What Is Modern IT Service Management?
Initial ITSM deployments focused on narrow-stream solutions designed to deliver specific, small-scale outcomes. These might take the form of customers reporting issues with web-based login portals or staff encountering difficulties with internal platform authentication. The system was simple: Tickets were created, support staff was notified and resolutions were found.
The system was also effective — so effective, in fact, that ticket-type ITSM now underpins almost every service and solution offered by financial firms.
However, as technologies such as cloud computing, mobile connectivity and data analytics have evolved, so has ITSM. Rather than running a host of disparate processes, each with its own service objective, modern ITSM acts like an operational central nervous system capable of managing all aspects of an IT environment with centralized process visibility, data transparency and user experience models.
Just as Amazon expanded its platform and evolved its capabilities, going from disrupting book sales to revolutionizing e-commerce broadly, ITSM has moved from individualized and IT-centric responses to inclusive and enterprise-focused service solutions capable of managing and automating workflows at scale.
WATCH: Learn how to build a digital strategy that works for your organization.
How ServiceNow Empowers Digital Transformation
The industry-leading ITSM platform can help companies deliver on digital transformation initiatives across three critical stages:
- Standardization. For many banks, ITSM priorities focus on doing the same things they’ve always done, only faster. ServiceNow can help firms identify the key frameworks and functions they need to build out, then design and deploy systems that help standardize service operations and eliminate point solutions.
- Modernization. The right ITSM deployment can also help modernize the digital experience and break down traditional silos with proactive and predictive processes designed to automate workflows, reduce error rates and improve cycle times.
- Innovation. Because of its connection to IT services and data sources across the organization, ServiceNow offers a level of service delivery unmatched by customer relationship management or enterprise resource planning solutions, making it possible for companies to innovate in areas such as data trend mapping, AI integration and intelligent authentication.
Where Is ITSM Most Effective for Banks?
While all businesses stand to benefit from the advanced and automated workflow management offered by ITSM deployments, banks are often best served in three key areas:
- Security management. With a mix of modern, customer-facing apps and legacy systems based in code such as COBOL, financial firms face a more complex security challenge than their mainstream enterprise counterparts. Advanced ITSM solutions can help map critical security dependencies, identify potential vulnerabilities and shortfalls and help pinpoint protective remedies.
- M&A enhancement. Banks also face the ongoing pressure that comes with mergers and acquisitions. While connecting disparate technology is one aspect of an M&A effort, creating a shared operational culture is often what defines M&A success. Modern ITSM helps establish a common corporate viewpoint and facilitate unified IT function.
- User experience improvement. Speaking of IT function, many banks still struggle with end-user experience. Modernizing ITSM and expanding the view to include enterprise service management workflows makes it possible to create both internal and external experiences that reduce complexity and deliver personalized process interactions for staff and clients alike.
ITSM remains a core component of banking operations, but the fragmented nature of traditional trouble ticket systems can put financial firms at odds with digital transformation priorities. Modern ITSM deployments that centralize and standardize critical processes can help banks lean into the evolving mandate of automated, integrated IT service management at scale.
