When evaluating ESM platforms, think about how a given product fits in with the direction of the overall market, as well as how it aligns with your plans. The vendor landscape has solidified, and the market is competing vigorously for your business.
Here are the top five technology and market trends in Enterprise Service Management (ESM), and recommendations from experts on how to make smart buying decisions and equip your teams with the skills they'll need in the future.
1. AI, automation, and machine learning technologies are advancing rapidly
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for 50 years, but actual business adoption is fairly new. ESM vendors have been adding elements of AI, automation, and machine learning to their offerings. "AI plus automation is a logical equation," said Dennis Drogseth, vice president of Enterprise Management Associates (EMA). "AI gives you insight, and automation gives you action. Action without insight equals train wrecks. Insight without action doesn’t help you very much."
As much as people would like to embrace the benefits of AI and automation, the fierce competition and pace of development in this area can be paralyzing. While there are many different kinds of AI and automation, it will eventually come together as "a new landscape, not a single direction," Drogseth said.
It's important to get started now, even though the landscape is still developing. "I tell my clients, the sooner you jump in the pool and start swimming, the sooner you'll be able to take advantage of it," said Doug Tedder, principal of Tedder Consulting. Your team will gain experience, your organization will start to reap benefits, and you will be ready to use the innovations when they hit the street.
2. AIOps is bringing service management under a single pane of glass
Artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) technology is changing the service management game by allowing you to control all your service management capabilities under a single pane of glass. "We've talked about it for years, but it's finally here," said Tedder. "AIOps platforms let you bring together all of your network monitoring, operations monitoring, and application portfolio monitoring, do some correlation, and visualize it together," he said.
In service management, the big advantage this gives you is faster insight, which leads to improved quality. You can focus your efforts on the most important things that are happening, "and when something goes wrong you can hit pause much quicker," said Tedder.
3. ESM is integrating with DevOps
The top ESM platforms are designed for maximum interoperability, including most enterprise DevOps tools. This is crucial for long-term success. "You must be able to integrate ESM with the application development lifecycle," said Michael Pott, senior product marketing manager at Micro Focus. This will let you use the principles from ITSM to manage a variety of services, confident that all of the technology underpinnings—your ESM and DevOps tools— will work harmoniously together.
"What you’re doing in DevOps needs to fit in with service management, at the end of the day," said Tedder. "Service management ensures you're delivering value. And DevOps is actually about delivering a complete value stream."
Tedder finds that many people still think that DevOps is somehow separate from ESM or ITSM. “I can’t say this strongly enough: DevOps is ITSM. It’s just a different approach—but there’s no philosophical, technical, or conceptual reason why DevOps and ITSM can’t get along,” he said.
4. ESM will manage services pre-cloud and in the cloud
"The cloud will be a huge influence on the future direction of ESM development," said Jayne Groll, CEO of the DevOps Institute. "After all, you already need to manage and deliver services pre-cloud as well as in private, public, and hybrid clouds. ESM vendors are working to make that easier."
Many ESM apps are cloud-native—built specifically for the cloud—but your organization will probably use them along with other kinds of apps already in place in your environment, including on the mainframe.
All of that affects how you'll manage services now and in the future. "You'll need specific skills to get the proper relationship with the cloud, and you'll need an ESM platform that enables your team to be successful," Groll said.
5. Expect to see more vertical-specific integrations
EMA's Drogseth expects platform evolution to include vertical-specific integrations that move beyond reporting. Vendors are moving toward intelligent ESM platforms with good analytics, service modeling, and a core platform specialized for use in specific verticals. "This movement is already underway, and is not very far off," he said.
Key takeaways
These are the five most important trends to consider for your ESM tools:
AI, automation, and machine learning technologies are advancing rapidly
AIOps is pulling service management for all your systems into one platform
ESM is integrating with DevOps
ESM will manage services both on-premises and in the cloud
Expect to see more industry-specific integrations
Read Next: Here are 7 key questions to ask to help your organization identify a ESM project that both fits your service management maturity level and can deliver results quickly, along with five key selection criteria help you home in on the tools and vendors that are a good fit for your team and your project.
