How can we define an IT service and what is its importance? As the name suggests, IT Service Management (ITSM) combines policies, processes, and procedures with the goal of delivering a valuable service. But what is an IT service?
At first, this question may seem more complicated than it seems, especially in IT, which has a variety of services.
However, let’s consider a definition that I find quite interesting, from Gartner:
“IT services refers to the application of business and technical expertise to enable organizations in the creation, management and optimization of or access to information and business processes.”
That being said, it is almost impossible to create an exact list of all existing types of services. An IT service can be a Firewall, Email, Business Intelligence, Cloud, among others.
However, this Gartner definition tells us something important: the function of an IT service.
Why does a client acquire an IT service?
Clients who opt for IT services always have the intention of achieving a certain goal.
An IT service creates value by facilitating a client’s results without that client having to control risks and costs.
As an example of this “value generation,” let’s imagine that a hospital invested in a patient management system, taking care of the entire service life cycle.
This life cycle includes arrival at reception, triage, seeing nurses and doctors, receiving prescription drugs, receiving treatment, scheduling a follow-up appointment, and being discharged. Look how many activities this life cycle involves!
The hospital did not invest in the system simply to use technology. In reality, the goal here is simply to better serve patients. The client of this IT service doesn’t care about the IT components used but rather wants to offer a good service through them! That’s the goal.
Clients of an IT service do not want to worry about the management infrastructure (hardware, software, data, etc.). However, the IT service supports good service delivery, which is the goal that the hospital seeks so much, through technology components and data management.
What is the value in managing IT services?
Having explained what an IT service is and why the client acquires it, the question remains: what is the value or importance of applying efficient management of these services?
In other words, when we talk about ITSM, this means that there will be alignment of IT organization service delivery activities with business needs.
In this sense, the implementation of processes such as incident management, request fulfillment, change management for basic IT services creates transparency and accountability for their delivery.
ITSM expands processes and systems to exert more control and supervision over crucial IT services that add value to the business.
Controlling through this management also reduces the risk of incidents. That is, this consequently reduces costs.
Finally, IT services play an important role in a company’s daily operations, being vital to the business’s smooth functioning. They increase productivity and help the company grow. Therefore, their management becomes fundamental.
In other words, the value of managing IT services is precisely because IT services are a fundamental element for the company’s day-to-day operations.
So if you have any questions about what an IT service is and its importance, leave your comment!
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