Enterprise Service Management is on the rise

ESM-Tools promise higher employee and customer satisfaction

Enterprise Service Management is one of the most important components of digitization. According to the study “Digital Workflows 2023”, conducted in cooperation with CIO, CSO, and COMPUTERWOCHE, 85 percent of companies wish to transfer experiences from ITSM to Service Management in the departments.

The study describes where companies stand today, identifies goals, and identifies potential pitfalls on the path toward digitalizing processes.

About the study

In the multi-client study “Digital Workflows 2023” conducted by Computerwoche Research Services, senior (IT) managers from companies in the DACH region were interviewed in an online survey. In the period from September 28 to October 5, 2022, a total of 354 completed and qualified interviews were held with top (IT) managers, strategic (IT) decision-makers in the C-level area and the departments (LoBs). In addition to ESCRIBA, study partners included Ivanti Germany GmbH, Micro Focus Deutschland GmbH, Serviceware SE, ONEiO Cloud GmbH, USU GmbH and Efecte Germany GmbH.

Key Findings

Satisfied customers and employees are the main motivation for using ESM tools

Integrated and automated End-to-End processes benefit both internal and external customers. This is reflected in the results of the study as well: 57 percent of the besurveyed companies wish to maximize customer and employee satisfaction through ESM solutions. In particular, this applies to companies with at least 1,000 employees and the upper management (65 percent).

The creation of a service catalogue and the accurate fulfilment of service-level agreements are also important goals of Enterprise Service Management. There is also a great deal of interest in ESM tools that offer report- and dashboard capabilities. A third of the respondents said they want more transparency over department wide processes.

Enterprise Service Management arrives in all business areas

In the past, IT-Service-Management was the predominant subject matter, but the principles are increasingly being applied to other fields as well. Eighty-four percent of the companies plan to use ITSM experiences in other fields as well.

Customer Service / Customer Support ranks first (53%) in this category. Customer queries are to be intercepted and automated using KI-tools and chatbots. Keyword: Ticket Deflecting.

Moreover, the ESM agenda emphasizes the aforementioned mainly ‘process-intensive’ business areas, such as finance (45 percent), IT security (42 percent), and administration (40 percent).

Approximately a third of respondents are actively involved in HR service management. The processes in HR are either expanded with a ticket system for dispatching service tickets or with self-service portals for employees.

Shortage of skilled workers: Driver and obstacle to automation

The collapse of supply chains, the corona pandemic and the shortage of skilled workers – 2022 was full of risks and challenges for companies. Interestingly, the lack of skilled workers is named by the study participants as the biggest driver (61 percent) as well as the biggest hurdle (40 percent) of automation.

Companies want to counter the increasing gap between qualified employees and vacancies with automation and digitization. With ESM software and optimized process structures, many tasks can be completely automated, and employee time can be used to create more value. At the same time, this is where the crux of the matter lies: Extensive restructuring measures require manpower in IT, which is why many companies fail to execute their plans.

Due to demographic change, all companies are pressured to introduce ESM solutions briefly. This is also confirmed by the study: 70 percent of the companies see enterprise service management as business-critical.

IT goes first, the departments must follow

81 percent of the companies agree with the statement that the departments themselves must be responsible for and promote the digitization of their service processes by using an ESM tool. This is where expectations and reality diverge: The IT department is still the driver of innovations in service processes (63 percent).

The reason for this discrepancy lies in the lack of know-how in the departments. Here, a no- and low-coding platform can form the bridge between IT and the departments. Only with the ability to independently create business applications, the departments become the drivers of enterprise service management.

ESM tools? Yes, but integrated and flexible.

Comprehensive end-to-end processes can only be designed when there are no software breaks. The study participants also see it this way: At 42 percent, a high level of integration capability is the most important criterion for selecting a suitable ESM tool.

Many companies also use several backends and service management tools in parallel. Solutions without suitable interfaces and integration options are therefore hardly competitive. An ESM software can also function as a data hub in the company and connect different backends and tools with each other.

In addition to complete integration, the software should be flexible and independently adaptable (37 percent). Ideally, processes can be modelled by the departments using no- and low-coding.

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