvals to provisioning through automation to elevate operational efficiency and expedite service delivery.

An IT Service Catalog is a curated repository featuring a variety of components, each tailored to meet the unique requirements of various industries and IT sectors. Core components include:

• Email and Calendar

• Permissions and Access

• Hardware

• Apps and Software

• Support Resources

• Training

• Business and Finance

Identifying essential sections and specific service categories accurately ensures that the catalog’s structure is user-intuitive and aligns with user expectations, facilitating a seamless and user-friendly design experience.

How to implement an IT service catalog?

Successfully implementing an IT service catalog requires a fine balance between technology and people. By selecting robust tools, integrating stakeholder feedback, customizing interfaces, and ensuring thorough employee training, organizations can set the stage for a transformative IT service delivery experience. Key aspects to focus on are:

• Customization: A tool should be flexible enough to tailor to your organization's specific needs.

• Integration: The ability to seamlessly connect with other enterprise tools and technology services is crucial.

• Scalability: As the organization grows, the ITSM tool should be able to expand its capabilities without causing disruptions.

• AI capabilities: A modern tool should leverage AI (Artificial Intelligence) to enhance user experience and service delivery.

• ITIL compliance: Adherence to the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) ensures best practices in IT service catalog management.

• Faster ROI: An efficient tool will enhance service delivery and yield a quicker return on investment.

Customization and integration

An effective service catalog should resonate with the organization's brand and operational nuances. This involves:

• Tailored Interfaces: Design the catalog that aligns with the brand aesthetics and is user-centric.

• Seamless Connections: Integrate the catalog with other systems like CRM, ERP, or HR software to optimize workflow and information exchange across all IT resources.

Consolidating Stakeholder Inputs

For a holistic catalog:

• Engage Departments: Garner inputs from various departments that will utilize the catalog. This ensures inclusivity of services and fosters organization-wide buy-in.

• Feedback Loops: Regularly seek feedback to keep the catalog up-to-date and to ensure it continues to meet evolving needs.

Employee training and rollout

When unveiling the new catalog:

• Comprehensive training: Organize detailed sessions to guide users on accessing, navigating, and benefiting from the service catalog.

• Staggered rollout: Consider a phased rollout approach, starting with pilot groups. This enables real-time feedback and adjustments before a full-scale launch.

• Support channels: Set up channels where users can report issues, ask questions, or request further training, fostering a supportive transition environment.

Integrating automation and self-service into an IT service catalog

Incorporating automation and self-service in an IT Service Catalog amplifies user empowerment and operational efficiency. By allowing users to quickly fulfill their requests autonomously, we enhance user experience and substantially alleviate the workload on IT teams.

Here are some actionable strategies to effectively integrate these elements into your IT Service Catalog:

• Prioritize user-centric design: 

• Develop intuitive and user-friendly interfaces that facilitate easy navigation and usage.

• Implement clear and concise service descriptions and instructions to empower users to self-serve effectively before they request services through a service desk.

• Embrace automation technologies:

• Employ advanced technologies like AI and Machine Learning to automate routine and repetitive tasks, thereby reducing manual interventions and accelerating service delivery.

• Leverage bots and virtual assistants to guide users through service requests and provide instant support, enhancing user satisfaction.

• Optimize service workflows:

• Streamline and automate service request workflows to ensure swift and error-free processing.

• Define clear escalation paths and automate assignment rules to efficiently allocate resources and resolve issues.

• Educate and rain Users:

  • Conduct regular training sessions and workshops to familiarize users with the self-service portal and its functionalities.

  • Develop comprehensive user guides and FAQs to assist users in leveraging the catalog effectively.

Monitoring and continuous improvement

Integrating automation and self-service is not a one-off task; it’s an ongoing process that needs continuous monitoring and improvement to adapt to the evolving needs of the users and the organization.

• Regularly gather user feedback:

  • Actively seek user feedback to understand their experiences and expectations with the self-service portal.

  • Utilize the insights gained to make informed enhancements to the catalog, ensuring it remains relevant and user-centric.

• Monitor performance metrics:

  • Track the usage, efficiency, and success rate of automated services and self-service requests.

  • Analyze the data to identify improvement areas and optimize the catalog performance continually.

• Update and enhance offerings:

  • Regularly review and update the service offerings in the catalog to align with the changing needs of the users and the organization.

  • Introduce new and improved services based on user demand and organizational requirements.

• Ensure seamless integration:

  • Regularly assess and ensure that the automation and self-service integrations function seamlessly with other ITSM tools and systems.

  • Resolve any integration issues promptly to maintain the integrity and efficiency of the catalog.

