ITSM Benefits

IT Service Management (ITSM) brings into line the delivery of information technology (IT) services with the business needs of an organization. It combines separately managed IT processes and components into a unified, or a single holistic program – with a purpose to deliver end-to-end services that accentuate ITSM benefits to customers. These collective processes are put into operation with the help of an IT service delivery model. ITIL and Microsoft Operations Framework and are some of the common best practice frameworks for IT Service Management.
ITSM benefits offer significant success to an enterprise. An IT Service Management program measures performance against precisely defined and traced metrics. This steadfast effort to measure and persistently improve the delivery of IT services in support of business objectives critically advances the IT operational efficiency of the enterprise.
Unlike other IT management standards that emphasize on network, hardware or systems, ITSM targets to unswervingly improve IT customer service in seamless orientation with business goals. As technology grows throughout today’s digital businesses, IT service management has become an indispensable facet that aids the business. ITSM tools support a company’s ITSM efforts by restructuring customer service, usually beginning with an IT help desk. These product suites help IT departments maintain ticketing systems, develop reports and recognize defects in their services or products. IT service management (ITSM) tools standardize the delivery of IT services within an organization, based on budgets, human resources, processes, and results.
Eventually, the conclusive goal of ITSM is to make sure that a company’s tech team goals are in sync with the business goals.

Businesses understand that IT service management and ITSM tools offer advantages on a huge scale. Here are five of the most important.

Standardization and Integration

ITSM helps standardize IT procedures across departments and divisions. Using ITSM tools specially designed to support those functions is a rational extension of an ITSM framework. It’s always easier to accomplish a task when there are the right ITSM tools at an organization’s disposal—ITSM tools like workflow management software that help IT staff do their jobs. These software solutions and ITSM tools can also work across an enterprise so the ITSM benefits, like streamlining processes, can be realized in other parts of the organization too.

Enhanced ROI

An enterprise makes huge investments in IT service management frameworks; so the payback has to be well worth it. An important ITSM benefit is improved business ROI—a known fact. But one of the best ways to ensure this ITSM benefit is to deploy ITSM tools specifically designed for a particular task. ITSM tools ensure that everything is standardized, consistent, and integrated. Many ITSM tools are suites of programs - each tool offers ITSM benefits for a company with different tasks, and at the same time, ensure that they work together seamlessly.

Lesser time and effort

One important ITSM benefit is the capability to allow teams to manage workflow processes in more detail, which in turn can identify procedures that need to be simplified. Workflow management software also allows automation of some of the steps in a procedure—which means lesser time and effort, and a shorter margin of error.

Visualization

To understand what a workflow process looks like, ITSM tools allow quick and easy visualization of process workflows. One of the important ITSM benefits is its ability to pinpoint where a process needs to be simplified—by rearranging steps, eliminating redundant ones, and/or automating them. Visualization also provides ITSM benefits like running cost-benefit analyses, which means there is lesser time spent on estimating if a procedural change will reduce time and costs.

Perhaps one of the most important ITSM benefits - reduced costs

The capability of ITSM tools to help IT professionals visually review a workflow and conclude what changes make sense, enables an enterprise to make process regulations that will save money. ITSM might seem like a huge outlay upfront, but ITSM benefits far surpass the costs.

High-level ITSM benefits

Change management is a process, but unless everyone is focused on its important principles, there is considerable risk change management will add overhead, but provide no value to an organization’s business outcomes.

ITSM processes

The more organized an enterprise is, the better is its IT department. This is one of the most important ITSM benefits that enterprises look for. What other ITSM benefits do enterprises derive, and what actually are these ITSM processes?
ITSM processes are the elements of an ITSM framework. An ITSM process supports its major concepts and describes the way of IT service management. ITSM processes can be divided into the following stages:

Service Strategy (SS)

is the first and foremost stage in an ITSM process. The ITSM benefit of this stage is to help determine what exactly customers are looking for, and verify whether the service is financially workable. Service Strategy gives an overall understanding of a company’s services in connection to the Service Portfolio, Financial Management, Business Relationship Management, etc.

