3 advantages of ITSM tooling for IT departments in manufacturing

The manufacturing industry plays a crucial role in the economic development of countries. This, combined with the current hype of Industry 4.0, means there’s a lot of pressure on IT departments within manufacturing to keep up.

But that’s easier said than done, especially when you’re drowning in tickets or struggling to keep track of important information. That’s where ITSM tooling comes in.

3 ways in which tooling supports IT departments in manufacturing

With the right tooling solutions, IT departments in manufacturing can automate repetitive tasks, streamline workflows, and optimize resource utilization. This enables them to operate more efficiently, reduce downtime, and allocate their time and resources to more strategic initiatives.

1. ITSM tools improve efficiency

ITSM tools bring your IT services together in one place and offer automation and other features that remove the strain of recurring tasks, freeing up time for innovation.

Take for instance University of Ottawa, the largest English-French bilingual university in the world. When their IT service desk started using TOPdesk, the total number of IT tickets dropped significantly, 45,000 tickets and counting, in fact.

How?

TOPdesk offers standardized forms and service automation. When help tickets are created, they are instantaneously routed to the correct service location for processing, reducing the time to resolve each issue while improving efficiency. Since implementation, uOttawa has been able to clear more than 45,000 (and counting) service desk tickets without the need for help desk intervention or triage service requests while relieving the strain on uOttawa's IT department.

Thanks to service automation, uOttawa has been able to clear more than 45,000 service desk tickets without the need for help desk intervention or triage service requests.

2. ITSM tools empower your end-users

Your end-users are impatient. They expect their requests to be resolved immediately.

Luckily, most ITSM tools offer both a knowledge base and an extensive self-service portal (SSP) with standard solutions and FAQs. This empowers your end-users to find the answers to their questions themselves, using the collective knowledge of the IT department.

Implementing an SSP with a knowledge base also reduces the pressure on your IT team, who no longer have to answer the same questions over and over again or worry about important knowledge being tucked away in shared drives or personal docs. Instead, all knowledge is compiled in one place.

3. ITSM tools give you insight into cybersecurity

For the second year in a row, manufacturing has been the most targeted sector by cyberattacks. The sector’s main threats are:

• Phishing attacks: Attacks that trick users into divulging sensitive data, downloading malware, and exposing themselves or their organizations to cybercrime.
• Ransomware: Software that renders an organization’s network inoperable until the hacker’s demands are satisfied, resulting in downtime.
• Intellectual property (IP) theft: Attackers infiltrate a network undetected and steal a manufacturer’s intellectual property.
• Supply chain attacks: An attack on a single link in an organization’s supply chain. Successful supply chain attacks can impact the whole supply chain within days of the first attack.

IT departments play an integral role in helping manufacturers become cyber-resilient – and it all starts with becoming more knowledgeable. Knowledge is the best defence when it comes to cybersecurity: knowing exactly which assets – both hardware and software – the IT department is responsible for, where they are, and who has access to them. But also knowing who is handling sensitive information, for example.

An ITSM tool like TOPdesk will provide you with this type of information. On top of that, having standardized processes in place means you can respond quickly to crisis situations.

And, thanks to TOPdesk’s advanced reporting capabilities, you can see how your IT department is doing at a single glance – for example where any weak spots might be and where to focus your efforts.

Comparing ITSM tools? Check out our comparison blog on ServiceNow vs. TOPdesk!

Discover TOPdesk for Manufacturing

Managing a manufacturer’s IT infrastructure is no easy feat, especially not when you’re working reactively. TOPdesk’s IT service management solution helps you:

• Standardize processes around best practices
• Assign tasks based on capacity
• Stay on top of your game with overviews and dashboards
• Capture critical knowledge and make it accessible for everyone

Check out our IT Service Management software page or request a personalized demo today.