Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Information Technology Service Management—or simply, ITSM—refers to the strategic process of designing, delivering, managing and improving the way an organisation uses IT. In this case, IT encompasses hardware such as PCs and devices, as well as software and related services, like applications and security.

In other words, ITSM is simply the way an IT team manages the end-to-end delivery of the organisation’s IT services, and it involves various activities and processes, including but not limited to, service management, change management, asset management, problem and incident management and knowledge management.

A most basic example of ITSM at work is when a department needs to have its printer repaired. The head of the department will submit the repair request to IT, usually, through a portal created by IT, and fill out what’s called a “ticket” with all relevant information about the request. This ticket will make its way to the IT team’s queue and will be addressed, usually according to its urgency or importance. Such process is generally automated and highly repeatable, thus ensuring convenient, organised and seamless interactions between the IT team and the different departments that require assistance.

ITSM is critical to any workplace, and it is, contrary to popular belief, more than just basic IT support—much more. Beyond providing basic IT support, ITSM is actually in charge of all matters related to workplace technology. Meaning, anything and everything that uses technology are also, by default, the domain of ITSM.

In particular, ITSM is expected to do the following:

• Procure and troubleshoot hardware.
• Develop, deploy and support enterprise apps.
• Architect and optimise IT infrastructure, from storage to networking to cloud utilisation.
• Create and manage business processes such as troubleshooting requests and helpdesk support.
• Enable digital transformation.
• Provide department-specific IT assistance where necessary.

A well-established, well-equipped and optimally functioning ITSM will provide an organisation with a range of benefits, the most notable of which are as follows:

• Reduce the costs of IT operations.
• Enable higher returns on IT investments.
• Minimise service outages and related disruptions.
• Establish well-defined, manageable and repeatable business processes.
• Enable efficient and detailed analysis of IT issues and, thus, reduce repeat incidents.
• Improve the efficiency of IT helpdesk teams.
• Implement IT changes seamlessly and with minimal risk of error.
• Ensure better transparency into IT processes and services.
• Future-proof the business through seamless and strategic digital transformation.

The ubiquity of technology in the workplace is undeniable, with pretty much every aspect of a business impacted by some kind of tech to some degree. This primordial role of technology in business underscores why organisations need ITSM, as it can enhance the efficiency of the entire enterprise and improve the productivity of everyone in the organisation—with the help of, yes, technology.

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