According to analysts like Forrester and Gartner, ITSM as a practice is now maturing and evolving. Companies with established ITSM tools are expanding their use of ITSM principles across multiple business functions on the journey towards Enterprise Service Management (ESM). The leaders in this march of progress display true business agility and have a customer-centric approach and a culture of cost accountability. Their P&Ls look leaner, with low capex and far less wastage.
Typically, companies that use established ITSM tools are near the beginning of that journey. In our experience, most of the most popular ITSM tools used by large organisations are past their prime. Enterprises are outgrowing them, seeking more flexible solutions that meet the demands of a distributed workforce and customer base that expects ‘always on’ service and support.
Connected in the cloud
Smart CFOs like cloud models that reduce their Cap-Ex budgets and meet demand elastically, reducing the risk of over-provisioning and metering expenditure to usage.
CIOs and users tend to like cloud versions of their favourite applications too. Why? Because, newer, cloud versions are designed for usability, scalability and flexibility and benefit from more frequent upgrades and faster release cycles, keeping them current with the latest must-have apps and features. The best cloud applications also come with thriving app marketplaces where add-ons can be easily obtained and smoothly integrated. This is certainly true of the Cloud versions of Jira Service Management (formerly Jira Service Desk).
Letting go of legacy ITSM tools
Years ago, companies seeking to establish an ITSM practice had less choice when it came to software. Back then, many vendors were focused on ITSM, often at the expense of providing functionality that kept pace with evolving ITIL frameworks and the rise of cloud-based delivery models.
Some of those vendors have sought a fast-path to acquiring additional functionality by growing through acquisition. In theory, this sounds good, but the investment and adjustment required to integrate cultures and code-sets should not be underestimated. In the adjustment period, budget is focused on integration and addressing technical debt, instead of releasing new features. Such products can fall behind the ITSM solutions designed specifically for the SaaS era and the evolution towards a service-centric business culture.
Crossing the chasm into the cloud
If your organization is adopting a more service-centric approach, or has cloud-first policy, we recommend Jira Service Management as an ITIL 4 PinkVerified(TM) ITSM solution that can evolve with you into an ESM platform.
Over hundreds of implementations for enterprise and mid-size customers, we have repeatedly proven that its flexible design means it can keep pace as companies grow and change. The highly configurable design has allowed us to build in the same, so-called advanced functionality some ITSM products offer and integrate and tailor them to the company so they work in coordination with all other features, rather as clunky extras.
Agile approach or service mindset?
Agile methodologies and ITSM frameworks have become sensationally popular. While tech-facing parts of the business may align themselves with the Agile and ITIL guiding principles about being responsive and interaction focused, other functions may view agility more broadly. They may see business agility as being able to leverage automation and self-service to liberate more time for those important personal contributions they can make to serve their internal or external customers. They may not have bought into the Agile manifesto or ITIL principles, but they do appreciate being able to do a good job, achieve more, stress less and scale more easily. That’s why we see Jira Service Management as playing a pivotal role across the corporation, not just at the IT front line.
At which stage is your company on the road to service maturity? Click here to view the infographic
