How to choose the most suitable ITSM solution for your needs

While you may have a clear vision of your specific needs, this article can be your checklist to ensure you examine all considerations. Let’s jump into this straight away.

The size really matters

Aside from occasional size-related daddy jokes, in IT Service Management, the right size is essential. You need to select a tool that aligns to your company’s size and current needs. More importantly, it’s crucial to consider company’s anticipated growth over the next few years. Some companies will obtain a robust enterprise tool, investing a lot of money and significant resources without carefully validating their projected growth.

However, isn’t it more effective to take a look at numerous ITSM solutions in the market cater to small, medium-sized, or growing business?

These tools can help you grow with you, and you don’t need to struggle with an overly complex tool with dreadful upgrades and maintenance. Once your company expands, you can transition to larger market players. This approach may be more cost-effective ensuring your initial investment doesn’t break the bank.

Features you just think you need

Companies often allocate generous budget and end up acquiring tool with tons of impressive features. It’s like purchasing new home lighting with colour-changing capabilities and adjustable intensity levels, leaving those fancy features barely in use. The same principle applies to your ITSM software. Vendors will eagerly showcase features you may be craving for and align to your perceived needs. However, let’s be realistic: these features come at a significant cost that can potentially be utilized for other more meaningful projects.

We don’t recommend avoiding these features at all costs but for a solid start, it’s wiser to begin with essential features first. Once your team has familiarized itself with the tool, you can always expand its capabilities based on your genuine needs.

Don’t look for a product that does many things okay. Look for ones that do one thing well.

It’s more than just a tool; it’s a part of your company family

Your ITSM tool comes with an attached vendor. They are a partner you’ll rely on for learning, training, tool development, feedback, technical support, and upgrades. These aspects are crucial to consider. While it’s great to have a valuable tool, it’s the vendor that truly shape your overall experience, from contract signing and implementation to upgrades and technical support.

Integrations everywhere you look

Carefully evaluate the vendor’s current tool integrations and their road map and plans for future development. It’s definitely important to consider all possible integrations and how seamlessly the tool can connect with your existing systems.

For instance, if you’re a Microsoft user, like most organizations today, consider an ITSM tool with robust Microsoft integrations.

For Microsoft-centric ITSM solution, explore ALVAO ITSM tool that has M365 integrations such as Teams, Power BI, Outlook, Power Automate and many more.

Human work is expensive, automate whatever you can

The current trend is heavily focused on artificial intelligence (AI), but let’s start with a more fundamental and grounded checklist item – automation. Get an overview of how much you can automate with the new ITSM tool, as it can change the game in your IT. 

Automate everything you can, if there is something you can’t automate yet, find a way how to automate it later.

Then, focus on tasks that require human expertise. Seamless automation enables your IT team to use their expertise to projects that truly impact the business, rather than spending time on repetitive tasks.

What and why Artificial Intelligence Service Management (AISM)?

It’s clear for everyone that AI is essential and a must-have. Trends are emerging quickly, but in the case of AI, it isn’t just a buzzword. Artificial intelligence can actually help with all crucial processes which can considerably impact the overall business. 

AI won’t replace humans just yet, but it’ll be our helpful assistant in our work.

If we solely focus on AI in ITSM, what is behind this fancy word AISM?

There’s a simple explanation. AISM is basically a combination of traditional IT service management approaches or practices with AI-driven elements and functions such as ITSM chatbot, automation, or predictive analytics.

Whether you think about implementing AI, ML or Natural Language Processing (NLP), you must consider immediate results versus time for learning period to get enough data for your processes.

Examples of AI in ITSM:

• Suggestion for ticket resolutions based on resolutions in the past.
• Chat bot response based on your knowledge base.
• Root causes analysis.
• AI automation such as creating an incident when suggestions for resolution aren’t being met.
• Ticket categorization.
• And many more.

Therefore, ask you vendor about future road map for AI development and how it can help with your processes not only now but in the future with the data the vendor has.

IT Asset Management software as a must-have part in your ITSM tool

Many tools have Asset Management and they often lack appropriate connection with Service Desk. Usually, they handle some basic ITAM processes but fall short of providing a comprehensive IT Asset lifecycle management, hardware and software management, licence optimization, and configuration management database in one.

Organizations often track their assets manually in Excel, which can be equally painful as another user asking for password reset. Alternatively, they use another tool focused solely on asset tracking.

Consider vendors that can provide you with a complete experience, ITSM and ITAM tool in one.

At ALVAO, we understand how ITSM and ITAM can work together to give you a comprehensive ITAM and ITSM experience.

Learn more about the seamless integration between our Service Desk and IT Asset Management compliant with ITIL best practices and ISO 27001.

What else?

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