For a good reason, enterprise service management is sometimes referred to as a "decade-old fresh trend. Software for IT Service Management, or ITSM, has long been a mainstay of the help desk and has completely changed how IT departments operate. Due to ITSM's popularity, some businesses have jumped on the bandwagon and realized how advantageous it is to use ITSM software for Enterprise Service Management (ESM). Thus, the amusing phrase "decade-old fresh trend."
As part of the broader drive towards digital transformation, Enterprise Service Management (ESM) has gained traction. Although some organizations have experimented with the practice in the past using outdated software, their ESM strategy was abandoned because of inadequate support. The ease with which ESM can now be implemented thanks to technological advancements has rekindled interest in the practice among those who had previously given it up.
Even in the post-COVID world, the advantages of enterprise service management can boost your business's objectives and expedite digital transformation.It is crucial to first comprehend enterprise service management in its entirety in order to fully appreciate these advantages.
What Is Enterprise Service Management?
What is enterprise service management? ITSM assists in keeping IT and the rest of the enterprise in line with business objectives, which helps to shape an organization's digital trajectory. Using a common set of best practices, ITSM software simplifies communication between IT and the rest of the company. Based on the same concept, Enterprise Service Management (ESM) is developed from ITSM. It helps various departments within the company interact and function with common objectives and standardized practices. ESM aims to enable an organization to provide and maintain services for its workforce.
The main distinctions between ITSM and ESM are as follows. ITSM is unique to the IT department and includes procedures specific to IT processes, such as the service or help desk. Numerous departments make use of enterprise service management. ESM can be used, for instance, for requests related to building facilities, employee onboarding, and human resources (HR).
Knowledge management is used by both ITSM and ESM, and when appropriate, certain ITIL procedures may also be used to increase value. This means that a self-service portal can be implemented to help streamline all processes using the knowledge and procedures already in place. Despite the differences between ESM and ITSM, in many situations, they can be managed with the same software, thus optimizing your ITSM software investment.
7 Benefits Of Enterprise IT Service Management
Through the creation of trackable tickets and the application of established best practices, service management software facilitates smooth communications between the customer-typically an employee of the company-and the service desk-typically the IT department, but in this case, any other internal team.
Naturally, there are more advantages to adopting an ITSM and ESM solution. Here are seven advantages of Enterprise IT Service Management:
Efficacy Improved, And Operational Costs Reduced
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, annual growth was observed in IT spending. This surge in IT spending was a clear sign that economies were growing and stabilizing. Still, many businesses are now facing a very different environment in the wake of COVID-19. As of right now, Gartner projects an 8% decline in IT spending. This suggests a stronger push towards overall cost reduction, possibly in addition to dealing with fewer workers who need to perform the same tasks.
Enterprise service management's standard operating procedures can result in a 50% drop in costs and a 30% boost in productivity for businesses. Since issues will be fixed faster and with less downtime, the increased efficiency will also result in lower overall operating costs.
ESM can also cut expenses by keeping track of company property and equipment. This is essential in a remote work environment that is changing quickly. Without asset management software connected to an ESM solution, it may become challenging to track equipment and other assets that might have been sent home with an employee.
A case study of the MENTOR Network provides a fantastic illustration of this advantage. By optimizing asset management, onboarding new hires, and IT service requests through an ITSM self-service portal, they have observed a 25% reduction in the volume of service calls and tickets handled a day.
Get The Most Out Of Your Corporate ITSM Solution
A significant return on investment can be achieved by using an ITSM solution for ESM that has a low total cost of ownership, or TCO. This is significant because it indicates that, in comparison to using the software for IT alone, a corporate ITSM solution will yield a higher return on investment the more users it has.
There are a number of things to consider when calculating the Return On Investment (ROI) of your service management solution. These variables include the number of tickets processed monthly, the proportion of lowered tickets, the average ticket price, and the monthly license fees.
Also Read: Why Invest in Enterprise ITSM? Maximize ROI with Our Cost-Saving Solution!
