In the face of rapid technological change, IT leaders must future-proof their ITSM strategies to remain relevant and effective.
Key to this is the adoption of mature AI, analytics and automation strategies – essential tools for overcoming the complexity of modern technology stacks. By leveraging these advanced technologies, IT leaders can reduce manual efforts and streamline operations.
“This shift in focus empowers teams to dedicate more time to innovation, rather than being bogged down by routine maintenance tasks,” explained Andi Grabner, DevOps activist at Dynatrace.
Among the most pressing trends for IT service management (ITSM) are automation, multi-cloud and enhanced cybersecurity.
A factor that connects and enhances all these fields is the effective use of data. Data management and observability are both supported by effective dashboards, as is cybersecurity.
Empowering users with a better understanding of what various dashboards are signaling and making these tools more customizable and context aware is critical to supporting these trends.
Service Integration and Management (SIAM) is also becoming more prominent as organizations manage multiple service providers and aim for seamless service integration, which means developing a clear SIAM strategy and investing in tools that support multi-vendor management is essential.
Another one of the major trends shaping the future of ITSM is the rise of platform engineering.
The goal of platform engineering is to operationalize DevSecOps practices by providing a standardized, self-service platform with development workspace templates to increase developer productivity and improve the developer experience.
To prepare for platform engineering, organizations should identify the friction points in their development process and begin to develop an Internal Developer Platform (IDP) that can automate key workflows and achieve optimal performance and security.
Automation Boosts Efficiency, Reduces Cost
Kausik Chaudhuri, CIO at Lemongrass automation is critical for boosting efficiency and reducing operational costs, allowing teams to focus on innovation over routine tasks,” he said.
AI and ML enhance ITSM capabilities, enabling predictive analytics and proactive problem resolution, which minimizes downtime and improves service reliability.
He noted there is a growing focus on enhancing the user experience, with ITSM solutions designed to be more intuitive and user-friendly.
“Organizations should gather user feedback and prioritize the development of user-centric ITSM interfaces and support systems,” he said.
Information security remains a top trend due to the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber threats, requiring continuous improvements in security measures to protect data.
“These trends reflect the industry’s push towards more intelligent, user-centric, and secure IT service management,” Chaudhuri said.
The Role of AI
Karel Callens, CEO and founder of Luzmo, explained AI can be used to automate and scale many ITSM processes.
“AI is core to the spread of low code solutions which are making the developer to user pipeline more of a dialogue,” he said.
Platforms that support user customization and iterative feedback will benefit the most from the AI revolution.
Callens noted APIs will be crucial to delivering the promise of AI, pointing out AI is too difficult a technology for every vendor to develop their own models at present.
“However, robust APIs can streamline the process of delivering new tools and features,” he said.
If a business can leverage APIs effectively then it can deliver AI services quickly and at scale, while those without will struggle to deliver on the promise of the technology.
“This could lead to customer burnout and lost sales to competitors who have wrapped their heads around the role of APIs as a lifeline for AI-powered apps,” he said.
Grabner added AI’s unique ability to translate natural language into technology-specific queries and vice versa is revolutionizing how we interact with technology.
Additionally, AI’s ability to enrich alert data is streamlining the incident routing process, leading to improved Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) and enhanced operational efficiency.
“AI is not just a tool, but a strategic partner that aids in decision-making,” he said.
With predictive analytics, AI offers valuable insights for capacity planning, performance tuning, and threat identification.
“This leads to data-driven strategies and stronger business outcomes, marking a significant shift in the way businesses operate,” he said. “However, the adoption of AI is not without challenges.”
Concerns around data quality, bias, transparency, governance and cost are valid and need to be addressed, which means organizations must have robust guardrails in place to manage the data that AI models ingest.
“Without these safeguards, there is a risk of accidental exposure of sensitive information,” Grabner said. “This underscores the growing demand for AI platforms that are purpose-built with stringent security and privacy requirements in mind.”
ITSM and the Shift to Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid cloud environments introduce complexity to ITSM; however, they also enable the same degree of flexibility, and cost savings, that led businesses to pursue them in the first place.
“One common practice is the idea of fast and slow processes,” Callens said. “Certain large datasets will benefit from the processing power of a large cloud environment.”
Data can be selectively uploaded to these environments for improved performance in tasks where it matters while other processes can be offloaded to local systems, for more security, or for processes that are less time dependent.
Grabner said as organizations strive to adapt to the intricacies of hybrid and multi-cloud environments, they are unifying monitoring tools and automating tasks.
However, the complexity of managing these environments remains a formidable challenge, which underscores the critical need for advanced AI, analytics and automation capabilities.
From his perspective, these technologies are not just optional extras – they are essential tools for navigating the complexity of today’s IT landscapes and harnessing the power of data.
“As we move forward, the role these advanced technologies play in ITSM will only become more prominent, shaping the future of IT operations and strategy,” Grabner said.
Best Practices for Futureproofing
From Callens’ perspective, there are two key practices for IT leaders trying to retain their relevance and effectiveness: Being tech agnostic (as much as is reasonably possible) and taking a composable approach to any service.
“The first point of being tech agnostic is to avoid vendor lock in,” he explained. “It retains agility in the business to move a tech stack over to whichever platform offers the most benefits.”
The extreme example of not being tech agnostic are mainframes, a largely legacy technology that many critical organizations are still tied to.
“Having a composable approach to deployment follows the same principle, it retains agility,” Callens said. “When programs are designed to interoperate with other systems from the ground up it makes it easy to remove and add new components and features.”
Grabner said by staying on top of emerging trends and continuously refining their strategies, IT leaders can ensure their ITSM practices are not only robust but also agile and responsive to change.
“This approach fosters a culture of continuous learning and adaptation, which is crucial in today’s fast-paced IT landscape,” he said.
