Key Criteria for Evaluating ITSM Solutionsv1.0

An Evaluation Guide for Technology Decision Makers

Table of Contents

  1. Summary
  2. ITSM Primer
  3. Report Methodology
  4. Decision Criteria Analysis
  5. Evaluation Metrics
  6. Key Criteria: Impact Analysis
  7. Analyst’s Take
  8. About Ron Williams

1. Summary

IT service management (ITSM) is about optimizing how IT professionals deliver IT services to meet business needs within an organization. Today, the increasing complexity of an organization’s technical environment makes this more important—and more challenging—than ever. Luckily, a number of ITSM solutions are available to ease the process. However, there’s a fair amount to learn to ensure you choose the right solution.

Selecting an ITSM solution depends on several factors, including size of the organization, its maturity, whether or not it is an IT organization, and its potential for growth. This report examines the ITSM vendor landscape and provides guidance for assessing and selecting a solution based on these and other factors. Large IT organizations may employ a variety of ITSM solutions encompassing many of the ITIL (formerly Information Technology Infrastructure Library) best practice approaches. They may not embrace all of ITIL for a number of reasons, including organic growth, lack of maturity, or an unwillingness to embrace change. Enterprises that are considering an ITSM solution should be sure to adopt and adapt one to fit their needs.

ITSM solutions must fit the size and abilities of the organization. This report defines the following market segments:

  • Large enterprises: We assessed offerings on their ability to support large and business-critical projects. Optimal solutions in this category will have a strong focus on flexibility, performance, data services, and features to improve security and data protection. Scalability is another big differentiator, as is the ability to deploy the same service in different environments. Note: Managed service providers (MSPs) may be a target for some vendors but are not addressed in this report.
  • Mid-market or business unit: In this category, we assess solutions on the ability to meet the needs of organizations ranging from medium-sized businesses to business units within a larger corporation. Ease of use and deployment are more important than extensive management functionality, data mobility, and feature set.
  • Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs): This category includes solutions that address the needs of SMBs that don’t require IT expertise across multiple domains. Only Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are appropriate for this segment of users.

How to Read this Report

This GigaOm report is one of a series of documents that helps IT organizations assess competing solutions in the context of well-defined features and criteria. For a fuller understanding consider reviewing the following reports:

Key Criteria report: A detailed market sector analysis that assesses the impact that key product features and criteria have on top-line solution characteristics—such as scalability, performance, and TCO—that drive purchase decisions.

GigaOm Radar report: A forward-looking analysis that plots the relative value and progression of vendor solutions along multiple axes based on strategy and execution. The Radar report includes a breakdown of each vendor’s offering in the sector.

Solution Profile: An in-depth vendor analysis that builds on the framework developed in the Key Criteria and Radar reports to assess a company’s engagement within a technology sector. This analysis includes forward-looking guidance around both strategy and product.

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