ServiceNow ITOM vs. ITSM: Key differences & similarities

ServiceNow IT Operations Management (ITOM) and IT Service Management (ITSM) become more and more crucial to IT professionals as industries digitize. They are both similar and distinct in several ways, but they can complement one another and optimize service workflows when combined. However, fully harnessing their capabilities requires understanding ServiceNow ITOM vs. ITSM features and identifying an appropriate mixture of solutions.

This article defines each platform, explains their fundamental differences, and lists the benefits of combining the two.

What is ITOM?

IT Operations Management (ITOM) is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the IT infrastructure, which includes all technologies and applications. These responsibilities are part of the IT service lifecycle, which includes:

• Managing change
• Application administration
• Process and function control
• Management of operations
• Control and measurement
• Scalable practices

What is ITSM?

While ITOM monitors performance and the methods IT utilizes to manage its internal activities, ITSM refers to how organizations deliver IT services to users to meet firmwide IT requirements, including its:

• Design
• Development
• Creation
• Production
• Support

ITSM aids in the standardization of IT processes, lowering IT costs and risks, making ITSM the base of operation for most organizations. ITSM may improve IT governance and guarantee the business gets the IT resources required by controlling the delivery of IT services in an organization through repeatable, standardized workflows.

ServiceNow ITOM vs. ITSM: The benefits of combining solutions

Maximizing output from each platform often requires using both in tandem. However, doing so first requires a solid understanding of three critical concepts as follows:

1. Putting solutions in silos can hurt the customer service process

As mentioned earlier, ITSM focuses on how IT teams offer services and is more visible and centered around end-user functionality. In contrast, ITOM focuses on performance monitoring, procedures, and event management.

Although they perform distinct tasks, ITSM and ITOM are inextricably linked. If an organization only uses one of these principles, it will have to conduct both series of operations regularly. ITOM and ITSM used in isolation might result in the following adverse effects on the business:

• Wasted spending
• Productivity loss
• Regulatory gaps
• Negative employee experience

2. Combining ITOM and ITSM helps define long-term goals

Integrating ITOM with ITSM can help a company become more resilient and proactive to better support its strategic goals. By combining ITOM and ITSM, businesses can:

• Identify and determine each incident's root cause
• Make incident resolutions more automated
• Refer escalated events to the appropriate teams
• Prioritize responses based on the severity and urgency of the situation
• Reduce IT spending by optimizing resource allocation
• Better manage the whole of IT's asset life cycles
• Bi-directional ticketing and communication integration

3. A complementary approach provides critical benefits

Following a thorough explanation of the technical aspects of each solution as listed above, the next logical step might be determining how a combined ITOM/ITSM strategy can benefit the company.

Some of those advantages might include:

• Better availability. Leverage intelligent automation to reduce service interruptions.
• Efficient digital transformation. Promote fast digital transformation using a holistic approach to services, operations, and infrastructure.
• Cost-cutting. Provide more effective resolutions, self-service, and automation to reduce expenses and enhance customer satisfaction.
• Improved data center and IT asset visibility. Align IT assets and data centers with day-to-day business decisions for better visibility.
• Enhanced agility. Better coordination across IT practice areas allows organizations to respond to change faster and minimize risks.
• Boosted efficiency. Reduce waste and improve operational efficiency by automating previously fragmented services and operations.
• Informed decisions via trend analysis. Plan strategic operations and make educated business decisions by analyzing trends in real-time.
• Higher security. Obtain a complete picture of company assets and vulnerabilities and integrate multi-layered security to protect them.

Cask and ServiceNow provide the right ITOM/ITSM mixture to maximize customer service

ITOM and ITSM are two sections of the IT service value chain. Each solution helps companies meet similar goals, service the same client types, track overhead, and manage risks. It takes thought and effort on both sides to use ITSM and ITOM in conjunction, but it helps optimize agility and overall business value. The combination can provide powerful transformation for IT maturity and customer experience.

However, such a process is often a complex endeavor, and partnering with a knowledgeable and skilled provider might be the best route to implementing your new digitized customer service strategy.

Request a quote today and learn how Cask ServiceNow ITOM and ITSM solutions can help you enhance the customer journey and augment end-user satisfaction.