As the year draws to a close, it’s natural to start planning for what’s next and there is one question many are asking themselves. "Is my current service management tool delivering the results I need now, and can it handle future demands"?
Why does future proofing your IT Service Management solution matter?
Business needs change rapidly, peak performance today might depend on features or integrations that weren’t considered a year ago. The cost of standing still is significant and relying on an IT Service Management tool that doesn’t grow with your business can slow down time-to-value, user acceptance and service quality.
Change is difficult, but inertia is too. The resistance involved in switching tools often becomes the biggest obstacle to progress, even when the current solution no longer meets future requirements.
When evaluating whether your current tool fits your needs, ask yourself if you are you consistently achieving the outcomes you aim for in service delivery, incident management, change control, and customer experience.
Do you have a clear migration plan or upgrade path that matches your future requirements, such as AI-assisted automation, integrated asset management, scalable workflows, and self-service portals, and what is the true cost of change in your environment including licensing, training, data migration, and process redesign - and is the return on investment compelling enough to start now rather than later?
If the answer to any of the above questions is “not quite,” then it’s time to explore options with a value-focused approach.
What are common business concerns you need to address?
The primary concern usually centres on market presence. Buyers often ask: "Will a particular vendor offer the required level of support and security?" Some vendors counter this by offering a more personalised, customer-centric experience. They emphasise hands-on onboarding and dedicated customer success teams that help mitigate the risks of migration. This agility allows for a transition plan that is often smoother and faster than those involving larger, more rigid competitors.
While public software companies have greater resources at their disposal, they sometimes can appear to make decisions based on shareholder demands and short term stock performance. Independent solutions aim for a steady focus on product quality and customer satisfaction. This can foster a relationship based on mutual success rather than quarterly financial targets.
How do I undertake due diligence for an ITSM platform?
Your due diligence needs to focus on two main timeline horizons: the immediate migration and the 18-month future. First, investigate the product roadmap to ensure it supports your upcoming initiatives, such as AI integration or advanced asset lifecycle reporting. Simultaneously, run a comprehensive Total Cost of Ownership analysis. This shouldn't just be a budget exercise on licensing fees; you need to model different growth scenarios to see how implementation and training costs balance against potential productivity improvements over time.
For the immediate term, the transition plan is your biggest area of risk. You need to press for details on how the proposed solution handles the migration of legacy data and active workflows, and what specific success measures are used to declare the project a win. Finally, validate the support ecosystem. Great software is useless if you can't get help when it breaks, so clarify exactly what support levels are included and how their customer success team stays involved after you’ve gone live.
How do I get started with ITSM platform selection?
- Identify essential requirements like integrations and security & compliance needs.
- Conduct a proof-of-concept pilot with a select group of users to verify critical workflows.
- Develop a business case that outlines both the expected benefits such as, faster time-to-value, better customer experience, less workload versus the risks such as data migration, change management, training needs.
If you’re considering a move or refresh, now is a good time to start a conversation with us, to map out a clear path from your current situation to your desired future state. A structured evaluation will help determine whether your service management tool provides the results you need today and is prepared to meet tomorrow’s expectations.
Contact us here to lean more about your ITSM platform options.