ITSM: still relevant or outdated?

IT Service Management (ITSM) originated in the 1980s, so it’s not exactly a new discipline. But it’s also far from outdated.

In fact, ITSM is still relevant, maybe more so now than ever - especially its core principles, such as creating added value for customers, optimizing processes, ensuring reliability, and managing risks.

Why is ITSM still relevant?

IT service management emerged at a time when organizations were becoming more dependent on information technology to support their business processes. This made it even more important for organizations to have standardized IT service management.

Now, we live in an era where new technological developments follow each other at the speed of light. Technology that organizations of all sizes and in all sectors are also becoming increasingly dependent on. AI, cloud computing – these offer a range of possibilities, but to make them work, you need a structured approach to managing your IT services. And that's exactly what ITSM is all about.

What you miss out on by ignoring ITSM

Introducing and managing ITSM in your organization takes time and money. You may therefore choose not to do it. But what do you lose out on by putting ITSM (temporarily) on hold?

Best practices for service delivery

ITSM frameworks provide best practices for optimizing processes, streamlining workflows and using resources efficiently. Ignoring these can lead to wasted resources, higher operational costs, and delays in service delivery.

Processes that are aligned with cybersecurity

Without the information security procedures and controls from ITSM, you could be inadvertently weakening your organization’s cybersecurity. This increases the risk of data breaches, privacy breaches and other security incidents.

A foundation for innovation

ITSM provides a solid foundation for implementing innovative technologies and supporting innovation initiatives. If you neglect ITSM, you could limit your organization's flexibility and agility, making it harder to innovate and stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.

The consequences of disregarding ITSM

Failing to meet customer expectations

IT service teams face major challenges. Demanding customers expect fast and smooth IT services. Otherwise, they'll look for solutions themselves or even change service providers. Without the structure provided by ITSM, it's harder to maintain, let alone improve, the efficiency and quality of your IT services. So, keeping up with customer expectations becomes a losing battle.

Increased security risk

With a growing number of laws and regulations around security and sensitive or personal data, organizations are now under a magnifying glass. At the same time, the technology by which this information is stored and shared is becoming more diverse. Failure to comply has legal and financial consequences that nobody wants, but without ITSM’s structured approach to security, this becomes a real risk for organizations.

Why do organizations choose not to invest in ITSM?

Poor service, non-compliancy, and a lack of innovation can have serious consequences for your reputation, brand image, partnerships, and other relationships. So, why do some organizations choose not to invest in ITSM? Let’s dive into a few practical examples.

They’d rather focus on rapid growth

Some small startups choose to disregard ITSM processes initially because they want to focus on (rapid) growth and product development. This usually leads to problems later on because, although they’re growing quickly, they lack the consistency that ITSM provides.

They’re afraid of becoming too bureaucratic

More informal organizations may choose not to implement ITSM processes because they think that standardized processes and documentation are too bureaucratic. Instead, they rely on informal communication and ad hoc solutions to their IT problems. While this may work in the short term, problems with scalability, reliability and security almost always arise in the long run.

How to make the most of ITSM

So, ITSM is clearly still relevant for organizations. But how can you be sure that you’re reaping the benefits? Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of ITSM:

Get proactive

Proactive ITSM focuses on preventing problems before they occur, rather than just reacting to incidents. This includes taking preventive maintenance and monitoring, capacity planning, identifying and addressing potential security risks and using predictive analytics.

Invest in an ITSM tool

A dedicated ITSM solution will help you strengthen your ITSM initiatives, improve operational efficiency and increase the value of your IT services. ITSM tools have functionalities that can automate routine tasks, streamline workflows and simplify complex processes. Some, like TOPdesk's ITSM software, even have features to facilitate collaboration between departments or Enterprise Service Management (ESM).

Work on continuous improvements

An ITSM implementation shouldn’t be a one-time thing. To make the most impact, you’ll need to keep optimizing as you go. By continuously striving for better IT services and processes, you’ll identify and eliminate inefficiencies.

Is ITSM valuable for your organization?

How do you know whether an ITSM implementation is the right choice for your organization? Ask yourself the following questions:

What role does IT play in our organization?

The greater the dependence on IT in supporting business processes, customer service, product development, etc., the more relevant ITSM is to your organization.

Are we experiencing problems delivering IT services to our internal or external customers?

Are we experiencing unplanned service interruptions, downtime or delayed service delivery? And if so, how often? With ITSM, you minimize the impact of incidents and the time it takes to recover from them.

When it comes to our IT systems and data, do we experience issues relating to security and regulatory compliance?

Managing the security of IT systems and data is an ongoing challenge. ITSM provides you with best practices in information security and regulatory compliance, so you can be sure your organization’s data is safe and sound.

Do we have an overview of our IT operations and performance?

If not, you don't know how you are performing and where there might be room for improvement. If you struggle to get a grip on processes, then optimizing your services is an extra big challenge. ITSM provides tools to help service desks measure, monitor and improve the performance of their IT services.

Are we looking for ways to improve how customers experience our IT services?

ITSM focuses on delivering value to customers through effective IT service management, which ultimately increases user satisfaction.

This is what TOPdesk can do for you

At TOPdesk, we know first-hand how it feels to be buried under IT requests every day and receive little or no recognition for all the work you do. That is why we have developed a service management platform that makes the work of the IT service team easier and more enjoyable.

From task and Knowledge Management, overviews and dashboards to self-service and Asset Management, our ITSM software helps you accelerate and improve your services based on consistent, unambiguous processes. The result? Happier customers who get added value from your IT services.

Where does your service desk stand?

How is your IT service desk really doing? What’s going well, and where can you improve your services? Do the service desk quick scan to get these and more insights on how ITSM can help improve your IT service delivery.