IT Service Management (ITSM) is becoming part of IT. The use of IT service management (ITSM) by corporate IT organizations is to improve efficiency, effectiveness, control, and insight. It has gained nigh-on global acceptance, many enterprises have yet to recognize that ITSM thinking, best practice, and technology is equally relevant to other corporate service providers.
Well no doubt on that as IT Service Management is a general term that describes a strategic approach for designing, delivering, managing and improving the way information technology (IT) is used within an organization. The true definition of IT Service Management framework is to ensure that the right processes, people and technology are in place. The reason being you need your organization to meet its business goals and get IT support in all areas such as IT Support Outsourcing , IT Support Maintenance and IT Service Support.
Why is it so important?
Well, the process-based practice intended to align IT services with the needs of the company highlights customer benefits, with an emphasis on IT efficiency. For some companies, IT Service Management best practices bring about increased ROI, overall cost savings and improved IT processes. Best practices like Six Sigma, allows organizations to build strong internal structures for alignment, integration and IT efficiency.
Well known ITSM frameworks :
COBIT – This is a framework design for developing, implementing, monitoring and improving information technology (IT) governance and management practices
Microsoft Operations Framework – This framework is nothing new. It has a series of 23 documents that guide IT professionals with the processes of creating, implementing and managing efficient and cost-effective services and built to guide enterprises.
Six Sigma – A well versed management framework developed by Motorola and now used by many organisations. This framework emphasizes setting extremely high objectives, collecting data, and analyzing results.
The top 5 benefits are:
Used by most of the organizations
IT service management works as a tool that creates ongoing business improvements. IT service management defines common concepts and terms within an integrated set of best practices that evolves to meet market needs in a cycle of continual improvement. This tool has a proven record and organizations across the world have demonstrated that they can adapt IT service management to their business needs. Organizations of all shapes and sizes can implement parts of ITIL to deliver business benefits in stages as IT service management is flexible.
Using IT service management works in practice as its adoption provides individuals and organizations the confidence for action. Delivering service successfully depends on personnel involved in service management having the appropriate education, training, skills and experience.
Effective customer satisfaction and building relationships
Increasing customer satisfaction leads to a better and trusted relationship. This is important especially if you are in a service related industry. IT service management is designed to help everyone to focus their attention on the needs of the customers and user experience rather than focusing too much on the technology issues. End of the day, you are dealing with your customers.
Great reliability and improved service
IT service management has the capacity to adopt standards that are proven to work. Service providers can more easily deliver services consistently to the agreed service levels. Great assistance to support teams as it can restore service faster, reducing downtime and disruption. Service providers are also more capable of meeting their service levels, contractual, regulatory and legal compliance requirements.
Optimisation of service delivery across the supply chain
IT service management offers significant opportunities for simplification and standardisation across trading partners. IT service management provides processes and models to help service providers to work with their business, customers, users and suppliers to make sound business decisions on investment opportunities, cost optimisation, management of risks and priorities for improvement. Typical benefits from implementing ITIL best practices are:
- Taking care of business risk and service disruption or failure
- Delivering efficient services that meets the needs
- Improve and develop positive relationships with your customers
- Establish cost-effective systems for managing demand for your services
- Support business change whilst maintaining a stable service environment
Getting ahead of the game with value creation business change
With IT service management, organizations are able to approach service delivery more professionally and hence be able to ensure customer satisfaction. This results in improved ROI of IT. Adopting ITIL service lifecycle practices, organizations can focus on delivering value to the customer. Successful business transformation and growth can be seen with an increased competitive advantage and defining and managing the customer and service portfolios.
ITIL Implications On Job Scope
ITIL is a globally recognized framework. IT service management has the benefits that that describes the procedures, tasks, and checklists that are not specific to any single organization. Its main use is to demonstrate compliance and to measure improvement in delivery of IT-related services. Thus, while IT service management is primarily associated with the Information Technology sector, it also covers concepts on Service Management and is hence being implemented in a diverse range of industries like healthcare and higher education.
ITIL and Career Growth
IT service management is one of the most sought-after certifications by IT professionals today. Also, more recruiters are looking for ITIL qualified professionals, owing to the beneficial advantages that this certification has to offer in the stream of IT Services Management. Professionals involved in IT Services Management, Project Management, Service Operation, Service Transition, and Service Strategy and Design, would benefit the most from this certification.
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