Background

It would be clichéd to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed all of our lives. Yet, how these changes have occurred has set some key trends in motion, which will guide our lives for years to come. Most prominent has been the rapid adoption of technology by organizations. This has come in response to the adoption of technology by customers due to physical limitations owing to the pandemic. Terms like work-from-home, remote work, cloud working have become so popular that they have entered numerous lexicons. These practices have seeped into business practices and are making 'economic sense'. Thus, it is also important to understand ITSM market trends.

The world of ITSM, or IT Service Management, has not remained untouched by these trends. Instead of focusing on IT systems, ITSM focuses on customer demands and IT services for customers. The key idea is that continuous improvement is emphasized in ITSM. The delivery of IT as a service is the core concept that underpins ITSM. This goes above and beyond standard IT assistance. ITSM is more comprehensive. It encompasses all information technologies within an organization and outlines the methods and tools used by IT teams to manage IT services from beginning to end. ITSM ensures that an IT team's aims are aligned with the company's larger goals and that its activities serve the overall purpose.

This article will discuss the ITSM trends. Tracking these trends would be an indispensable practice for any organization that wants to prepare itself for future trends. At the outset, what is remarkable about these trends is that they showcase the use of these changing times as a command to ready themselves for an ever-changing world. In short, these trends indicate that dynamism in business practices is key. With this brief background before us, let us proceed to a discussion of these trends. 

Discussion of Key ITSM Trends

Earlier the discussion on ITSM trends centered on ITIL 4, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), Customer Experience (CX), Automation, and Digital transformation. Now the ITSM trends can be placed on a continuum, and are the next stage in evolution in the discussion of these trends. These are:

• Impact of Digital Transformation and Global Digital workflows on ITSM

• ITSM and AI/ML

• Automation of ITSM

• Stakeholder behavior

• Enterprise Service Management and ITIL 4

1. Digital Transformation and Global Digital Workflows

One of the most prominent themes was the total digital transformation of organizations. It is no longer a novel idea. Organizations will aim to expand and operationalize digital transformation. No organization can afford to continue operating under old strategies and continually exude dynamism in their operations. For instance, disruptive technology such as autonomous robots is rapidly taking over the last-mile delivery sector in the logistics sector, while established players struggle to adapt.

ITSM technology and processes and their seamless interaction with other systems are crucial in laying a firm basis for digital-first businesses. The home-based company digital revolution isn't just beneficial to have; it's necessary (and to deploy gradually in the next few years). However, it is critical for their existence. IT departments are putting forth a lot of effort to make this happen.

2. ITSM and AI/ML

While AI can simplify and automate a substantial chunk of an organization's desk's work (chatbots, automatic issue-resolution, and ML-enabled security threat detection), the corporate sector has yet to embrace it completely.

Many organizations are still not using AI in their daily operations or are only conducting pilot testing with AI-enabled solutions. Yet, the transition to AI-enabled ITSM is well underway. For example, transforming one's organization to be digital-first, AI and smart automation have become more than just nice-to-haves; they've become essential to an organization's survival.

The capabilities of AI-enabled tools are inextricably linked to smart automation. Several dimensions can be used to reduce the requirement for human interaction in ITSM:

• Tasks that are mundane and repetitive can be automated

• Alerts and occurrences in real-time

• Machine learning techniques are used to analyze large data sets

• To limit noise, use smart notification and alert management

• End-to-end data transfer that is automated

3. Automation of ITSM

A well-defined, documented method within the organization is one of the most critical success prerequisites for automation. Automation efforts will struggle and may not be worth anything if a company's processes aren't well-structured to begin with.

Treating process automation as a panacea is a common misconception. As a result, we must manage and communicate organizational requirements (to achieve effective automation), exposing the dangers of automating poorly specified processes. The most critical components for automation success are the analysis and requirements stages of any automation initiative. Splitting or dividing as much as feasible is crucial as it's much easier to examine, debug, correct, and navigate between segmented processes. As a result, the organization will experience reduced impact and risk.

4. Stakeholder Behavior

Quarantine has forced us to work from home (for those who are fortunate enough to be allowed to), causing us to adapt to a new working style that we were not prepared for. This has necessitated a shift in how IT firms deploy and maintain technology and the people who rely on it in their jobs. It has altered the way IT services are managed (ITSM). Many experts believe that rising numbers of people working remotely will become the new standard in the future. Others question if we'll witness another COVID-19-style disaster in the not-too-distant future.

Companies will need to improve their ITSM and enterprise service management skills and be ready to give solutions for employee or operational concerns formerly resolved during an office coffee break. In the post-COVID-19 environment, well-defined processes and enterprise service management solutions that ensure service fulfillment will be essential. 

5. Enterprise Service Management and ITIL 4

Enterprise service management is the new industry standard for service delivery and support for innovative enterprises and their departments. The days of responding to requests by email or using a spreadsheet to track procedures are gone, and this applies to all service divisions (IT, HR, facilities, operations, legal, etc.). Inboxes are overflowing, there's no way to see who's working on what, and there's no way to see and manage backlogs (not as an individual nor at the department or company level). Visibility and control mechanisms are now a need. All workers, requesters, and responders should request and answer service management needs through a "single pane of glass" (a single portal).

ITIL 4 has a clear focus on Lean-Agile. Organizations must now become more adaptable and resilient. Thus it can be said that one must be able to respond to internal changes rapidly, flexibly, and forcefully. They must foresee, plan for, respond to, and adapt to both gradual and unexpected disturbances from an external perspective. Resilient and agile businesses can grow significantly better with changes, particularly large-scale ones since they can swiftly and efficiently modify their operational models. This implies they have a considerably broader range of "normal operations," and the necessity for a continuity plan is generally much later.

ITIL 4 enables an organization to manage risks. Risk management is a standardized technique for reassessing hazards and devising remedies. The consistent use of information security management, availability management, and capacity and performance management guarantees that the company has a proper grasp of its resources, vulnerabilities, and opportunities.

Architecture and System management, HR management, Supply-chain management, and stakeholder relationship management are essential aspects of maintaining an effective position in the business ecosystem and ensuring that the firm adapts to external changes. 

Simpliaxis is one of the leading professional certification training providers in the world offering courses related to IT service management (ITSM). We offer ITIL 4 Foundation Certification Training  to both individuals and corporate groups through instructor-led classroom and online virtual sessions.

Conclusion

The world of ITSM is seeing rapid changes at break-neck speeds. The ITSM trends 2021 displayed a stronger leaning towards a dynamic post-COVID-19 world. In summary, one of the critical areas of discussion was a shift in the paradigm of work. There has been a global transformation in the way people work, and we have been pushed towards a higher rate of technological adoption by the nature of the Pandemic. Thus, businesses have to adapt to the same. Another key ITSM trend has been reflecting this very changing environment and measures to cope with it. Therefore, ITIL 4 and Lean-Agile have dominated discussions. On a global scale, we are beginning to think about the 'Future of Work' with an eye towards AI / ML and the opportunities which automation holds. However, discussions around the pitfalls of automation are also essential to engage with as organizations must be realistic in terms of how many problems automation can solve and to what extent. Finally, the Pandemic has affected employee preferences as well as customer needs.

Regarding the former, newer strategies to motivate and develop employee skills are required. Skill development must take a holistic character and augment the deployment of technology. As far as customer needs are concerned, organizations have to double down on their data analytics and derive strong inferences from predicting future trends. It is safe to say that we are entering into a new era of work, and these trends will have a critical impact on future trends.