ITSM (IT Service Management) covers the way in which IT teams manage the end-to-end delivery of IT services to customers. It is a set of processes, as well as activities for creating, assisting and supporting IT services.
ITIL plays an important role in supporting organizations by providing a flexible and stable framework that enables them to manage their IT services effectively. Implementing ITIL practices offers many benefits. In particular, it enables IT costs to be monitored more effectively and resources to be optimized to improve profitability.
Although these two solutions appear to have many points in common, there are also a variety of differences. In this article, you’ll find information to help you distinguish between the two concepts, ITSM vs ITIL.
Understanding ITSMsecu
Technology plays an increasingly important role in the day-to-day activities of businesses. A company needs to have a competent IT team at their disposal in order to provide a quality service. As a result, companies are turning to IT service management (ITSM). This solution enables them to manage their IT services more effectively by centralizing them within a single interface.
ITSM definition and objectives
IT Service Management refers to the set of actions and policies that help a company improve the way it uses IT technology information. ITSM is not just a software solution.
It represents a set of IT service management processes that apply to technology, teams, but also products and partners. This approach aims to help the company achieve the objectives it has set for itself. ITSM’s missions include:
- to improve the efficiency of the company
- to increase employee productivity
- to optimize the usefulness of the organization’s IT services
- to encourage continuous improvement to offer more added value to the customer
- to ensure adequate use of the technological tool
A functional ITSM solution is always made up of a database, sets bringing together all the data the company needs as well as a process for managing the different information.
Examples of ITSM in practice
A practical example of the use of ITSM is the establishment of an IT service center or technical support in the company. Using a technical agent (chatbot), an IT service center can provide effective answers on multiple topics, for example:
- Why is the organization’s computer network slow?
- How do I reset my password?
- What is the procedure for connecting to a VPN remotely?
Implementations of a predictive intelligence system, performance analysis and asset management are also other use cases of ITSM.
Explorer ITIL
The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) was developed in the early 1980s as an initiative of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), a British government agency. It is currently owned by AXELOS, a public/private joint venture. ITIL corresponds to a series of directives which allow effective management of the IT service.
This IT infrastructure library designates a set of documents that defines best practices for the implementation of an ITSM solution. By following recommended ITIL processes, businesses supporting an IT infrastructure can improve their performance while limiting service management costs.
Key components and processes
ITIL often serves as the basis for setting up many processes for ITSM. Among the most used processes, we can notably cite:
- incident and change management
- problem management
- knowledge and asset management
- managing the continuity of IT services
To effectively meet all of their organizational needs, companies take advantage of ITIL by combining it with other standards. Among the most common standards used in parallel with ITIL, we find ISO 20000, COBIT, eTOM, FitSM, Devops and SAFe certification. Each framework has its own scope of application and a unique approach that can prove useful in facing the challenges of each company.
ITIL certification: what is it?
Obtaining ITIL certification is a great initiative for IT companies and organizations that want to improve their IT service management capabilities. This certification allows you to fully understand the principles and practices of ITIL, but also to acquire the knowledge and know-how essential to participate in the efficiency of IT operations as well as the delivery of services.
Benefits of adopting ITIL
ITIL provides IT professionals with best practices for IT service management and helps them manage risks. It also improves the stability and scalability of the IT environment while strengthening customer relationships. ITIL coordinates the actions of IT services and business departments to achieve a common goal.
ITSM vs ITIL: what are the differences?
To better understand ITSM vs ITIL, it is necessary to compare them. Here is the difference between these two solutions, as well as their common points.
Difference between ITSM and ITIL
The differences between ITSM and ITIL lie at different levels.
The scope of application
ITIL acts as the foundational framework for IT Service Management (ITSM), offering IT professionals a comprehensive set of practices designed to deliver a positive experience and customized support to customers. It focuses on organizing, streamlining, and enhancing the efficiency of workflows. ITSM concentrates on overseeing all activities and processes associated with IT services.
Goals
ITSM is focused on profitability goals and serves to align IT services with your organization’s ability to generate revenue. ITIL focuses more on customer experience and how to interact with the people who manage IT services. Although both aim to improve the quality of IT support, ITSM focuses primarily on the business, while ITIL focuses more on customers.
The similarities between ITSM vs ITIL
There is a complementary relationship between ITIL vs ITSM. The two solutions are in fact designed to work together. Service providers typically use the ITIL framework to implement ITSM.
Both elements are equally interested in good practices. They are designed to ensure that IT support services provide the best service to their customers. Like ITIL, ITSM aims to streamline these services so that they are efficient and cost-effective.
ITSM Case Studies
Here are some situations where ITSM solutions have created value for businesses.
Serima Consulting GmbH has also implemented an intelligent electricity network management solution. Supervised by the German government, this project was part of the program to transition from fossil and nuclear fuels to renewable energy sources. Serima’s ITMS solution provides a single view of service management across the entire network infrastructure. Many companies will draw inspiration from this initiative for their smart electricity grid projects.
In Australia, specifically in Sydney, the company St. Vincent’s Health has developed an ITSM solution that helps medical personnel report accidents on mobile equipment. This tool also allowed the hospital to resolve more than 50% of its tickets on the first call.
ITIL best practices?
ITIL was specifically designed to provide direction that can be tailored to the specific needs of an individual organization. It helps provide efficient and effective services that customers want and need for the digital management of their businesses.
There is no general operating procedure for implementing ITIL versions. Each organization must approach the challenge according to its needs and objectives. Most IT service providers usually start with a subset of ITIL processes, rather than introducing the entire set of recommendations at once. Here are three most common approaches for companies implementing ITIL.
Provide better support
For most organizations, ITIL implementation is driven by the desire to manage incidents more effectively. These can start by initializing the “Incident Management” process and then the “Problem Management” process to deal with ongoing problems. As for the “Configuration Management” process, it is implemented to provide reliable data on the IT infrastructure. The goal of all these processes is to help IT Support provide better support to users.
Enabling operational change
Some organizations prefer to manage the risks inherent in process changes to limit unwanted impacts on business operations. To achieve this goal, they must implement a standardized change management process. Related ITIL processes are “Service Continuity Management”, “Problem Management” and “Configuration and Asset Management” among others.
Offer better services
If your organization is more focused on service content and less on the mechanics of service management, the ITIL lifecycle stage for continuous service improvement is a good place to start. This process is often implemented by other ITIL capabilities, such as:
- capacity management
- availability management
- managing the continuity of IT services…
This helps provide data for your continuous improvement initiatives and ensures that appropriate service level targets are actively managed. ITSM is a set of processes, strategies, and procedures for the delivery of IT services. As for ITIL, it refers to a broad set of guidelines that generally informs companies on best practices for benefiting from effective IT services. ITIL certifications are also very useful for the security of company information systems. Despite their differences, ITSM and ITIL also have some common points. They both represent essential elements in the implementation of a complete and efficient set of IT services.
