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ITSM Trends

Five ITSM trends for 2024

Digitization continues to be a major focus for many businesses and government agencies. Effective IT service management is becoming more and more important. KIX co-founder and product owner Torsten Thau predicts which five topics will play a decisive role in 2024.

29.01.2024

1. Digitization only with "Digital Sovereignity"

The path to digitization is fraught with hurdles. It often involves trade-offs between stakeholders, compliance and IT resources. There is always the risk of becoming completely dependent on a single vendor. When that happens, it has serious implications for your business: For example, by dictating prices, discontinuing a product, changing business models, or even manipulating them. A particularly perfidious case is a kill switch in trains discovered by hackers in December 2023, which was apparently implemented by a Polish manufacturer of rolling stock via software. This targeted sabotage made it impossible, for example, to start railcars in the workshop.

One alternative is to rely on open source software. Using open source code also allows other service providers to look at a system that is no longer supported by the developer and provide updates. Open source also minimizes the risk of suddenly being locked out of your system, such as in the case of vendor lock-in.

One thing is clear: open source code ensures transparency and knowledge sharing between all parties involved. Dependence on the software vendor is significantly reduced and the risks of proprietary software are minimized. In this context, it is becoming increasingly clear that the public sector is playing a pioneering role in the area of digital sovereignty. As recent figures from the German IT industry association Bitkom show, commercial enterprises are primarily interested in cost savings when using open source technologies. Although "freedom" is more of a positive by-product, the trend shows that a fundamental rethinking is taking place.

2. Artificial Intelligence is not a panacea - but it can prove to be very useful.

With the ongoing hype around chatGPT, Midjourney and the like, you might think otherwise, but knowledge doesn't come out of nowhere. AI cannot solve problems without a good foundation. Language models and other AI methods need to be properly prepared with existing knowledge from which they can learn and act. If the necessary input is not available in sufficient quality, a large language model (LLM) simply cannot produce the desired results.

In addition, so-called generative AI, which can create its own images or texts, must not be fed with its own knowledge and without validation. The quality of the output of such artificial intelligence has degenerated over time. Experiments in the past have also shown how quickly chatbots can adopt racist, misogynistic or anti-Semitic patterns of behavior. Humans should therefore check the results for correctness as well as cultural and communicative norms, even if this means more effort.

However, the effort can be worthwhile. In ITSM in particular, a well-developed AI offers benefits that should not be underestimated: for example, it can relieve staff by taking over recurring tasks or requests. It can also automatically route tickets, categorize incidents, analyze large amounts of data and guide agents to the right solutions for complex requests. As a result, many tickets can be resolved more quickly. Predictive, planning AI can also significantly reduce the cost of maintenance tasks.

3. Clouds are gathering over "new territory

Although the use of cloud solutions in Germany is still lower than in the United States or other European countries, there is a noticeable increase in acceptance. Many institutions have investigated and implemented various offerings in recent years. I expect this trend to continue. Solutions that are secured via VPN and can therefore be integrated into existing internal infrastructures are easier to accept.

Of course, there are also cloud solution providers that interpret the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) a little more "freely" and are based outside the European Union's legal area. However, after a proper risk assessment, this approach may be an option for some companies - and in many places, it already is.

4. Off-the-shelf or tailor-made?

Service-oriented companies cannot limit themselves to supposedly standard processes and solutions. If the business model is based on unique services, the solutions used must also be tailor-made - even if this requires initial effort and training. Many service tools offer extensive functionality and customization.

That is why we have focused on a high degree of customization for our ITSM software KIX from the very beginning. However, even with tools that advertise a simplified configuration - "low code" or "no code" - a certain level of understanding is required and specialist knowledge must be built up. The alternative is the aforementioned use of standard specifications and processes, or the use of simple solutions with a not too steep learning curve.

The bottom line is that the price of initial rapid progress is conformity - there are no individual procedures and methods. However, as long as the business is not affected or USPs are not lost, such solutions can make sense.

5. Holistic service management solutions are key.

Technical service and IT service can no longer be considered separately, but are increasingly growing together. A service desk should exist not only for IT services, but also, for example, for building and equipment technology or inventory. This saves all users, customers and employees a lot of work and ensures clarity. "IT-only" services are no longer sufficient.

And such solutions have another advantage: Different solutions require more resources than a standardized system. This applies to knowledge, personnel and energy costs. Choosing an integrated solution saves resources and is a big step toward sustainable IT. In times of rising energy and personnel costs, this is a factor not to be underestimated.

Conclusion

The mammoth task of digitization will continue in 2024 for the vast majority of businesses and governments. Some trends will continue. Others will be added. Either way, plans and methods will need to be adjusted as necessary to achieve the goals set.

In reality, no project goes according to its original plan - something always happens.

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