Previously, companies only focused on applying IT service management ideas and practices to front-end services like ticketing, workflow automation, and analytics, among a few others. But with the creation of enterprise service management (ESM), IT service management practices have been extended to other important areas, such as customer service, human resources, finance, and sales. The main objective of ESM is to improve the performance, efficiency, and service delivery of an enterprise.
Enterprises that want to reap the benefits of ESM must be guided by enterprise service management principles and processes. While ESM has proved to be beneficial to enterprises, it has its challenges. In this article, you’ll learn the main enterprise service management challenges and other important aspects of ESM.
What Is Enterprise Service Management?
In basic terms, ESM involves the application of IT service management models and practices to important areas of an enterprise for the purpose of improving its performance, productivity, and delivery of services. It simply means extending service management from functions related to information technology to other areas, such as human resources, finance, customer service, etc.
This concept involves the use of shared platforms, portals, and service catalogs, as well as accelerating innovation and automation of the workflow through PaaS or low-code development tools. With ESM, your procurement and human resource departments will be able to offer internal services using IT Service Management frameworks. It will also improve the efficiency of your international supply chain management procedures and improve your enterprise’s customer experience.
Any enterprise can benefit from ESM, especially if it receives a lot of requests on the same topics, handles time-sensitive demands that need to be pursued and managed, serves as a gatekeeper for important processes, or offers recurrent standard reports. The continuing automation of processes in organizations has made it possible for enterprises to have centralized points of contact for requests, complaints, and emergencies. Therefore, the employee at your service desk has all the necessary resources to handle all the requests and issues that were initially spread across various departments.
Challenges of Enterprise Service Management
While there are many benefits of using ESM, there are also a few challenges too. Therefore, you should examine and understand these challenges before you start to implement your ESM.
Integration Challenges
An ESM solution will only benefit you if its frameworks are compatible or can easily be integrated with the existing IT systems in your organization. Unfortunately, not all ESM structures are compatible with other IT systems. This is likely to pose serious compatibility issues in your organization, especially if you are using special operating systems, cloud platforms, or web-based services.
So, if you are using special software or web-based services that are likely to cause integration issues, you should start by checking their compatibility with your ESM tools before you begin the implementation process. Fortunately, you can easily know if the tools are compatible with the existing structures without hiring the services of an expert because the newest ESM tools are self-explanatory.
Scalability Challenges
Some ESM tools and platforms don’t offer adequate scalability. This challenge is particularly common in large enterprises and those on a mission to expand rapidly. In the long run, this challenge will prove quite counterproductive. That’s why it’s important to check the kind of scalability offered by your ESM platform before you start the implementation process.
Support
Once you’ve implemented an ESM structure in your organization, you’ll need support once in a while to ensure the systems are working smoothly. Whether you choose a standalone software or a web-based platform, you will experience serious setbacks if you don’t get the necessary support. Therefore, make sure that the ESM provider will offer you enough multi-level support after implementation. They should offer email, telephonic support, and live chat to their customers. Again, do yourself a service by selecting one of the newer ESM providers, who’s solutions are inherently more robust and require less support.
Lastly, make sure that your ESM platform has a trial version to help you test its compatibility and scalability before you fully implement it in your organization. A good ESM solution should have a free trial version to allow you to check its suitability for your service management needs. This is also a good test to see how quickly the ESM solution can be up and running and how much effort is required from your team.
