Five ITSM trends for 2024

Many hurdles lurk on the path to digitalization. It often involves compromises between stakeholders, compliance and IT resources. There is always a risk of becoming completely dependent on one provider. If this happens, it has a serious impact on your own company: For example, through price dictates, the discontinuation of a product, changed business models or even manipulative intervention. A particularly perfidious case is a killswitch in trains discovered by hackers in December 2023, which was apparently implemented by a Polish manufacturer of rail vehicles via software. This targeted sabotage ensured, for example, that railcars in the workshop could no longer be started.

One alternative is therefore to rely on open source software. The use of open source code also gives other service providers the opportunity to view a system that is no longer supported by the developer and provide them with updates. Open source also minimizes the risk of suddenly being locked out of your system, such as in the case of a vendor lock-in.

One thing is clear: open source code ensures transparency and knowledge sharing between all parties involved. Dependence on the software manufacturer is significantly reduced and the risks of proprietary software are minimized. In this context, we are increasingly seeing that the public sector is becoming more and more of a pioneer in the area of digital sovereignty. As current figures from the industry association Bitkom show, commercial enterprises are primarily concerned with cost savings when using open source technologies. Although "freedom" is therefore more of a positive by-product, the trend shows that a fundamental rethink is taking place here.

With the ongoing hype surrounding chatGPT, Midjourney and the like, you might think otherwise, but knowledge doesn't come out of nowhere. AI cannot solve problems without good groundwork. Language models and other AI methods require the appropriate preparation of existing knowledge from which they can learn and act. If the necessary input is only available in insufficient quality, a large language model (LLM) simply cannot lead to 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. In the past, experiments have also shown how quickly chatbots can adopt racist, misogynistic or anti-Semitic behavior patterns. Humans should therefore check the results for correctness as well as cultural and communicative norms, even if this means more effort.

Nevertheless, this effort can prove useful. Particularly in the ITSM area, a well-developed AI offers advantages that should not be underestimated: for example, it can relieve employees by taking over recurring tasks or requests. It can also forward tickets independently, categorize incidents, analyse large amounts of data and guide employees to the right solutions for complex requests. Many tickets can be resolved more quickly in this way. Predictive, planning AI can also significantly reduce costs in the area of maintenance tasks.

Service-oriented companies cannot limit themselves to supposedly standard procedures and solutions. If the business model is based on unique services, the solutions used must also be tailor-made - even if this initially requires effort and training. In this respect, many service tools offer extensive functions and customization options.

As a result, we have focused on a high degree of customization for our ITSM software KIX right from the start. However, even for 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 for 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 of course make sense.

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

And such solutions have another advantage: different solutions require more resources than a standardized system. This applies to knowledge, personnel and also energy costs. Those who opt for an integrated solution save resources and take a big step towards sustainable IT. In times of rising energy and personnel costs, this is a factor that should not be underestimated.