Adapt ITSM workflows for modern IT needs

A key selling point of ITSM is the structure and stability it provides. With ITSM workflows, an IT team can trust that resources will behave in expected and standardized ways. Without order, there's chaos.

To DevOps true believers, it is easy to see ITSM's attributes as impediments. After all, who wants to constrain continuous integration and continuous delivery with rigorous standards and complicated procedures? DevOps is about flexibility, using automation to make quick adjustments. Caution isn't a key ingredient.

At first glance then, DevOps and ITSM would seem to be in conflict. And, in some ways, they are. Organizations that innovate in cloud-based environments will find value in DevOps, and companies that work with legacy systems will rely on ITSM practices. Those two camps aren't really camps, though. Plenty of organizations run a mix of both modern and legacy systems.

This handbook's first article explores those situations where DevOps and ITSM are relevant within a single IT organization and how the two practices can -- and should -- be adjusted toward the greater good. Experts say the goal is to balance ITSM's rigor with DevOps' flexibility to the point where they can not only coexist, but deliver real value.

Also included here are articles that delve into how ITSM tooling continues to improve and adjust to modern IT methods. Products from vendors such as Atlassian and ServiceNow can help with ITSM workflow management, for example, though they take different approaches to the problem. Their expanded product portfolios aim to provide customers with help not just with traditional ITSM, but with broader asset management, configuration management and enterprise service management tasks.

By

• Phil Sweeney, Executive Editor