IT Service Management (ITSM) Tools

IT Service Management (ITSM) tools enable enterprise IT teams to facilitate all the processes, services, and applications required for planning, managing, and delivering end-to-end IT services to customers, employees and other stakeholders. The goal of ITSM tools are to combine various processes and practices that align IT services with business needs, ensuring optimal performance and delivery. Efficient ITSM tools, as a result, are essential in helping companies maintain operational efficiency and improve user satisfaction, through the reliable fulfilment of IT services.

Key Functions of ITSM Tools

The key functions and capabilities of ITSM tools include the following:

• Service Request Management: ITSM tools primarily offer service request management, which handles and fulfills service requests from customers, clients, or system users. Service requests can include tasks such as password resets, software installations, account creations and permissions, or service changes. Organizations can also streamline service requests by integrating with helpdesk software that they may already be using, to maintain familiarity among IT service teams.
• Knowledge Management: ITSM software also includes knowledge management, which is important for creating and sharing information so that IT professionals and the organization’s users can easily find important data. Knowledge management helps improve decision-making within a company by improving collaboration, streamlining information-sharing, and quickening issue resolution.  
• Change Management: ITSM software includes change management processes that help control IT service lifecycles and make changes to essential systems in a controlled, systematic way, helping to minimize risk and business disruptions. Efficient change management, as a result, is a key component for companies looking to establish business continuity.
• Incident Management: ITSM tools deliver efficient incident management, which restores normal system function and accessibility after an incident. Incident management includes identifying, logging, categorizing, and resolving incidents to promptly and efficiently minimize their impact on business operations. Incident management also leverages automated tools and workflows to make the resolution process more efficient, for optimal service quality and customer satisfaction.
• Problem Management: Problem management is a core element of ITSM, and includes proactively identifying incident causes to quickly diagnose and resolve issues, implement fixes, and prevent future issues by maintaining a database of known issues, incident causes, and resolutions. Problem management fosters more stable and reliable IT services by reducing how often incidents occur, and helps minimize business downtime, further contributing towards enterprise business continuity.

Organizations can also integrate Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their ITSM tools. RPA tools automate processes and workflows across core IT management functions to improve data accuracy, minimize manual tasks, and speed up issue resolution.