In the day-to-day world of service desks and incident queues, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Tactical work dominates the conversation, and terms like ITSM strategy can feel like, here we go again or just plain old executive jargon, (The CIO has been reading the inflight magazine on the plane again) or another presentation deck for the shelf. But ignoring strategy leaves many service teams stuck in a loop of reactive effort, unable to demonstrate value or plan effectively. So, do you actually have an ITSM strategy, and if not, what’s the cost?
Strategy Is More Than a Document
Let’s be very clear, strategy isn’t just a plan written once and filed away. It’s the ongoing process of aligning IT’s capabilities to where the business is headed. Without it, ITSM initiatives tend to become a patchwork of short-term fixes, tool replacements, and projects driven by complaints rather than purpose. A strategic approach allows you to say no when needed, explain the why behind your services, and prioritise based on business value, not noise.
Foundations First. What Belongs in an ITSM Strategy?
To build something useful, it helps to frame your strategy with a few key questions.
1. What’s our role as a service provider?
Understanding whether you operate as a basic support function or a partner in business delivery changes everything, from how you measure success to how you structure your service catalogue.
2. Where are the inefficiencies?
Be honest about redundant tooling, overlapping processes, and reactive cycles. Use data, not gut feel, to identify patterns. Start with things like ticket categorisation, resolution time variances, or hand-off delays.
3. What does better look like?
Avoid lofty aspirations like world-class service (seen this one overused, sigh!) and define tangible outcomes instead. For example, reducing request backlog by 30%, introducing service ownership roles, or streamlining standard changes.
Measuring What Matters
Once a direction is set, build in a feedback loop. Balanced Scorecard frameworks or a simple goals-metrics-actions model can help. The idea is to track more than just technical metrics, think stakeholder satisfaction, process reliability, and ability to adapt to change. If metrics are only gathered for reports and never discussed, they’re not helping.
Keep It Live and Collaborative
A common mistake is assuming the strategy is something IT leadership writes alone. In truth, a strong ITSM strategy should involve voices from across the organisation, service owners, business unit leads, even front-line support staff. That collaboration gives you broader input and creates buy-in when you begin to make changes. <- best advice ever here
Above all, revisit the strategy regularly. The best ones evolve with the business and act as a lens through which every new initiative is viewed. If you haven’t looked at yours in a year, chances are it’s out of date.
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