NEW SOLARWINDS REPORT REVEALS AUTOMATION , SELF- SERVICE AND SLAS ARE KEYS TO ITSM EFFICIENCY
I N F O G R A P H I C
NEW SOLARWINDS REPORT REVEALS AUTOMATION , SELF- SERVICE AND SLAS ARE KEYS TO ITSM EFFICIENCY
Findings from the SolarWinds 2024 State of ITSM Report showcase several more effective methods for up-levelling ITSM .
SolarWinds , a leading provider of simple , powerful , secure observability and IT management software , has released its 2024 State of ITSM Report , which provides practical , actionable guidance rooted in realworld Information Technology Service Management ( ITSM ) strategies . This report analysed over 2,000 ITSM data systems and 60,000 points of anonymised and aggregated SolarWinds customer data .
Overall , the data asserts that organisations cannot streamline their ITSM operations by simply adding more staff members . Instead , based on SolarWinds ’ findings , improving operations requires a multifaceted strategy of deploying additional effective methods , including :
• Employ Automation Rules : Automation rules save three hours per ticket .
• Use Self-Service Portals : Leveraging a self-service portal can reduce resolution times by as many as two hours per ticket .
• Implement Knowledge Base Articles : Organisations that implement knowledge base ( KB ) articles resolve incidents an average of six hours faster than those that do not .
• Utilize Service-Level Agreements : Utilisation of service-level agreements ( SLAs ) resolves tickets an average of two hours faster .
When ITSM teams combine each of these methods , the result is a mature service desk prepared for various types of requests . The ITSM Report provides a more in-depth look at each method and its specific benefits .
Automation Rules
According to the data , implementing automation throughout the ITSM workflows improves an organization ' s ability to meet its SLAs . The report shows that increased levels of automation correlate with a lower percentage of SLA misses ( or the ratio of SLA misses to total tickets submitted .)
Automation also helps organisations reduce the manual workload on service desk agents , scale their ITSM operations , and free up team members to focus on more strategic initiatives that drive long-term business success .
Self-Service Portals and KB Articles
The study indicates that the effects of self-service portals are two-fold . First , they allow the user to take charge of their ticket resolution , facilitating an immediate response to the problem . Second , it reduces the overall resolution time , which results in a more efficient service desk .
According to the study , KB articles are often the lifeblood of efficient self-service operations , as they allow users to find solutions to their issues , sometimes without even needing to submit an IT ticket . KB articles are most effective when they include information that is easy to understand , easy to access , and most relevant to a customer ' s problem . Ideally , the result is a reduction in the number of tickets and more time – for both customer and agent – to focus on more pressing issues .
Service Level Agreements
Automation , selfservice portals , and KB articles are each important in helping the service desk maintain its SLAs with its customers . SLAs help set critical benchmarks for customers to judge the level of service .
According to the report , maintained SLAs help improve customer trust and enhance resource optimisation . They also create avenues for continuous improvement .
As a service desk continually meets its SLAs , it can look for opportunities to develop new benchmarks and enhance response times and operational efficiencies .
Changing Conventional Thinking
Conventional thinking suggests that more ITSM staff translates to better ITSM services .
However , the report shows no definitive correlation between the number of service desk agents and the time necessary to resolve tickets . Instead , ITSM teams should ensure they have a comprehensive plan in place , focusing less on large-scale hiring efforts and more on sound SLAs , intuitive automation , refined self-service portals , and easily accessible knowledge-based articles . �
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