By systematically integrating automation and self-service into the IT Service Catalog and persistently refining it based on feedback and performance metrics, organizations can consistently enhance user satisfaction, improve operational efficiency, and elevate the overall service delivery experience.

IT service catalog KPIs

Understanding and regularly monitoring an IT service catalog's key performance indicators (KPIs) is pivotal to its continual refinement and success. The right metrics will illuminate user engagement, efficiency of automatic request fulfillment, and overall usability of the catalog, enabling organizations to align the catalog more closely with user needs and organizational objectives.

Metrics about the service catalog itself:

• # of People accessing the catalog: Assessing this metric is crucial to understanding user awareness and needs. Users may seek IT services elsewhere if the catalog is undeserving or not well-publicized, impacting overall efficiency.

• % of requests fulfilled automatically from the catalog: The capability to rationalize, approve, and fulfill service requests automatically is a pivotal benefit of a well-orchestrated service catalog, reducing manual processing and accelerating service delivery.

• % of available IT services offered through the catalog: While some organizations may aim for 100% in this metric, the selection of services included in the catalog should be meticulously curated based on user needs, costs, and other organizational considerations.

• Time/clicks needed to find and request a service: This metric is a barometer of usability, measuring the ease with which users can locate and request the services they need.

Metrics about the services offered within the catalog: 

• # of times a service was searched for, viewed, and/or requested: This informs organizations about user needs, the effectiveness of current offerings, and potential areas for expanding service variety.

• The current version of the service: Regular updates are crucial to ensure that the service offerings listed are current, meeting the evolving needs of the users efficiently.

• % of published services ordered within the current time period: Analyzing this metric helps assess whether the catalog is cluttered, provides a sufficient variety, and aligns well with user desires.

By focusing on these KPIs, organizations can fine-tune their IT service catalogs to enhance accessibility, automation, and relevance, ensuring they remain a vital asset in their IT service management ecosystem.

Challenges with IT service catalogs

Creating and maintaining an IT service catalog is a strategic venture encompassing various challenges, each solvable with the right approach and solutions. Addressing these challenges smoothens the catalog's operation and amplifies user experience and organizational efficacy.

Maintaining current service offerings:

• Challenge: Keeping the service offerings up-to-date and in sync with organizational changes.

• Solution: Regularly review and revise the catalog, ensuring it aligns with both user needs and organizational evolutions.

Designing user-friendly interfaces:

• Challenge: Develop intuitive, user-centric interfaces that cater to diverse user preferences and needs.

• Solution: Employing user-centric design principles and continuously gathering user feedback to refine the interface.

Streamlining service request processes:

• Challenge: Creating seamless, efficient service request and delivery workflows.

• Solution: Regularly revisiting and optimizing workflows, incorporating automation where possible, to reduce manual interventions and delays.

Integrating with existing ITSM tools:

• Challenge: Ensuring seamless integration with the current ITSM solutions and tools in use.

• Solution: Select catalog tools that offer extensive integration capabilities and work closely with IT to address any integration challenges quickly.

How to select the right IT service catalog software?

Choosing the best IT service catalog tool involves identifying features that align with the organization's core needs, ensuring lasting value and accelerated ROI. In this endeavor, a combination of flexibility, intelligence, compliance, and integration creates a tool that harmonizes seamlessly with contemporary IT environments.

Essential features & core selling points:

• Low-code/No-code capabilities: Enable rapid development and deployment, catering to dynamic organizational needs without extensive coding knowledge, hence reducing development time and resources.

• Scalability: As organizations evolve, a scalable tool adapts to growing needs and demands, ensuring sustained performance and relevance.

• AI capabilities: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence empowers the tool to deliver intelligent solutions, automate mundane tasks, and offer predictive analytics, enhancing service management efficiency.

• ITIL-compliance: Adopting ITIL standards ensures the adoption of proven best practices in IT service management, aligning services with business needs.

• Integration opportunities: Seamless integration with existing ITSM tools and third-party services enables organizations to offer broader service offerings, enhancing user experience and operational fluidity.

To streamline this selection process and ensure your IT service catalog aligns well with organizational objectives and user needs, Freshservice offers features, services, and templates designed for quick and efficient implementation. 

With Freshservice, organizations can leverage AI-powered service management, a unified service catalog, and workload management within a user-friendly interface. These features facilitate the management of service requests and automate workflows, ultimately leading to enhanced user satisfaction and operational productivity.

Trusted by over 60,000 customers globally, Freshservice stands out as a reliable option for those looking to harmonize their IT service catalog with contemporary IT environments.