Is 2018 the year that service management emerges from the back room and is seen as a strategic business asset?
Traditionally, service management has been viewed as “something that IT does.” Or even worse, something that only the “help desk” does.
But over the past year, the service management conversation has been changing – rapidly.
Several recent events have driven the change in the service management conversation. Here’s just a few that come to mind:
Perhaps one of the most significant developments is that service management is moving beyond IT.
Service management is moving into the enterprise, as organizations realize how defined processes and services can improve productivity. Value stream mapping helps organizations understand how value flows through an organization, not just through IT. Mapping the true value stream highlights the collaboration that is required across an organization to produce value. No single part of the organization can produce and deliver value without the help of all other parts of an organization.
As a result, service management is moving beyond a single approach, to a more ‘mix-and-match’ approach, which leverages the strengths of multiple methodologies, producing even-better outcomes. Progressive organizations are starting to embrace what service management can do for their businesses.
And, finally, the focus of service management is shifting to perhaps where it should have been all along – the customer experience. Good service management has always been about delivering reliability, continuity, availability, capacity, and security – but now, service management is moving from being inwardly-focused to a focus on the customer experience.
All good things!
But with the rapid change in the service management conversation, the fundamentals cannot be overlooked. Good service management is built upon well-thought business strategy, enabled by a comprehensive governance approach. Our old friend COBIT helps organizations look at governance from an organizational perspective, and not look at IT governance and enterprise governance as two separate entities. As automation and other technology advances begin to become mainstream, the need for smart, efficient process design becomes more critical than ever.
In my article “Why ITSM is More Important Now Than Ever Before,” I discussed the new reality of modern ITSM. Modern ITSM is about:
Service management is the way that IT organizations can deliver value, become agile and responsive to ever-changing business needs, and lead organizations into digital transformation. But it’s more than that.
I think we’re on the cusp of a brave new world for IT and ITSM. Progressive IT organizations will move from being a commodity to being a value enabler. Why? Because businesses need good IT. Because good IT delivers the critical conduit between a business and its customers – cost-effective, reliable, and useful technology that connects customers to the valuable products and services delivered by a business. The effective use of IT, and ITSM, has a huge influence on how a customer perceives a business, which ultimately impacts the viability and profitability of that business.
With this expansion of influence comes responsibility for IT. What does IT need to do to be successful?
These are exciting times for IT service management professionals, packed with unlimited opportunities and possibilities for business success. Don’t be a bystander – become part of the conversation!