Is ITSM the ideal model for your company?

In an increasingly competitive IT market, the effectiveness of service delivery can represent a decisive advantage for organizations of all sizes. The ITSM (IT Service Management) sector is no exception: the size of this global market was already estimated at US$ 10.5 billion in 2023, with a forecast to double to US$ 22.1 billion by 2028, as indicated by a study from Market Size.

This projection reflects a clear trend: companies are willing to invest to make their IT services more reliable, scalable, and aligned with the business. However, between adopting new tools and effectively transforming service management, there is a critical step: assessing whether the current model is still appropriate. This article explores the signs that indicate the need for evolution, the metrics that measure this maturity, and best practices for modernizing an ITSM strategy with real impact.

What is ITSM and why is it fundamental in IT management?

ITSM (IT Service Management) is an approach to designing, delivering, managing, and improving the way technology services are provided within an organization. Unlike simple technical administration, ITSM structures processes, defines responsibilities, and promotes a culture focused on continuous value delivery for the business.

In a scenario where technology is the engine of digital transformation, ITSM becomes essential by offering:

• Standardization and efficiency: Structures processes such as incidents, changes, and requests, reducing errors and improving response time.
• Alignment with business objectives: Ensures that IT services are directly connected to the organization’s strategic priorities.
• Visibility and control: Allows real-time monitoring of service performance and proactive identification of bottlenecks.
• Focus on user experience: Improves the perception of IT services by adopting user-centered practices for both internal and external customers.

By adopting ITSM, companies gain not only in governance, but also in agility and innovation, creating a solid foundation to scale operations with safety and predictability.

Which ITSM practices most contribute to operational efficiency in companies?

One of the biggest advantages of ITSM is its ability to transform complex operations into clear, measurable processes aligned with business goals. But which practices truly make a difference in the daily routine of companies?

Below, we highlight the most impactful ITSM practices when it comes to operational efficiency:

Incident Management

When something goes wrong – such as a system being down – this practice ensures a quick and structured response. With well-defined workflows, it is possible to minimize the impact on the user and restore services more swiftly.

Change Management

Implementing a new feature or updating a system involves risks. Change management helps plan these actions with more control, reducing failures and ensuring that each change adds real value.

Service Request Management

From an access request to software installation, this process standardizes the handling of recurring demands, making the operation smoother and more predictable.

Problem Management

More than just putting out fires, this practice seeks to understand the root cause of recurring failures. By resolving the underlying issues behind incidents, the company gains stability and productivity in the long run.

Service Level Management (SLM)

Establishing and monitoring SLAs helps align expectations between IT and the business, as well as create a basis for more strategic and performance-oriented decisions.

By combining these practices, IT shifts from a reactive role to a proactive approach, helping the company operate with greater efficiency, safety, and predictability— all with a focus on delivering continuous value.

How to modernize your ITSM strategy?

While ITSM is a solid foundation for organizing IT, it cannot be seen as something static. With the pressure for faster deliveries, better experiences, and greater integration between areas, modernizing the ITSM strategy has become essential.

Below, we highlight practices that have transformed the operational maturity of companies:

Integration with DevOps and Agile

Traditional ITSM is often seen as an obstacle to speed. Modernization involves breaking down silos between development and operations, adopting practices like Change Enablement (instead of the old bureaucratic Change Management), which allows changes to be handled with more context, automation, and continuous flow. Therefore, invest in DevOps and Agile.

Companies that integrate CI/CD pipelines into ITSM can automatically log changes, transparently document audits, and still maintain the agility necessary for short delivery cycles.

Adoption of AI and intelligent automation

Automating first-line tickets based on NLP (Natural Language Processing), using predictive models to prioritize critical incidents, or triggering automatic fixes for known problems are real examples of how artificial intelligence is being applied in modern ITSM.

Automation is not about reducing headcount but repositioning human capital for higher-impact tasks, such as solving complex problems and root cause analysis.

Observability as a pillar

The integration between ITSM and observability tools such as AIOps, digital experience monitoring, and real-time log analysis elevates the level of operational maturity. This allows anticipating failures, correlating complex events, and acting before the impact is felt by users.

A Forrester report shows that increasing service visibility through observability practices helps reduce wasted effort in investigation, speeding up the resolution of incidents.

Consumerization of user experience

The experience with the service portal or IT support should be as intuitive as a banking app. This means investing in:

• Simple and responsive interfaces
• Personalization based on user profile
• Data-driven self-service guided by usage and machine learning

More mature IT teams use NPS and CSAT as real indicators of ITSM success, not just SLA compliance.

