Introduction

A good IT Service Management tool is indispensable for success in the provisioning and regulation of IT services in an organization. In this blog we will explore the features, processes, and best practices you should keep in mind when selecting an IT Service Management (ITSM) service/tool. First, let’s explore the benefits of ITSM tools.

The IT Service Management (ITSM) Advantage

The IT Service Management tool enables you to maximize the value of your IT department and provide faster and more thorough service to your customers while cutting costs.

ITSM benefits include:

1. Increased Productivity

The ITSM tool automation can handle many repetitive tasks associated with a service provided by the IT organization without human intervention. This allows employees to dedicate more time to tasks that really provide value to the business.

2. Reduced Risk

The automated ITSM tool is not susceptible to vagueness, misunderstandings, distraction, or human error. This minimizes the risk of failure while providing better service.

3. Gathering and Inputs on The Service

The service management tool stores large amounts of data that facilitates:

• A real-time service facility, defined by pre-defined pointers, allowing you to redirect critical situations before they become a problem. That helps to reduce the impact of incidents on the business.

• Identification of trends that can lead to a better understanding of business needs, resulting once again in improving the service quality.

Organizations often believe an ITSM tool by itself can solve the problems related to IT services, however the overall success of the tool still depends on implementing the process based on best practices.

Before embracing automation, it is essential to review the process and simplify the process where possible to eliminate errors/inefficiencies. If error-prone processes are automated, the error will substantially affect the overall functionality.

Possible Selection Criteria of ITSM Tools

Requirements for selecting a service management tool:

Functionality: Embrace the ITSM tool that can support all of your business processes. The tools are designed with a standard in mind, however the processes within your organization may be different. It is imperative to understand how well the tool can adjust to your specific processes.

Configuration: Functionality can be achieved by setting the tool’s parameters, without changing the fundamental architecture of the software.

Customization: This includes reforming parts of the tool to provide expected functionality. This is generally achieved through the change in software codes. It is expensive and difficult to manage through the service tool’s advancement cycles in the future. Because of this, the software vendor must validate if the changes are compatible with the recent versions of the service management tool. Otherwise you risk the customized version becoming obsolete.

Flexibility / Versatility:Your IT service requirements will change over time. An efficient tool will adapt to these changes via configuration without a change in software programming. This will reduce cost and enable you to adhere to execution deadlines.

Easy to Use: An instinctual and easy-to-manage tool will enhance IT efficiency and productivity of agents and users alike. Reducing the learning curve for the IT team.

Price: The cost of the tool is based on factors such as licenses, customization, support, maintenance, and training, etc. When choosing an ITSM tool, it is advisable to look at all cost factors.

Deadlines: Deadlines: The execution timeline is important to consider when assessing a tool. The execution duration is the time where you pay for the tool without being able to use it. Usually, tools with large execution timelines require a lot of time and resources in order to be upgraded.

Manufacturer Independence: Manufacturer Independence: After implementing the tool, successful companies provide training to end-users or make ongoing modifications and configurations to the service management tool to keep it updated with the business requirements. Depending on asset availability, modifications can be handled in several ways:

• To train employees, only ask the provider in case of significant changes.

  With the first option, it is important to ensure that:

  • The tool is easily customizable.

  • The vendor offers training on the tool.Whether it is offered Cloud or On-premises

• Hiring service hours from the vendor so they make any changes you need.

Depending on your needs, you can choose

• Using the vendor’s infrastructure and use the tool as a cloud-based service.

• Install the tool on your internal IT infrastructure.

Other Requirements: Other instances to consider when selecting a service tool can be:

• If the provider is the manufacturer, then you can have more autonomy to make decisions.

• If you can install the tool on your preferred platform?

Licensing: This includes factors such as Nominal vs Concurrent Licenses, purchase license vs rent, etc.

The Selection Process of Vendor

1. Establish Requirements

Once you understand the requirements of IT Services and define various processes, you need to compile a list of all the classified requirements using the MoSCoW technique. The technique can be broken down as:

• M – Must: Critical requirements. You cannot operate without them.

• S – Should: The important requirements that have a substantial impact.

• C – Could: These include desirable requirements and concerns with items that do not have a very high impact.

• W – Would: These include Future requirements that are not critical now but could be necessary in the future.

2. Identify Products

Identify possible vendors and products in the market through research, references of contemporaries, industry journals, etc.

3. Evaluate Compliance Requirements

You should also create a list of indispensable requirements. This can be achieved by asking vendors if your requirements can be met by customizations.

4. Generate a Shortlist of Candidates

After going through the evaluations of various requirements, shortlist 2 or 3 candidates.

5. Establish Criteria

Then, compile a list of final criteria for the final evaluation. You can also assign grades to each criterion.

6. Evaluate in Detail

Ask the vendor for a test environment where the tool could be evaluated. Then, gather information on the rest of the selection criteria.

7. Assign Grades

Allot a score to each of the tested tools depending on the level of compliance with your requirement.

8. Final Selection

Using the score and good judgment, you need to select the tool.

ISSQUARED and ITSM

ISSQUARED, Inc. a premier value-added provider can offer you a comprehensive list of managed services, built around a looming IT scenario and designed to transform your ITSM landscape. ISSQUARED provides a practical view of the use of ITIL, adopting its best practices to suit the needs of the customers. We access your IT Infrastructure and suggest the best ITSM solution. At ISSQUARED, we help our clients implement ITIL processes efficiently and with our ITSM services, your network never does downtime and you can maintain a seamless and continuous delivery to your customers.

Key list of ISSQUARED ITSM feature includes:

• Network Operations Center: An advanced network monitoring station to keep an eye on the multitude of your network elements.

• Infrastructure Management: Effortlessly managing your infrastructure with upgrades, deployments, and maintenance.

• Disaster Recovery: Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) on the cloud, thus eliminating the need and cost of maintaining an off-premise location, Infrastructure, and staff.

• Service Desk: A service desk platform to better connect with your customers and partners.

Contact Us

Are you Interested in ISSQUARED IAM services? Our experts would be delighted to showcase the product and its features. You can reach out to us at sales@issquaredinc.com or call us at +1 (805) 480-9300.

For more info on ISSQUARED ITSM features, please visit: Click here

References

IT Service Management (ITSM) and Service Desk Implementation Best Practices

A practical guide to ITSM and ITIL 3 Part 1 Moments of truth

Incident Management Process Description-V1