The 10 best ITSM tools every business should know about

Many modern organizations are heavily dependent on IT services, so finding the right IT service management (ITSM) tools to support their IT departments is crucial. The right ITSM software can help increase operational efficiency, improve productivity, and minimize risk.

Here’s a list of core features to look for and the top ITSM tools every business needs to know about.

The basics of ITSM

IT service management (ITSM) is how IT teams manage the design, creation, and delivery of IT services and support for customers.

Some common ITSM processes include

• Service request management: Resolving incoming service requests
• Knowledge base management: Creating readily available, easy-to-understand IT information, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides
• IT asset management: Tracking and managing devices
• Incident management: Finding solutions to decrease downtime and prevent service disruption
• Change management: Standardizing procedures for making changes to IT infrastructure to improve efficiency
• Release management: Testing, release, and verification of changes to the IT environment

3 key features to look for in ITSM tools

When you’re evaluating ITSM tools, make sure they include these three key features.

Incident tracking and analytics

Software bugs, system glitches, and server downtime are just a few IT incidents that can occur and often require swift remediation. Your next ITSM tool should be able to support you in this area.

Along with a support ticket system, you should have a way of tracking ongoing incidents — like issue tracking forms or bug tracking forms. With access to data from past incidents and ongoing cases, you’re better equipped to analyze findings and prevent future incidents.

Automation capabilities

ITSM technologies should help you move faster without working harder. Look for tools with automation capabilities that can free you from tedious, manual tasks — that way, you can focus on handling serious issues and making strategic decisions.

For example, you may want support ticket submissions automatically sent to your support team’s Slack channel so available team members can resolve issues faster. Whatever it is, your ITSM tool should provide automations and integrations to free up your time.

Reporting and metrics

A few common service desk metrics your IT team should keep track of include the total number of incidents, average response time, and ticket volume. These metrics help IT leaders track performance, find opportunities for improvement, or identify the need for additional resources. Along with access to metrics, an ITSM tool should provide an easy reporting function to share findings with your team.

Top 10 IT service management tools

There are hundreds of tools designed to help with IT service management. Below are the top 10 ITSM tools that can help improve your IT service delivery.

Zendesk

Zendesk is one of the most well-known ITSM tools on the market. It has a robust set of capabilities and excels particularly in its ticketing management system. However, some users find the options overwhelming and difficult to navigate. Zendesk is also more expensive compared to many similar solutions.

Jotform

The core processes of ITSM all circle back to forms and database tables — which are exactly what Jotform excels in. An online form builder, Jotform offers customizable form templates, including IT ticket and request forms and software survey forms. The platform also offers more than 100 app integrations.

In addition, with Jotform Tables, you can improve your records management and provide greater transparency across teams when tracking progress on incident management. With handy table templates (like issue tracking), you can support priority ITSM processes without having to build a tracking system from scratch — and with zero coding knowledge.

SolarWinds Service Desk

SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud-based platform that offers important features like IT asset management functions and task automation. The most common complaints among SolarWinds customers are that the platform’s user interface (UI) isn’t intuitive and that it only offers basic reporting functionality.

Jira Service Management

Jira excels at managing user inquiries and also offers features like asset management. It works in partnership with the collaboration wiki tool Confluence (another Atlassian product), helping internal teams share knowledge efficiently. However, there can be a bit of a learning curve when using Jira, and, based on user reviews, the platform can be a bit slow.

Freshservice

With Freshservice, you’ll get access to many ITSM features, including service catalog, incident management, asset management, and a knowledge base. Although it offers many features, some users find it’s not the most intuitive ITSM tool to navigate.

SysAid

SysAid is a powerful ITSM tool boasting advanced automation capabilities. It also allows you to remotely access work desktops and data, which few other ITSM tools offer. A downside, though, is that SysAid can be difficult to access through its mobile application.

Spiceworks

Spiceworks offers many of the essential features you’d want in a good ITSM tool, like incident management, change management, knowledge base management, and diagnostic tools. The service is available for free, thanks to the support of advertisers.

BMC Remedy

BMC Remedy offers a large suite of features, like change, release, and service request management. There’s also a chatbot functionality that includes Slackbot, SMS, and Skype. Although it’s easy to use, many users describe the UI’s appearance as outdated.

ServiceNow IT Service Management

ServiceNow is chock-full of features that can help streamline ITSM initiatives, including compliance management, data visualization, and ticket management. But, with so many features available, the learning curve for ServiceNow can be steep.

TOPdesk

TOPdesk offers all the basics you’d expect from a strong ITSM tool. There are also features that allow you to track your IT team’s availability and workload or to create self-service portals for low-level issues.

While there are plenty of ITSM tools available to support your business’s IT department, choosing the right service management platform for your team will help streamline your processes based on your specific needs.

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