Adaptive governance

IT governance needs to move away from a compliance focus and shift toward metrics of delivered value. This requires reviewing KPIs, establishing OKRs aligned with business objectives, and using ITSM data for strategic decisions.

A CIO who presents ITSM results with a focus on business impact (such as reducing downtime, agility in product release, or increasing internal satisfaction) strengthens IT’s role as a growth partner.

What are the signs that your current IT service management model needs to evolve?

It is not always evident that IT service management is hampering business performance. Many companies maintain processes that “work,” but at a high cost: low efficiency, user dissatisfaction, and slow responses to business needs.

Below, we highlight concrete signs that the current ITSM model may be outdated:

High recurrence of incidents

If the same problems keep recurring and teams merely put out fires, it is a sign that there is a lack of maturity in problem management. Management needs to evolve from reactive to proactive.

Excessively manual processes

Workflows based on emails, spreadsheets, or systems without automation hinder scalability. This creates bottlenecks and increases the risk of human error — in addition to restricting technical knowledge to a few individuals.

Unsatisfactory user experience

If users see IT as a hindrance or avoid using the official support channels, the current model is not delivering value. Confusing portals, lack of self-service, or inconsistent response times are common symptoms.

Lack of real-time visibility

Inability to quickly respond to questions like: “How many critical incidents do we have today?”, “What is the average SLA for the past week?” or “How many changes failed this month?” shows that the data is dispersed or underutilized.

Difficulty adapting

If launching a new product or restructuring an area requires manual and lengthy revisions to the service catalog or approval flows, ITSM is not prepared for dynamic environments.

Metrics that do not align with the business

Measurements focused only on the volume of resolved tickets or average response time, without a connection to business impact, reveal a model that is more operational than strategic.

Limited integrations

An ITSM disconnected from practices such as DevOps, SRE, or infrastructure management creates silos and hampers rapid responses to production incidents or urgent changes.

What metrics to use to assess the maturity of IT service management?

Without metrics, IT service management operates in the dark. Even with processes implemented and tools in use, the absence of reliable data prevents leaders from clearly seeing what is working, where the bottlenecks are, and how to prioritize improvements.

When we talk about ITSM, it is crucial to look at indicators that show efficiency, alignment with the business, user experience, and capacity for innovation. Here are the main risks of not measuring the maturity and performance of ITSM:

MTTR (Mean Time to Resolve)

• What it measures: Average time to resolve an incident.
• Why it matters: The lower the MTTR, the greater the IT’s capacity to respond. High values may indicate slow processes, little automation, or low integration among teams.

Percentage of recurring incidents

• What it measures: Proportion of incidents that recur within a period.
• Why it matters: A mature ITSM not only resolves problems but eliminates root causes. High recurrence suggests inefficient problem management.

Request automation index

• What it measures: Percentage of requests resolved automatically (via portal, scripts, chatbots, etc.).
• Why it matters: The higher this index, the more scalable and modern the operation.

Lead time for changes (Change Lead Time)

• What it measures: Time between the start of planning and the implementation of a change.
• Why it matters: Helps evaluate IT’s agility and the ability to deliver value quickly — especially when integrated with the DevOps pipeline.

Percentage of failed changes

• What it measures: Proportion of changes that cause incidents or must be reverted.
• Why it matters: A high rate indicates failures in planning, testing, or validation. A mature ITSM accurately manages change risks.

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)

• What it measures: User satisfaction with IT services.
• Why it matters: Goes beyond operational efficiency — shows if IT is truly delivering a good experience.

Adherence to SLAs and OLAs

• What it measures: Percentage of compliance with agreed service levels.
• Why it matters: Shows consistency in delivery and the ability to keep commitments with other areas of the business.

Use of reusable knowledge

• What it measures: Frequency of use of knowledge base articles to resolve tickets.
• Why it matters: A good indicator of maturity in knowledge usage and focus on efficient resolution.

Cost per ticket

• What it measures: Average cost of resolving a ticket.
• Why it matters: Helps evaluate operational efficiency and identify opportunities for optimization or automation.

The way your company manages IT services is a decisive factor in whether it grows smoothly or grapples with bottlenecks, rework, and internal dissatisfaction. Modernizing this management does not mean complicating processes; it’s about gaining clarity, agility, and focus on what truly matters. If you notice that the current model no longer keeps pace with business rhythm, it may be time to rethink.

At Objective, we combine experience in digital transformation, strategic technology vision, and technical expertise to help companies evolve safely. Talk to our experts and discover practical pathways to take your IT to a new level of maturity.