It’s safe to say that the demand for IT service management is growing. As organizations define long-term hybrid or remote work policies, the need for robust, top-tier IT service management has increased exponentially. With more demand than ever, IT service management (ITSM) companies must refine their processes and frameworks to continue to provide high-quality service to new and existing clients. And that’s where ITSM tools truly shine. With the right ITSM tools, service management companies can deliver better services, streamline operations, and meet the growing needs of their customers.
But what exactly are ITSM tools, and how do you select the right option for your business? We’re exploring these questions in this blog.
What Is ITSM Used For?
ITSM is a process and a framework used by IT managed service providers to organize and implement the information technology services they provide their clients. ITSM vendors work with companies in a variety of different industries to manage some—or all—of their IT needs. While there are myriad services provided by vendors, some of the most common ITSM solutions include:
- Ticketing: Sometimes referred to as help desk, ticketing is a system to track and record problems, incidents, service requests, and more in one centralized location.
- Asset management: This service includes the deployment, maintenance, and upgrading of an organization’s assets, including both hardware and software.
- Change management: IT change management assists teams as they organize, authorize, deploy, and implement changes to products. Change management ensures as little disruption as possible for end users.
- Knowledge base: This tool is a self-serve online library that ensures that everyone on your team has the information they need about products and services to assist clients.
All of these functions, and more, are available with Startly’s IT service management platform.
What Are ITSM Tools?
ITSM tools are the products, platforms, and software solutions used by managed IT services companies to deliver IT services. According to Gartner, ITSM tools support the production environment and “facilitate the tasks and workflows associated with the management and delivery of quality IT services.” Service management tools examples include all-in-one solutions that provide all of the services you need in one place (like our own platform at Startly) and point solutions that aim to provide a tool to meet one specific need.
While ITSM tools are predominantly used by those working in IT service management, other teams, like HR, data, or finance may find use in various aspects of an ITSM tool. Finding an all-in-one solution in these instances can be beneficial, especially for functionality like project management, expense tracking, invoicing and billing, analytics, and more. Not only can sharing a platform reduce the costs associated with multiple products, but it can break down silos across teams, allowing for collaboration and shared data.
How Do I Choose an ITSM Tool?
There are many different ITSM products available on the market, and the stakes are high. Choosing the right tool for your team can provide benefits such as streamlining processes, optimizing the management of assets, enhancing internal and external communication, and accessing actionable reports. Choosing the wrong tool could lead to inefficiency, outages or downtime, and unhappy customers. Because of this, it’s imperative to find the right tool or tools for the job. As you begin your search, know that the top ITSM tools will:
- Meet your team’s needs: Before beginning a search for a new ITSM tool, it’s important to clarify must-haves and want-to-haves. Common needs for ITSM include workflow automations, reporting, asset management, and a robust ITSM ticketing tool. As you search for the right ITSM software solution, ensure you’re thinking about current needs and any big-picture strategic needs you may have in the future.
- Allow for consolidation: It’s not uncommon for companies to have multiple tools to manage and assist their various processes. Yet, learning about different solutions, flipping between platforms, and transferring information takes time—possibly too much time. With a platform like Startly, teams can access tools for time and expenses, service management, organizational governance, and analytics and insights all in one place.
- Be consistent and reliable: Whenever you’re selecting a cloud solution, ensuring its capacity, availability, and security should be top of mind. Not only should ITSM platforms be able to handle the amount of data you’re working with, but they should protect your data and afford your team uninterrupted access. These mission-critical aspects ensure that your team can deliver high-quality service to each of your clients.
Startly: An All-in-One Solution You Can Trust
Startly is an all-in-one solution that is designed to provide IT service management companies with all the tools they need to:
- Provide excellent service with ticketing, asset management, change management, and knowledge base
- Track time and expenses to see greater visibility to overall costs
- Oversee organizational governance in project management, resource management, and financing
- Access insights, reports, and the power of artificial intelligence to increase efficiency
If you’re looking to streamline every aspect of your IT service organization, start with Startly. Ready to learn more? Try Startly for free to get started.