IT service management, or ITSM, is a process to improve the quality of IT deliveries, observing the strategic business needs and promoting competitive companies by reducing costs in the medium and long term.
IT service management (ITSM) is a practice that every company with an IT department must have, regardless of the industry it operates. A proper ITSM process helps identify opportunities for improvement, reduce costs, and increase team productivity.
Read this article to understand how to deploy IT service management in your business and ensure business competitiveness, margin, and delivery quality. In this article, we will discuss:
- What is IT service management (ITSM)?
- ITSM concepts
- ITSM benefits
- ITSM approaches
- How to deploy ITSM in 9 steps
- Learn about Milvus
Enjoy the reading!
What is IT service management (ITSM)?
IT service management (ITSM) is a process that involves planning, performing, and monitoring of IT services. It includes a project approach and manages the way companies operate in the IT sector, resulting in improved efficiency of service lifecycle.
The IT department has a strategic view of the entire company, using customer and employee data in different sectors. For better management, practices must be adopted to increase the efficiency of processes, people, and technologies.
The idea is ensure high-quality services to customers, meet business needs, and provide support to all professionals involved.
ITSM concepts
IT service management allows the development of high-quality IT services, always observing the needs and strategic objectives of business.
The main concepts of IT service management are:
- Service: directly related to user interaction, it represents the combination of components that support processes – for example, an invoicing system that uses a database and network connection;
- Processes: these are interrelated activities. In order to achieve the expected result, it is necessary to apply processing rules to all stages;
- Customer: for IT service providers, customers are those companies they serve, but a colleague from another department can also be a customer;
- Users: persons who use the IT service, employees of a customer, or people from a department;
- Continuous improvement: ITSM uses a continuous improvement program, so that new goals are set in each cycle. Then, processes are evaluated and improved, seeking maximum efficiency and effectiveness of results.
ITSM benefits
The benefits of IT service management are related to the needs of each business and may vary according to the area of activity. They include:
- IT cost control;
- Reduction of labor costs;
- Team of specialized and experienced professionals;
- Improved security and compliance;
- More resilient and secure structure;
- Risk reduction with specific knowledge;
- Improved efficiency and competitiveness;
- Fast deployment of new technologies.
In addition to the benefits above, ITSM offers other advantages related to certain aspects that, when combined, promote better results.
The benefits are related to productivity cost reduction, increased business competitiveness, fulfillment of market demands, and service quality assurance.
IT service management at process level also provides advantages to every department. Therefore, the idea is to invest in systems to support the routine of professionals and users in general.
A platform that integrates all management processes can make your work easier, automating tasks, generating reports, and optimizing the start, monitoring, and categorization of activities.
With a management tool, it is much easier to identify aspects requiring internal improvement and prevent activities, customers, and customer support from being exposed to unnecessary risks.
ITSM approaches
Different frameworks can be used in IT service management. Choosing one or more frameworks will depend on your structure, your goals as a manager, and your team maturity.
ITIL
ITIL – Information Technology Infrastructure Library is a framework consisting of guidelines for IT service planning, development, process stages, and monitoring.
COBIT
COBIT – Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies is a framework that includes several practices for IT service deployment and management. The objective is to optimize resources according to business needs.
MOF
MOF is a documentation that offers guidance for IT service planning, operation, delivery, management, and optimization.
In addition, it can be implemented in any organization, without additional costs, providing continuous improvements in the routine of the IT department.
CMMI
CMMI – Capability Maturity Model Integration is a more general tool that covers software and application development.
PMBOK
PMBOK – Project Management Book of Knowledge is a methodology for project management guidelines that can be applied to IT services.
It categorizes projects into stages of design, planning, deployment, monitoring and control, and closure.
How to deploy ITSM in 9 steps
Now that you know what ITSM is and its advantages, we want to help you implement this process in your company.
This methodology can be chosen according to your needs but, for its implementation, any ITSM process must consider the 9 steps below:
#1 Scope
Prior planning of the project must be performed, with a scope that presents the expected results and the actions to be performed, listing all departments involved that will receive the benefits of management.
#2 Time
One of the essential steps in ITSM is time management. It is important to define a schedule for every activity, according to approved deadlines.
Also, the deployment of activities must be organized in order to achieve the best result straight away.
#3 Costs
The maintenance and deployment costs of the project must be pre-defined and evaluated according to the project budget.
A well-defined scope is required to create a consistent budget and avoid subsequent inclusion of additional tasks and costs that can affect the progress of the project.
#4 Quality
High-quality projects depend on good deployment to ensure customer satisfaction and exceed their expectations. To ensure good quality, a project can be fragmented into stages that will be performed by different teams in a distributed and planned manner, so that validation will occur during deployment.
#5 Human resources
In addition to financial and technology resources, people play a key role in IT project management.
Assigning the members of teams involved in the project and a project manager, and training and keeping the team aligned with expectations are important steps towards good management and goal achievement.
#6 Communication
It is the manager’s role to provide information and explain it as clearly as possible, and always repeat it, as required.
The manager has to be clear, provide details, assign a professional to be in charge of every stage, gather the team in meetings, and request periodic reports about the progress of the project.
Good project management, with provision of information and demands regarding the progress of each phase, is critical for successful and fast project conclusion. In addition, it keeps the team aligned around expected results.
#7 Risk assessment
The evaluation of pros and cons is part of the project. This analysis should include risk mapping and the adoption of prevention and containment measures in extreme cases.
If the project presents failures while it is being deployed and if mapped risks actually take place, the path must be changed quickly or it may end up as a failed project.
#8 Acquisitions
Specific professionals should be hired during project implementation, and all necessary devices and materials should be acquired.
A strict control of agreements ensures aligned expectations for both parties involved, avoiding stress, delay, and loss during the development. For this reason, the scope is so important and it is the step #1 of this journey.
#9 Integration
Together we are stronger and it’s not different in an IT project. An integrated project with the participation of specialized professionals and collaborative teams has a better chance of being successful.
Information technology depends on the collaboration of all parties involved in the project, from managers and colleagues to suppliers and customers.
Learn about Milvus
Milvus is an intelligent IT management platform that offers a variety of service modules to meet the different needs of your business, including:
- Omnichannel platform, allowing users to contact your business through different channels;
- Ticket management, which performs process automation, ticket control, SLA management, and other tasks.
Milvus also offers other features, such as compliance with the GDPR; remote access; asset, chat, and app management; and advanced reports for strategic decision making.
Want to learn more? Take a free trial of all features available. You’ll have unlimited access to the platform for 7 days without having to inform your credit card data.
Conclusion
ITSM – IT Service Management is a tool that helps companies improve results and avoid losses. The definition of management stages and service fragmentation are positive steps for the company, with long-term benefits.
This tool helps companies adapt to the increasingly technological reality, ensuring their financial and strategic health and preserving business continuity.
Milvus is an ITSM system used by IT departments and companies to help organize the workflow and change the environment in a responsible manner.
With its unique resources, the Milvus platform ensures optimized business processes and information security. It also allows a more convenient and efficient management of activities, increasing the productivity of your team.
The Milvus system can be implemented in the IT department of your company or be used by companies that want to improve their relationship with customers, automating customer support processes.
Deployed in more than 6 countries in Latin America, the Milvus platform has already registered more than 20,000 tickets.
If you want a convenient system that will make the work of your team much easier, take a free trial or request a demo!