Service Description (SD)

enables strategic identifications with a detailed description of services offered by an enterprise. A key ITSM benefit from this stage is the assurance that the IT service delivery meets the requirements, and that the organization is capable enough capacity to deliver the services securely.

Service Transition (ST)

is accountable for the auctioning of the company’s services. The ITSM benefit of the ST stage is the maintenance of the stability of services while allowing them to be dynamic by hosting changes judiciously. The processes at this stage are Change Management, Release Management, Knowledge Management, etc.

Service Operation (SO)

ensures that the services work without hindrance, promptly warding off any disruptions. There are 6 main processes that help SO do that:

Event management - Monitors and provides notifications on how the services are running
Incident management - Restores the normal flow of IT processes as soon as possible, in case of disruptions
Problem management – Caters to the underlying cause of incidents
Request fulfillment – Deals with low-risk, recurrent and pre-defined circumstances
Access management - Deals with accounts and passwords
Continual Service Improvement (CSI) - Constant improvement of the services delivered

ITSM benefits from these processes

Being a very structured approach to IT services, processes can bring lots of ITSM benefits along with clarity and transparency to an organization’s IT structure.

ITSM processes can help an IT department steady the IT service disposal.
Equipped with clear what-and-how strategies, an IT team can shrink downtime (when disruptions in services occur) and surge the rate of service readiness.
The decrease in resolve time and an increase in the total rate of service availability are certain to improve user/customer satisfaction marks.
A more operative approach to day-to-day operations and automating of some of them will decrease the costs of IT service management.

How to introduce ITSM processes

Step 1: Assess the situation as-is

Step 2: Work out a strategy

Step 3: Chart a detailed plan

Step 4: Introduce ST and SO processes gradually (incident – problem – configuration – change – SLA).

Step 5: Check for implementation issues

Step 6: Improve IT service management and move to the next level of ITSM maturity, when it’s time

ITSM Frameworks

The terms “ITSM” and “ITIL” are habitually mixed up and thought to be identical, although they are actually not the same. ITIL is the most regularly used ITSM framework, but there are many more ways of doing ITSM.

Different types of frameworks and processes

There are several ITSM frameworks, like ITIL, that offer best practices on the actions to be taken when an organization implements ITSM. An organization might be using ITSM but not using ITIL. There might be no recognized ITSM framework or standard in use; or they might be using one of the following:

Some organizations also use multiple frameworks or standards such as COBIT plus ITIL.

While there are numerous frameworks that can organize ITSM, the most prominent ITSM framework is the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). With companies having quite a few different subsidiaries, divisions, and locations globally, it’s easy to see how an organization can meet their different requirements by integrating several different frameworks, processes, and standards into their ITSM stages.

The most popular frameworks and processes

47% use Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) for ITSM, which focuses on aligning IT services with the business needs
36% use Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT)
36% are using Business Process Framework (eTom) - commonly used by telecom service providers in the telecommunications industry
34% use Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) - provides another framework for managing the IT life cycle

The other frameworks, processes, and standards all have their own set of users, but these are the big four that Forbes Insights respondents cited the most. Knowing the most standard frameworks and processes used by other establishments helps businesses fathom the choices available to meet their IT service delivery needs.

However, ITSM is more than just the ideal use of human resources, process, and technology. ITSM is a worthwhile tactic to IT delivery – and a combined mindset – that looks at IT as being “delivered as a service.” And while some ITSM benefits come from adopting a service-based attitude to IT supply, others come from uniformity and standardization, having distinct roles and responsibilities, embracing industry best practices, and utilizing fit-for-purpose ITSM solutions such as Freshservice.
Are you looking for ITSM benefits to help manage your business?
With Freshservice, you can focus on your business, and we will support you to implement IT management services so that you can reap the best of ITSM benefits.