Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2016. Read them in this 8th Annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Kevin Smith, VP and GM of service management business, HEAT Software
How the Cloud Will Change IT Service Management in 2016
In years past, selling an organization on the cloud was hard work. Thankfully, those days are almost over. In 2016, the cloud will finally be accepted as an integral part of every business division, including IT service management.
Companies are no longer debating the merits of the cloud. The advantages are now obvious and companies are realizing that the cloud has the power to transform their business. The debate these days is how best to use the cloud and take maximum advantage of the opportunities that reside there.
So what does this mean for the service management space in 2016? First and foremost, it means that IT can now be more agile. How? Think about what the cloud does best. It quickly and easily delivers applications to anyone, anywhere. For example, say you want to deploy a payroll application to your Shanghai office. In the past, this would have been a complicated process. The IT team would have had to establish a local server, stand up a database and build a firewall. