Companies have been struggling with legacy IT request management for years. In the era where automation is a must for enterprises, IT departments must embrace applications that allow them to spend more time on value-added tasks, not routine tasks. To pursue the digital aspirations of the enterprise, automation solutions hold the key. Fully automated platforms such as ServiceNow ITSM can help.
Problems with Traditional IT Service Request Process
ServiceNow survey states that businesses with legacy IT Service Management systems are wasting close to 12 percent of IT staff time.”
It takes much more time to complete IT service requests though a legacy, manual process. A manual process may include emailing clients back and forth and in-person questions, which takes up a number of resources and is time consuming. The Global CIO Point of View ServiceNow research reveals that close to 70 percent of IT budgets is used for traditional service request processing.
Service tasks such as task allocation and resolution, and status information retrieval are the most expensive tasks of service management. On top of that, the complexity of the legacy system grows when the work force does, or when more locations or offices are added. Legacy processes also lack transparency in the overall project which can end up demotivating employees and lowering morale. (Decode the ways to ensure a better workplace environment.)
Service management outcomes have a direct impact on the business decision-making process, This time-consuming process can have a negative effect on business outcomes. Thereby, resulting in the opposite of agility in the business processes.
Key issues with traditional IT Service Request processes:
- Restricts overall IT performance
- Reduces IT department value
- Increases managerial overhead costs
- Limits IT efficiency due to lack of transparency and real-time insights
- Wastes resources and assets
- Adds long wait times with manual labeling and routing
ServiceNow Automation: The Game Changer for IT Service Request Management
With digital transformation mandated in the modern business ecosystem, automation holds the key in this process. The primary goal is to automate repetitive service requests that requires human involvement and instead make that process self-service.
The automation of IT service requests (through platforms like ServiceNow ITSM) usually operates on a single cloud platform, or IT Portal, enabling the organization to store records of all resources and appropriately allocate service requests to those resources. The self-help service portal in ServiceNow ITSM can catalog service requests, provide single-click dashboards and real-time analytics reports, which shares an extensive information on overall service management efficiencies.
Furthermore platforms like ServiceNow offer intuitive experiences within the management process using advanced solutions like mobile apps, voice assistants, and chatbots and users are free to submit and track requests 24/7.
Automating service requests accelerates the process improves the quality. Thereby resulting in an increase of efficiency and productivity for the workforce. Not only does automation increase efficiency, the self-service capabilities empowers businesses to ensure compliance and regulate IT spend by redirecting a higher percentage of IT budgets into potential advanced business areas.
Results of Automating IT Service Requests
The ServiceNow study reveals that automation of IT Service can benefit with following results:
- Increases services automation to 20%
- Increases CSAT scores by 6%
- Increases productivity by 50%
- Reduces monthly incidents by 66%
- Reduces incident resolution time by 10%
- Reduces error rates by 25%