“Information Technology Service Management” (ITSM) refers to the structured approach to managing IT services. The primary objective of a good service management system is to improve customer satisfaction and reduce IT system downtime. IT service providers also strive to achieve the highest possible cost-effectiveness and the best possible use of resources. The topics of automation, monitoring and AI support for ITSM systems are becoming increasingly important.
An ITSM tool supports you in the efficient provision of IT services by creating all tickets via various communication channels (self-service portal, email, telephone, from other systems) and systematically categorizing and processing them. The aim is to optimize value creation and continuously develop the IT services offered.
Your benefits from Service Management | ITSM
Standardized ticketing processes
Relief for your IT support
Fast ROI and investment security
Increased customer satisfaction
Applicable to all departments | Interdepartmental cooperation
The idea of a central point of contact—and the associated bundled, i.e., potentially more efficient, processing option—for all services originally came from ticketing tools. This concept and the underlying process logic have also proven themselves for communication outside of IT and are now used by other departments to communicate specifically with customers or internally when providing services.
Our software ecosystem also supports services outside the IT department, for example, customer support processes can be accelerated significantly. You can also better plan, control and evaluate collaboration between departments on the one hand and with partner companies on the other. With ITSM, you benefit from fast and efficient processing of requests and orders in internal and external communications, while integrating monitoring tools into your service processes to improve quality. The structured evaluation of key performance indicators enables you to continuously improve your company-wide service offering.
Where can I use ITSM? | Application examples
You can use ITSM systems for different tasks in your company. ITSM workflows can be mapped across departments so that information processing can take place in a task-oriented manner without the need to change tools.
Application examples for ITSM:
- Ticketing tool for customer requests and IT support
- Technical support and maintenance of equipment and facilities
- Webshops, ordering and delivery processes
- Onboarding processes
- IT Asset Management in the CMDB
- Self-service portals including knowledge database
- Reporting channel for compliance with certain laws and regulations
What is a service desk?
A service desk is where all customer and support requests come together. This bundling is also referred to as a single point of contact (SPOC). The concentration of service requests and incident reports enables IT-related issues (known as tickets) to be processed more efficiently. In the service desk, the tickets are categorized and prioritized according to topic and then assigned to an available and suitable service desk employee.
First-level support is the first point of contact for hardware and software problems. Simpler inquiries are solved directly by first-level support. More complex issues are passed on to second-level support. Only when second-level support is unable to help, does third-level support come into play with its detailed expert knowledge and distinctive skills.
The responses or resolution paths of tickets should be documented so that the same or a similar concern can be resolved more quickly when it reoccurs, eliminating the need for costly escalation to third-level support.
What is a help desk?
Thematically, the areas of responsibility of the help desk and service desk overlap. The help desk is concerned with solving problems and supporting users with software and hardware issues—for example, remote maintenance or solution descriptions. The service desk, on the other hand, also handles concerns that are not necessarily to be understood as malfunctions, errors or problems. These can be various services such as changing customer data, booking certain services or requesting information.
In summary, the work of the help desk can be described as problem/solution-oriented; the work of the service desk as service-oriented.
What is a self-service portal?
A self-service portal enables your own staff and customers to access your company’s services independently and at any time from any device and at any location. Directly in the browser, predefined workflows can be used to create tickets with minimal effort or to search a knowledge base in an uncomplicated way, so that requests can be transmitted quickly or solutions can be found on their own.
The OMNITRACKER Self-Service Portal acts as a “single point of contact” (SPOC), as requests and messages can be submitted centrally via the portal, regardless of the recipient. A self-service portal thus bundles communication channels, which offers a more efficient, resource-saving and uncomplicated application.
What is an incident in ITSM?
An incident (term from the ITIL® best practice standard) refers to an unforeseen interruption or malfunction of a service. In ITSM, an incident also occurs when a service is only partially available or of lower quality.
The goal of IT service management (or, more precisely, incident management as a subdiscipline of ITSM) is to restore the original (fault-free) state quickly and in a way that conserves resources.
An example would be the reporting of WLAN problems, whereby an employee is temporarily unable to carry out his or her work. The goal is to eliminate the WLAN disruption as quickly as possible to maintain the productivity of the company’s own staff. In the case of an incident, it does not matter whether the person affected is a customer or one of the company’s own employees.
What is a service request in ITSM?
A service request refers to a service—usually IT-related—that is provided by the service desk for a customer or an employee on request. All such services offered by an organization are usually managed in service catalogs. The greater the degree of standardization of the services offered, the faster and more cost-effectively service requests can be processed. Response times, resolution times and precise definitions of the scope of services are recorded in service level agreements (SLAs).
A possible example would be a request for a license for a software program. In such a case, the IT department or purchasing would check whether the request is justified and then issue the license key to the ticket creator.
The difference between an incident and a service request is that an incident is intended to quickly restore the normal state. In the case of a service request, on the other hand, the aim is to make a change or request a new service. Since in practice there is often confusion about the distinction between incident and service request, tickets are usually sorted into the respective categories by the service desk.
ITIL® framework for increased efficiency in ITSM
Benefit from the advantages of ITIL®-compliant service management software that allows you to design your business processes in a targeted manner, and flexibly adapt and expand them at any time. OMNITRACKER ITSM Center is a service management software with low-code elements that can be configured easily and quickly.
Benefits at a glance:
- More efficiency for services of all departments
- Focus on customer satisfaction and value enhancement
- Flexible customization with low code
- Easy automation through BPMN
Adapt processes to your business quicker with low code
Low-code development is the creation and adaptation of software almost without programming. Instead, prefabricated code modules are used or software elements provided—via drag-and-drop. “Configuring instead of programming” is the basic idea here. This is made possible by low-code development and low-code platforms.
Advancement to enterprise service management
Von ITSM zu ESM
Enterprise service management is an extension of IT service management, whereby the structured processing of service requests via a service desk is not limited to the IT department but can be transferred to all business units across departments. The IT department ensures that the company-wide technical infrastructure can be used without disruption. This is the only way to provide services efficiently and drive forward the digital transformation.
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Send us an individual enquiry according to your needs.Relevant information about ITSM | IT Service Management
Technical Article ITIL® Framework
As a highly efficient, scalable, and flexible ticketing solution for the management of IT and non-IT services, OMNITRACKER is based on the current ITIL® standard, and integrates further supporting processes.
How to relieve the support
Artificial intelligence in IT service management helps to process standard requests more quickly. This helps to reduce the workload of support staff and gives them time to deal with difficult and time-consuming tickets.
Recording of the live session
This live session will show you how to create better and more user-friendly forms in OMNITRACKER. With well-designed forms, you save valuable working time when processing tickets.
ITSM whitepaper Healthcare
All frequently required services are processed digitally via a self-service portal, shortening communication paths. This approach makes workflows more efficient and faster, and they can be processed without errors.
ITSM flyer
OMNITRACKER ITSM Center is an ITIL®4-certified service desk software that enables you to systematically categorize incoming tickets (service requests/incidents), automatically assign them to the appropriate service employee and thus process them more cost-effectively.
ESM flyer
Enterprise service management is an extension of IT service management, whereby the structured processing of service requests via a service desk is not limited to the IT department but can be transferred to all business areas across departments.