IT operations management (ITOM): the Basics and differences between IT service management (ITSM)

In today’s world, where information is the key to success, keeping the IT environment running smoothly is critical for any business. With the help of IT Operations Management (ITOM) and IT Service Management (ITSM), you can manage, optimize and maintain your IT infrastructure to ensure it runs smoothly. In this article, I will explain the benefits these IT systems bring to the business and why they are worth implementing.

What is IT operations management (ITOM)?

ITOM is not just a set of tools, but an approach to managing the IT infrastructure with the aim of automating and optimizing it. Effective ITOM allows you to gather information about the health of all elements of the IT environment, monitor the operation of individual services and systems, and prevent and quickly resolve problems to avoid costly downtime.

According to Gartner, every minute of IT operations downtime in data centers costs organizations an average of $5.6 thousand. Last year, a data center failure at British Airways led to the cancellation of flights for 75,000 passengers and cost the company $68 million.

What are IT operations management functions?

Routine tasks of detecting, diagnosing and resolving problems often become the cause of new errors, leading to more serious failures within the IT environment. ITOM tools help to resolve this situation and optimize business processes through effective service management. Let me explain the features in more detail.

Information Gathering About the Entire Infrastructure

ITOM ensures constant monitoring of the IT environment and the collection of data about its operation. For example, an IT organization was facing a problem with a lack of storage space. Collecting and analyzing information about the IT environment revealed that many files were being duplicated on different servers. As a result, the ITOM teams implemented a data deduplication system, freeing up significant disk space and reducing storage costs. In addition, the integration of ITOM’s software streamlined processes, making overall operations more efficient. 

Incident Management

This involves the processes of recording, diagnosing and resolving IT incidents with the aim of restoring normal operation of IT systems. For example, an online store experiences a database failure. The incident management system automatically registers the failure and notifies the IT teams, who quickly restore the database’s functionality.

An effective ITOM also helps IT teams to resolve incidents according to established procedures. The staff member consults the knowledge base, which contains information on how to resolve typical problems. If this is the first time the incident has occurred, the staff member resolves the problem and records it in the knowledge base. This approach enables faster problem-solving and incident resolution.

Identifying Potential Vulnerabilities

By automating the collection of information about the entire IT infrastructure, you can identify weaknesses in the system before failures occur. For example, company X was experiencing frequent network outages that were causing downtime. The IT teams implemented a potential vulnerability detection system that automatically monitors network status, identifies potential problems and notifies of potential outages. This ITOM software helps IT teams manage operations by preventing unauthorized access to the infrastructure and addressing vulnerabilities in a timely manner.  

Automate Routine IT Processes

With ITOM tools, you can reduce manual labor, optimize IT operations and keep all infrastructure components up to date. For example, IT specialists used to spend time manually updating software. After implementing ITOM, everything is updated automatically, freeing up specialists’ time for more complex tasks.

ITOM benefits

Implementing ITOM solutions can bring several significant benefits.

Reducing Costs from Potential Threats

ITOM solutions involve the collection and analysis of data from multiple sources. This allows you to identify potential problems. This is achieved by continuously monitoring metrics and other data about the IT environment.

Suppose an IT organization has a server that stores important data. Monitoring systems track the load on that server and detect unusual behavior: increased response times or decreased performance. Using machine learning algorithms and data analysis, the system predicts that this could be a precursor to a potential failure or network outage. Operators are immediately alerted to the potential problem and can take action before it becomes serious.

Potential for Innovation

ITOM teams have free resources to innovate and develop new technology solutions. For example, suppose an organization has an IT team that traditionally spends most of its time updating systems or mitigating the effects of outages. After implementing ITOM and streamlining processes, system updates occur automatically. With time freed up from routine tasks, the IT department can focus on developing new products and services.

Reducing Risks

The ITOM approach ensures that information security is monitored, predicted and managed to prevent incidents and minimize risk to the business.

Imagine a company is exposed to phishing, which could result in customer financial information falling into the hands of attackers. ITOM helps to protect the business:

• The event management system monitors suspicious activity in real time and blocks access to compromised resources.
• Multi-factor authentication makes it difficult to gain unauthorized access to user accounts, even if attackers obtain passwords.
• Regular data backups ensure that information is not lost in the event of an attack.

ITOM vs. ITSM

ITOM is an integral part of the comprehensive ITSM system that covers all aspects of managing IT service operations, while ITOM focuses on the day-to-day tasks of maintaining the IT infrastructure.

These are two important aspects of IT asset management, but they have different functions and objectives. Here I will explain how they are similar and how they are different.

Key differences between ITSM and ITOM

The main difference between ITSM and ITOM lies in their focus and scope: ITSM focuses on the delivery and maintenance of IT services to customers, while ITOM focuses on operational processes and ensuring the effective operation of the IT infrastructure within the organization.

Simply put, ITSM is responsible for «what» is delivered to users, ITOM is responsible for «how» it is delivered.

Key similarities between ITSM and ITOM

ITOM and ITSM have several things in common because they are both about managing and delivering IT services. I will explain what else they have in common. Both systems:

• Use a service-oriented approach. All resources are focused on ensuring the continuous operation of systems and services.
• Focus on business needs. For example, a company has two tasks: to control the number of goods and to increase the speed of order processing in order to improve customer satisfaction. The IT department suggests implementing an automated system to manage inventory, track orders in real time and automatically respond to changes in demand.
• Focus on security: implement security procedures to protect IT systems and services from potential threats.
• Use customer-focused processes: incident management and service level agreements (SLAs) to meet the expectations of both customers and staff.

Strive for continuous improvement in service desk and service operations to increase the quality and efficiency of IT and digital services delivered.