HOW TO OPTIMISE IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT TO DRIVE BUSINESS VALUE

IT service management often referred to as ITSM, is simply how teams manage the end-to-end delivery of IT services to customers. This includes all the processes and activities to design, create, deliver and support IT services.  

Information technologies now encompass and incorporate tasks and responsibilities from across the entire organisation. Managing these services is an ongoing challenge and customer expectations are high. ITSM is, therefore, necessary to coordinate countless tasks and processes, while ensuring that they are providing real value to the customer.  

IT Departments and users often debate over the best framework, technology solution, implementation strategy, and other details. However, improvements in ITSM often require business executives and IT to take a step back and observe the opportunities for improvement and the associated challenges from a strategic perspective as they aim for their digital transformation goals. So how do we achieve these goals?  

Define IT strategy 

The first step is to sort out your vision and strategy. By developing a comprehensive roadmap for your ITSM initiatives, you are allowing provisions for potential improvements down the line. Find the success factors and define the KPIs, metrics, guiding framework, and desired state at every stage of implementation. This type of roadmap should cover all three domains of IT in service management, business operations as well as the enterprise-wide strategic vision: 

• Front-end IT: includes all software or hardware that is part of a user interface. Human or digital users interact directly with various aspects of the front-end program, including user-entered data, buttons, programs, websites and other features 

• Middle IT: The processes and operational workflows defined by frameworks and automation capabilities 

• Back-end IT: refers to parts of a computer application or a program’s code that allow it to operate and that cannot be accessed by a user. Most data and operating syntax are stored and accessed in the back end of a computer system.  

Develop business-focused IT services 

Service management allows business organisations to transform their operations by taking advantage of advanced technology solutions. Digital transformation requires technologies to be not only more efficient but also support the business-focused needs of the organisation. Understanding how It services are therefore delivered and how your users interact with the technology can help organisations map and correlate their ITSM strategies to business outcomes.  

Use hyper-automation 

Hyper automation is defined as a business-driven, disciplined approach that organisations use to rapidly identify, vet, and automate as many business and IT processes as possible. Sophisticated technology solutions help create a digital twin of the ITSM organisation that is responsible for key ITSM tasks such as: 

• Service discover 

• Analytics 

• Monitoring 

Hyper automation is all about continuous intelligence. In the domain of ITSM, it is focused on deriving insights from the IT environment, service delivery, and user behavior. The insights are then delivered in real-time and can be used across all subset domains of the ITSM organisation.  

Consider customizations vs. off-the-shelf  

Many organisations invest in new technologies and like to use them the way they come ‘out of the box’ or off-the-shelf. It departments generally prefer to use products in this way, since any customisation is likely to introduce integration concerns, complexity, and bugs – an operational and maintenance nightmare for IT.  

However, if the technology is used ‘out of the box it doesn’t always materialize into tangible business value. Even the most well-defined technologies can and must be configured and often customized to suit the specifications and requirements of the business, its technology or the service they are providing.  

Business leaders, IT executives, and other agents should therefore support efforts that ensure all ITSM technology investments have a positive impact on the business, despite the higher implementation of costs and resources incurred.  

Prioritize and align governance 

Organisations that are running on a tight budget, often forget or dismiss the importance of investing in governance areas. Inadequate governance gives rise to discrepancies between the planned ITSM framework and policy implementations – and what actually happens. As an example, users might find ways to bypass organisational protocols for using a new tool or product, due to convenience or to access technology capabilities lacking in the companies existing solution portfolio.  

When this happens, it results in shadow IT and misalignment of IT service management resources to the business objectives.  

Companies are able to avoid issues as such happening if they: 

• Adopt the right policies and framework guidelines in their work routine 

• Take advantage of the flexibilities of the framework implementation and alternate technology solutions through systematic approval from the IT 

Overall, these methods will have to be tested out by organisations separately, to analyse what works for them. There are numerous best practices that might or might not work best for your organisation. If you are interested in seeing how we can help you find the best talent to set up your organisation's ITSM infrastructure, visit our client's page, or get in contact with us!