ITSM Isn’t Enough Anymore: The Transition to ESM in 2019

IT management has undergone a massive amount of change in the past few years with the adoption of new and emerging technologies. Still, there are many areas that need to be addressed. IT service teams are under continuous pressure to do more with less. Customers are far more empowered and demanding increasingly superior service. Downtime is becoming increasingly expensive and unacceptable. And on top of this, like any field, organizations are dealing with increased complexity. There is a growing need for a service management solution that addresses enterprise needs beyond IT. So where do we see it all going next as we move into 2019? Here are three trends to watch.

1. AI and Automation Will Be Game Changers

AI, Machine Reasoning and automation are quickly gaining traction when it comes to IT management – for good reasons. From early application of machine learning—like pattern matching—there is a move toward digital agents that use Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine reasoning to add intelligence to a whole range of IT management tasks. This, in conjunction with automation libraries, will provide end-to-end automation with which up to 50 percent of repetitive, manual tasks can be resolved instantly.

This trend will evolve in 2019. That’s because, when applied correctly, these innovations can free up IT service employees to focus on bigger, more important issues and provide 24/7 “consumer-like” IT services. This trend reduces costs, increases employee engagement and productivity, and ultimately improves customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores.

2. Dealing with Increased Complexity

With hybrid cloud adoption, new middleware architecture components and micro services architectures, and the growing adoption of DevOps, the trend towards distribution and increased complexity will continue. This is sort of a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning. Technological advancements aren’t going to slow down anytime soon – everything is going to get even more complex.

3. Breaking Down Silos

Companies adopting Enterprise Service Management (ESM) increasingly will unleash productivity. This trend will accelerate in 2019. Organizations are already beginning to use one tool, platform or suite—from the IT department to HR, legal, procurement, finance, etc.—whereby employees across departments may file requests, report incidents, and have services provided.

This is what enterprise service management provides: rather than using one tool for ITSM and having every other department using their own disparate solutions, there’s a sense of continuity and underlying integrity. Most ITSM/ITIL solutions have been designed with a focus on addressing service levels, tracking responses, and maintaining trails, and this is something that other departments can truly benefit from. A systematic approach can help cut down on chaos and, in some situations, save money on dealing with multiple vendors.

Change is Good

Gone (or soon to be gone) are the days of slow responses to tickets, the stereotypical cranky IT guys, and the treatment of ITSM as a burden. The field is changing rapidly and, like so much else, benefitting greatly from new technologies like AI and Machine Reasoning. As the new year approaches, it’s a whole new era for IT management as it transitions to ESM.

Dr. Akhil Sahai is Chief Product Officer at Symphony Summit. He has over 20 years’ experience in product strategy and management marketing and business development. He is a product leader with extensive experience managing SaaS-based early-stage startups, as well as high-growth businesses with multimillion-dollar product portfolios.