ITSM does not view IT as a collection of devices and programs, but as a provider of services. Email, the workplace, access to the ERP system, or printing are services that should be available reliably, traceably, and at an agreed quality. This applies to internal IT departments just as much as to external service providers.
The best-known framework for this is ITIL, a collection of best practices that was originally created on behalf of the British government and has been developed continuously since then. The international standard ISO/IEC 20000 describes requirements for a service management system and enables certification.
How does ITSM work?
At its core are recurring processes with clear responsibilities. The most important include:
- Incident management: Resolve disruptions quickly and restore operations.
- Service request management: Handle standard requests such as new access, software, or hardware in an orderly way.
- Problem management: Find the causes of recurring disruptions and eliminate them permanently.
- Change management: Plan, assess, and implement changes to systems in a controlled way, see Change Management (IT).
- Service level management: Agree on and measure quality targets, usually in a service level agreement.
The processes are supported by ITSM software with a ticketing system, knowledge base, and self-service portal, often supplemented by a configuration management database (CMDB) in which systems and their dependencies are recorded. The central point of contact for users is the service desk.
Typical examples
- An employee reports that her printer is not printing. The ticket is recorded, prioritized, processed, and closed with documentation.
- The same VPN disruption occurs every week. Problem management looks for the cause instead of fixing the disruption anew each time.
- A server update is implemented as a change with a maintenance window and a fallback plan.
- An employee orders software via the self-service portal, and approval runs automatically through the responsible manager.
What companies should keep in mind
- Start small: one process for incidents and requests that is actually practiced achieves more than a complete process model on paper.
- Keep categories and priorities simple so that tickets are recorded consistently.
- Turn knowledge from resolved tickets into knowledge articles so that solutions can be reused.
- Evaluate metrics such as resolution times without turning them into an end in themselves.
- Connect ITSM with IT asset management so that the affected device is known for every ticket.