What Does 2014 Have In Store for ITSM?

There are few industries that move with the speed and fluidity of IT. For any industry, the beginning of a new year can only be about one thing, learning from the previous 12 months in order to predict the trends and directions of the coming year and what this means for training, employment and business prospects.

There is a consensus among those in the IT sector that change is on the horizon; dissatisfaction with ITSM has been growing for a while.

While cloud services and outsourcing were the buzzwords of 2013, the new focus for IT Service Management is based on people, outcomes and customer satisfaction.

So what can we expect to see in the coming year from the IT industry?

BYOD Is Here To Stay

Love it or hate it, Bring Your Own Device is going nowhere. While it poses multiple challenges for security, among other things, employees are finding that their own devices run better, faster and more easily than standard office PCs. If you don’t own a smart device of some kind in 2014 then you’ve been living under a rock; the whole world seems to own a tablet, a smart phone and a laptop, and while their applications are almost identical to those found in the office, their developers have provided them with a more user friendly interface that the average individual favours.

The challenge to employers is thus: if we’re embracing the BYOD trend, which most of us are, can we then justify employing an IT department whose functions now seem largely redundant? As always, there are two sides of the coin to consider.

Is IT Still Relevant In The BYOD Revolution?

Dissatisfaction with standard office IT is what has fuelled the revolution. Smaller companies have found they can survive without the need for a designated IT department to oversee everyday operations; instead employees are managing their own devices and utilising ever evolving cloud services to work from their device from the office, from home, from the train on their commute and everywhere else, but are they setting themselves up for a fall?

While it is true that companies can save significant amounts of money on software investments and employee salaries by not hiring an IT expert, they are leaving themselves vulnerable should anything go wrong.

Larger corporations have been wary to say the least when it comes to embracing BYOD, and the ITSM professionals feel secure in the knowledge that when a problem occurs, whether it’s on a personal device or not, they are still the team to call. When it comes to R&D, app recommendations, management solutions and security procedures, having an in-house IT expert may not only be relevant, but in some cases could be vital.

Is Outsourcing On the Way Out?

Luckily for anyone seeking employment in the lucrative IT sector, it seems as though 2014 will see a shift back to an in-house focus. Outsourced IT is a money saver that can be a life saver for small businesses who lack significant resources, but the focus of in-house IT experts is solely on you. A dedicated team can help you choose the devices that are most suitable for your business needs, help you get volume discounts on bulk purchases, oversee security, implement strategies to protect the business and stay in touch with users in order to meet their individual IT needs.

For those breaking into the world of IT or for individuals looking to develop their skill set in order to become a pivotal member of an in house IT team, 2014 is shaping up to be your year.

By undergoing training and utilising the resources of specific IT recruiters you can ensure you have the skill set to implement the best, most innovative ITSM practices that will keep you on the cutting edge.

This post was written by Emma Smith in partnership with Aim Hire Recruitment, one of the leading ITSM resources and recruiters in Europe who specialise in BMC training and ITSM recruitment.

By Emma Smith