Management Of Enterprise Services Maximizes Self-Service Efficiencies
ESM optimizes self-service efficiencies when utilized in conjunction with self-service technology. The various self-service features, such as the ability to look up and submit requests for facilities, marketing, HR, or any other need, combine to make the ESM tool more widely used and more productive.
Self-service increases the Return On Investment (ROI) of an ITSM or ESM tool, much as ESM maximizes the ROI on a corporate ITSM tool. Get a detailed calculation by clicking this link to determine the ROI of self-service technology in conjunction with service management.
Ensure Better Collaboration And Communication Within Your Company
Improved communication and teamwork are the end result of enterprise service management's uniform approach to request creation and onboarding. Beyond merely offering standardized protocols, ESM facilitates collaboration even in remote work environments.
Think about a situation where you need a standardized location to manage notes or the status of fixing a problem if you are working on a project with a remote team member. Suppose a facilities request has been open for longer than usual while you are working in the corporate office. A quicker resolution will result from being able to check the notes on the ticket and get in touch with the parties through the same ticket. It is simple to elevate a ticket without making several calls or emails.
Employee retention is increased in addition to giving workers more flexibility to work remotely and handle their workload more effectively.Offering your staff an omnichannel (or one-stop-shop) experience can mean the difference between their level of dissatisfaction and satisfaction. However, integrating these channels also makes it easier for information to spread.
Improve Your Organization's Visibility And Governance
With an ESM solution, managers can more readily monitor project and ticket status, just as employees can profit from being able to see each other's progress. Enhancing visibility provides managers with the necessary insights to effectively oversee without resorting to micromanagement or squandering time. It also sheds light on potential problem areas for staff members.
Additionally, self-service software makes managing a remote team easier. It requires fewer resources, freeing up leadership teams to focus on more strategic matters. When a procedure changes, managers don't need to advocate for new training-they can easily update the knowledge management database and self-service portal.
Software can also help executive teams since it can be used to create and analyze reports that show productivity levels, team strengths and weaknesses, and where resources are being used.The increased visibility provided by enterprise service management software will also be helpful to those who have to monitor internal procedures to make sure internal standards are met.
Improve Standardization In Your Organization Dramatically
An organization's standard operating procedures and rules can result in a more positive experience for teams and employees in general. Employees will spend less time looking up possibly out-of-date procedures when using an Enterprise Service Management system, knowledge management database, and self-service portal.
For instance, the standardization of ESM can make onboarding and answer discovery easier. It can take a lot of time for a new hire to look up answers on a shared drive or try to get in touch with various departments that have different preferred means of communication. Through the ESM, a new hire can browse their options and access the portal, ultimately contacting coworkers in a consistent manner. Ultimately, this could save hours during the onboarding process and when resolving a customer's problem.
Improve The Client Experience
Customers from outside the company have a better experience when employees are not spending as much time inside the company looking for answers and making excuses.
Take a moment to consider requests for facilities. Consider a convenience store where a light fixture has to be replaced or repaired due to damage. With the help of ESM, store staff can swiftly submit a facilities request, which is subsequently forwarded to a vendor for repair. The entire process is monitored and traceable for all parties. Because of this, fixing the light will take less time, and employee and customer safety will always come first. But the light remains out longer if it takes a long time to submit or escalate a ticket. The dim lighting may make it difficult for staff members and customers to see other problems, or it may create a dangerous scenario where cameras are unable to see the area. Because worker and customer safety may be jeopardized, those extra days or weeks may end up costing more than if the repair had been completed sooner.
A faster internal request process amongst business units by employees translates into a better customer experience.
Conclusion
Companies are still discovering the advantages of ESM and implementing ESM solutions despite the fact that adoption rates are rising daily. After COVID-19, businesses will want to boost the Return On Investment (ROI) of their traditional ITSM solutions. They will discover that Enterprise Service Management contributes to the achievement of these and other future goals.
The future of ESM appears bright with the integration of AI technology, chatbots, knowledge management, self-service, and predictive analysis.
