What is IT Service Management?

A service is a means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks.

Service management is what enables a service provider to understand the services they are providing, to ensure that the services really do facilitate the outcomes their customers want to achieve, to understand the value of the services to their customers, and to understand and manage all of the costs and risks associated with those services.

Service management is concerned with more than just delivering services. Each service, process or infrastructure component has a lifecycle, and service management considers the entire lifecycle from strategy through design and transition to operation and continual improvement.

The inputs to service management are the resources and capabilities that represent the assets of the service provider. The outputs are the services that provide value to the customers.

Effective service management is itself a strategic asset of the service provider, providing them with the ability to carry out their core business of providing services that deliver value to customers by facilitating the outcomes customers want to achieve.