Help Desk: Two ways to avoid ITSM mistakes

Barriers to ITSM and how to overcome them

In a properly implemented ITSM, IT costs are reduced, administrative costs are reduced, employee productivity and satisfaction are increased, and information is gathered on how IT resources are used to help the business.

In ITSM, policies, and procedures for designing and delivering IT services to end-users are defined. Beyond IT support and help desks, it includes monitoring, management, and troubleshooting needed to continuously improve IT services to meet business needs.

A functional ITSM includes, among other things, identifying which technological components, such as servers and databases, support which applications and documenting that information appropriately. In time, as these relationships and dependencies become more complex, ITSM can become more costly and more technologically focused than business.

Listed below are a few ITSM methods that can go wrong and how to avoid them.

Oceans boiled

Copenhagen Airport’s Head of IT Asset and Service Management, Christian, advises that one should not do too much too soon. In using ServiceNow’s ITSM platform, “we started with core ITSM functions, such as incident management and change management, and limited their use to platforms such as laptops and software.” Eventually, ITSM services such as access cards and parking permits were added. We would have failed if we offered all the services at the beginning because it requires time and resources.

“We have been overly ambitious” in creating a knowledge base for users, he says, not putting in place a system to upgrade and maintain it. Remediating problems can require sifting through inaccurate and outdated information.

Take baby steps with your core functions and ensure that they become part of your IT organization’s culture before moving on to advanced activities such as artificial intelligence,” says Chris Matchett, a senior research director at Gartner. Processes must be documented and optimized before they can be automated, he suggests. Automation can only lead to wrong results if the process is fundamentally broken.”

We leveraged ServiceNow to create a common data source, known as a configuration management database (CMDB). The database was well-connected to business applications. When the CMDB is used to track, for example, What services are dependent on what servers, IT staff can determine which outages are most critical, start resolving them promptly and quickly notify users about the issue, says Mr. Andrews.

Calvo, CTO at inspection and testing company Applus, advises customers who use ITIL software for ITSM to create a clear, well-defined IT services catalog and management process.

In ITIL, processes, roles, and responsibilities are outlined in a structured manner, and responsibilities are clearly defined. An SLA guarantees service delivery. Having the wrong people handle service issues can result in higher costs and inferior service, he says.

Corteva’s Cecile Blackburn recalls a time when a support ticket was routed to a team that wasn’t available over the weekend, rather than the team that was. As a result of the difficulty in equating the business service with the IT components providing the service, “we disrupted the business,” she says.

Business is neglected

There is a temptation to focus on “IT” in ITSM, but its real purpose is to deliver business services.

The ITSM process is not designed with the business in mind, nor is it defined in business terms. Then it makes the acquisition of it difficult and makes its use very confusing for the business.

The number of IT events doesn’t matter to me when I stay in business, Hjortkjær said. “What concerns me about my application, how many problems does it have, how can I resolve them?” He can only give meaningful reports to the CEO. Can I link my events to the right business plan? And does this plan explain how those services contribute to improving airport performance?

It was difficult for Corteva to connect the different IT components using ServiceNow ITSM. Kshitij Bahadur, senior vice president of Corteva’s business services integration, said there are delays in ticketing. And delays in finding a way to solve the problem.

Through ITSM efforts, Eugene Mejia, deputy chief technical officer of Gilbert, Arizona, and his team have made knowledge development of 1,600 city workers a valuable business driver. Using monthly staff surveys, he and a team of IT leaders determine how well they have been promoting remote work. By improving features such as web interaction quality and mobile applications. For service requests and troubleshooting, they use Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the Webex Contact Center.

A focus on staff experience is extremely compelling to level C managers who should support ITSM.

Final Words:

Ideally, performance management systems are designed to meet business needs, and their values are publicly stated. Their technology debt is not hidden and they manage well over time.