Forrester

Why Read This Report

This report outlines the future look of Forrester's solution for IT infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders planning the future of their service management and automation (SMA) program. This is important because the majority of I&O organizations have adopted IT service management (ITSM) to manage increasing business and technology change and complexity. But gone are the days ruled by the technology illuminati, and ITSM must evolve. Its future requires customer obsession, relentless focus on just the right portfolio of services, automation, and an expansion far beyond ITIL and the walls of the I&O organization. To stay relevant, I&O leaders should drop the "IT" from ITSM and add automation instead to deliver customer outcomes faster, cheaper, and at higher quality. The result: service management and automation, or SMA for short. To help I&O leaders understand the trends and plan for the future of SMA, this report examines the definition of a service; the importance of a portfolio approach, standard processes, and the impact of automation; the implications on skills, organizational structure, and collaboration across the enterprise; and continual service improvement.