The importance of reliable, efficient, and readily available IT services is growing as more businesses are offering digital services and relying on technology to operate. The goal of modern IT Service Management (ITSM) is to adopt service provider solutions to improve delivery of high-quality IT services. However, in the current digital landscape, the expectation of ITSM by internal staff and clients is at an all-time high. Finding ways to improve your company’s IT services is critical in keeping up with industry leaders, which is where business automation tools shine.
Improving your IT service management does more than simplify and expand your service delivery – it can help business growth. A recent ServiceNow report released during the Knowledge 17 conference, which surveyed corporate leaders in multiple countries, showed that companies utilizing automation software are six times more likely to experience revenue growth. It is clear that adopting an advanced automation software solution, like those offered by ServiceNow, is an essential business strategy in the coming year. From enhanced intelligence to better interfacing, we have compiled a list of the top three ITSM trends for the upcoming year.
Welcoming AI to the Workplace
As companies begin automating business processes, routing workflow becomes easier, and staff can work more productively. With such an improved service quality, it makes sense for those same companies to expect even more from their automation software – even the ability to operate independently without the need for constant management. In that same ServiceNow report, nearly half of all companies surveyed admitted to needing better automation to handle the volume of work and almost 100% said that AI automation would increase productivity. Artificially intelligent automation software has the potential to bring better solutions to companies by completing common and often time-consuming IT tasks, like password resets, ticket requests, and other service requests.
In 2017, ServiceNow released its intelligent automation engine, which can learn, predict, and adapt. With its promising process improvements, similar AI adoption will become increasingly popular in the upcoming year. Companies will be able to prevent problems without direct intervention: this engine is capable of preventing outages, automatically routing and categorizing information, and forecasts company performance on its own. Technology partner Infocenter provides a customizable infrastructure for businesses adopting this type of AI integration to utilize it better and manage its alerts. Let the Intelligent Automation Engine handle the tedious and time-consuming data processing and report generating. You can even compare your IT service performance against industry benchmarks to track your business goal progress and see how you stack up against your competition.
Enhanced User Interface Designs
Business intelligence software has drastically improved over the years, but sometimes the product visuals are not very user-friendly. Beyond the aesthetic appeal, confusing interfaces can cause problems for businesses as well as their clients. As UI and UX experts begin spreading into new industries, automation software companies are starting to partner with them to improve functionality. This exciting trend promises to simplify many ITSM processes by making it easier to understand the features of your current solutions, improve delivery of IT services, and enhance the employee or client experience.
ServiceNow’s recent acquisition of UX/UI consulting company Telepathy is an example of this trend. Telepathy has previously worked with other technology companies like Salesforce and Quip and is anticipated to work with ServiceNow’s development and design teams to improve the overall user experience. From a business adoption point of view, this will make it even easier to create, integrate, and utilize their existing products. Partner companies like Infocenter can help your business seek out and implement these enhanced features without interrupting your current services.
Embracing Infrastructure as Code
Infrastructure as a code (IAC) is a process by which systems are built, managed, and provisioned through written code, often stored on a cloud-based server, rather than through manual intervention. Once the code is written, it is much easier to make changes to it while keeping it safe. Developers can work with it in a virtual environment, it reduces mistakes due to human error, and the code serves as documentation for future reference. There are infrastructure automation products that perform this task: ServiceNow offers products that transform infrastructure into code for IT staff.
Adopting IAC over traditional server management is an increasingly growing trend among IT leaders. Why have companies started adopting a programmable infrastructure? IAC can configure servers so your IT management team does not have to do it manually, which can take a great deal of time and can lead to future problems if not done correctly. For companies who have experienced server errors – which is most if not all companies – IAC can eliminate many frustrations associated with crashes and ITSM delivery.
2018 ITSM Solutions: The Year for AI, UI, and IAC
These 2018 ITSM trends may contain many industry-specific acronyms, but the concepts themselves are easy to understand and even easier to implement. With automation becoming commonplace, this coming year will bring enhancements to existing platforms by introducing artificial intelligence, better user interface designs, and transitioning to infrastructure as a code to make ITSM processes smoother. ServiceNow, a leader in automation software, presents theses improvements to current and new clients, and partners like Infocenter can help your business adopt the updated practices to increase revenue and delivery service goals.