Ultimate guide to IT Service Management careers
IT service management (ITSM) is home to a variety of people performing all sorts of important roles. Some are involved in the technical side, whilst others are strictly business. This guide explores the different ITSM jobs available and how you can get into them.
What is ITSM?
ITSM stands for IT service management and ITSM teams or individuals perform a vital function within organisations. They focus on managing the development, design and delivery of effective IT services, either in-house or to meet customer needs. ITSM staff achieve this by ensuring the technology, people and processes match the requirements of their organisation or customer[1].
To help manage these strategies, ITSM teams normally use best practice methods such as ITIL. You’ll find ITIL very commonly mentioned on job descriptions. This is because ITIL is the most widely adopted ITSM method in the world, used by companies like IBM, Microsoft, Boeing, Sony and Barclays Bank[2]. You can learn the ITIL method by doing an accredited training course.
As the IT world moves towards automation and closer collaboration between IT service and IT development departments, the benefits of new movements such as DevOps are also being realised by ITSM teams[3]. With the explosion of hacking and data breaches, cyber security is also becoming vital for organisations, so methods such as RESILIA are becoming very useful too[4].
What ITSM jobs are available?
According to AXELOS, the authors of ITIL, there are many different ITSM roles which are available for people with ITIL certification [5]. You will also find that some ITSM jobs are technical, whereas some are more business orientated.
Entry level ITSM jobs, like the Service Desk Technician and IT Project Support roles, are a good starting point for further progression into a management role, such as the Service Desk Manager or Project Manager. You can also progress into cyber resilience and business management roles.
If you have technical knowledge or experience as a developer, you can start an IT service management career by entering an IT Support Technician role or IT Architect role. From there, you can move onto specialised support and project management roles.
Top level roles in ITSM include the Programme Manager, Chief Information Security Manager, Chief Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer. You can also become a Business Analyst, Release Manager or IT Configuration Manager.
