What is ITSM? A Quick Overview
There are many definitions of ITSM . A good starting point would be how ITIL – the most popular body of service management best practices – defines ITSM. However, that has changed over the years. The latest version of ITIL – ITIL 4, which was released in 2019 – has elevated the focus from ITSM to service management, which it defines as:
A set of specialized organizational capabilities for providing value to customers in the form of services.
In many ways, this gets closer to what ITSM is. Rather than it being about managing technology via a set of best practice processes, it’s a set of capabilities that improve business operations and outcomes.
ITSM is ultimately about better business, and it offers benefits on multiple levels:
In terms of the individuals (and the teams they work with), ITSM provides defined responsibilities and better ways of working (that employ industry best practices), that are enabled by technology. These are “ITSM tools” – software solutions that digitally enable the key ITSM processes.
The use of ITSM tools, in addition to the best practice processes, helps too. They provide technology-enabled capabilities that increase efficiency further through repeatable processes that minimize human effort (and costs).
Importantly, this is more than the use of digital workflows and automation . It’s also capabilities that empower users and enable ITSM practices that include self-service /help, service catalogs , knowledge management , and reporting and analytics .
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How ITSM Differs from ITIL
Given that ITIL is the most popular body of best practice guidance, it makes sense to compare IT Service Management to ITIL.
However, the key point to appreciate is that ITSM is a generic, overarching approach to managing IT service delivery and support, whereas ITIL can be considered a specific “flavor” of ITSM. Plus, with ITIL 4, the guidance is now more focused on service management and not just ITSM.
If we start with the fact that ITIL is a set of service management best practices, then immediately it’s more than ITSM. Second, not all ITSM best practices are ITIL. If you’d like something more practical, then ITIL can be considered an ant whereas IT Service Management is an insect. Such that an ant is an insect, but not all insects are ants.
What to Look for in an ITSM Tool
ITSM tools help ITSM practices to work in an optimized manner across all three of “better, faster, cheaper.” A key element of this is how the ITSM processes can be automated as digital workflows, but there’s so much more to look for too:
The good thing is that you don't have to go too far to look for a tool with all these included. InvGate Service Desk fulfills every requirement, plus it's ITIL-certified! You can see it for yourself here , or book a 15-minute free consultation with one of our experts.
Finally, there might also be the need for ITSM to be extended across the organization in the form of “enterprise service management” or the digital enablement required by digital transformation . Though this is not the main point of the article, you can find more information on enterprise service management here
Need more information? We have a definitive guide on ITSM ready for you! Find the 34 management capabilities of ITSM, the other sources of ITSM best practice available, how Enterprise Service Management and digital transformation are built on ITSM, and more!