IT Service
Management Software
IT Service
Management (ITSM) is the Customer-Facing operation within internal
IT organizations, usually comprising a Help Desk with second and
third level support areas - e.g. Networks, Operations, Desktop
Support, Security, Change Control etc. The IT Service Management
Software to support Help Desks and Service Management has developed
significantly over the last few years, with many organizations on
their 3rd or 4th generation of Helpdesk or ITSM product. There are
over 200 products available. These products vary considerably in
functionality, from high-specification multi-purpose tools to
single-user systems that simply log calls. These IT Service
Management Software systems generally require significant
integration with e-mail, alerting and monitoring systems. IT Service
Management Software is a business application and most of the work
required is process, communications and people-orientated.
A major
function of IT Service Management Software is to collect and
maintain comprehensive data on inventory, configuration, staff,
SLAs, troubleshooting and network traffic. IT Service Management
Software enables the IT staff to keep the information up-to-date and
consistent, and to make it readily available across the enterprise.
IT Service Management software can be located by various means. Few
enterprises have no Service Management tools and many are
considering replacing or upgrading those that are in use.
IT Service
Management Software – Types: One way to look at this is that IT
Service Management Software can fall into three broad
groups:
- Service
Management
- Infrastructure Management
- Application
Management
IT Service
Management Software ensures that services are defined and changed
when necessary and provide support during other stages of services.
Look for IT Service Management Software that conforms through your
IT processes to your business processes. Don’t purchase a tool and
expect that you can change the business or IT process to conform to
the tool.
IT Service
Management Software – Does Size Matter?
In a very small
organization a simple in-house developed database a simple IT
Service Management Software system may be sufficient for logging and
controlling Incidents. However, in larger organizations, a
sophisticated, distributed, integrated IT Service Management
Software toolset may be required, possibly linking all the processes
with event-management systems.
While tools can
be an important Asset in today's IT-dependent organizations, they
are a means, not an end in themselves. When implementing Service
Management processes, the starting point should always be looking at
the way processes work and the need for management information. This
provides the information needed to define the specifications for the
tool best suited to assist the
organization.
The range and
sophistication of tools for IT Service Management Software has grown
rapidly in recent years. Tools for the automation of core processes
such as Incident logging and tracking have been supplemented by
computer-integrated telephony, software capable of handling complex
and multiple Service Level Agreements, and remote support
technology. There are a myriad of these ranging from Interactive
voice response to Rapid application development
tools.
IT Service
Management software – automation: Some areas of IT Service
Management Software are too resource intensive to be performed
effectively without automation. Each tool for the automation of
Service Management has advantages and disadvantages but automation
is still recognized as vital. It is necessary to ensure that the
combination of technology, processes and people are integrated and
meet the needs of the Customers. Well remember - automation should
be used to enhance Service Management, not replace
it.
