Changing ITSM Providers: Key Things to Consider Before Making a Business Decision
On average, IT organizations replace their ITSM provider/solution every five years. When you compare this to other types of software in businesses, this is an incredibly high changeover rate.
Replacing ERP or CRM solutions in a business is something you’ll rarely hear about on a frequent basis, but when it comes to ITSM, it’s a completely different situation. On the whole, ITSM solutions aren’t replaced by businesses because they’re lacking particular functions or features, but they are replaced because of things that existed at the start of the tool’s acquisition.
In some cases, the ITSM tool was never looked into thoroughly enough, or it has been implemented within the organization poorly. Sometimes, it may have been purchased for the wrong reasons, or it’s highlighted a number of issues in the IT company’s processes.
Therefore, understanding the importance of these ITSM replacements is crucial when you’re considering changing them. Getting your choice right will be just as important as getting the solution on budget, on time and to a high enough quality.
With this in mind, here’s what you should consider when you’re shopping for a new ITSM provider:
Look at Your Company’s Basics
Although this might seem obvious, looking at your ITSM basics will help you establish the type of system you need. Look at the number of changes, requests, problems and incidents your organization creates on a day-to-day basis, as well as weekly and monthly.
If you can get this information together, ask yourself whether there are any drivers that could create a change in the volume you currently have. If you can’t get this data together – that’s a telling sign, too!
When you have got the basics of this information, consider how mature you are now, and how much you plan to mature over the next three years.
Having these details to hand will enable you to narrow down your ITSM requirements. By hiring a specialist help desk provider, it will ensure the elite solution you choose can manage the additional capacity your organization will require as it develops over the coming months and years.
Ask Yourself What You’re Trying to Achieve
The implementation of a help desk, service desk or ITSM tends to go wrong because there are different priorities among the business stakeholders, and during the project, the business and IT priorities may change.
Therefore, it’s critical you know what is and isn’t planned throughout the next few phases of your project. Because, if you deviate from your original plan, it could cause significant overruns. Identify the process and teams that are going to be involved, and look at their responsibilities and roles.
Identify who the project leader will be, who the sponsor is, who owns the processes that will be impacted and make sure they’re engaged right from the start. It’s important they support the ITSM system and decisions you are going to be implementing.
Consider Your Budget for the Project
Find out to what degree your project is funded, if it is, and look at any support or training resources, services and licensing that you may need to bring this new solution to your business. As there is a whole host of ITSM solutions to choose from, you shouldn’t find it difficult to find one that’s in keeping with your budget. However, calculating how much it’s going to cost over time and the anticipated return on investment can be.
Try to work out whether this will be an operational expenditure or a capital expenditure, and try to familiarize yourself with your budget over the next five years, which will include maintenance and support. Then, get some details about the ITSM vendor, including deployment and licensing models, the ability to modify these, and then add up the costs of integrations and add-ons as best you can, because these can vary dramatically!
Measure Your Projected Outcomes
Using your current baseline, try to define what your business’s success will look like in the next 18 months, in terms of business results and performance metrics. Will you gain a higher rate of customer satisfaction, or will you get a lower Total of Ownership (TCO)?
Start from the end date of your forecast and work backward to work out what you need to track and report, and who will be responsible for this and when. This will allow you to predict the measures of improvement you and your company should expect.
It’s also worth noting that, in 12 months, leaders are going to ask you how your project has progressed – and you’ll want to have an answer that you can back up with quantifiable data!
