subject: ITSM (IT Service Management) [print this page] ITSM (IT Service Management) ITSM (IT Service Management)
IT Service Management (ITSM)
IT service management (ITSM or IT services) is a discipline for managing information technology (IT) systems, centered on the customer's perspective. ITSM stands in deliberate contrast to technology-centered approaches to IT management and business interaction.
ITSM is process-focused and has ties with process improvement movement (e.g., TQM, Six Sigma, Business Process Management, CMMI) frameworks and methodologies. ITSM is not concerned with the details of how to use a particular vendor's product, or with the technical details of the systems under management.
ITSM is concerned on operational concerns of information technology management, and not on technology development. For example, the process of writing computer software for sale, or designing a microprocessor would not be the focus of the discipline, but the computer systems used by marketing and business development staff in software companies would be. Many non-technology companies have significant information technology systems which are not exposed to customers.
IT Service Management is frequently cited as a primary enabler of information technology governance objectives.
The concept of "service" in an IT sense has a distinct operational connotation. It would be incorrect to assume that IT Service Management is only about IT operations, it does not encompass all of IT practice, and this can be a controversial matter.
It does not typically include project management. ITSM is related to the field of Management Information Systems (MIS) in scope. However, ITSM has a distinct practitioner point of view, and is more introspective as opposed to the more academic and outward facing connotation of MIS.
IT Service Management in the broader sense overlaps with the disciplines of business service management and IT portfolio management, especially in the area of IT planning and financial control.
Many companies are attempting to run their IT organizations like a business. They are viewing internal business units as customers who require maximum value from their IT investments, rapid response to their needs, consistent service levels, and full visibility into technology costs. In particular, senior executives are demanding this cost visibility to exercise appropriate financial controls and more accurately benchmark service costs.
To adopt this strategy, organizations must understand the business, including visibility into the defined or documented service offerings and business processes the IT organization delivers to the organization.
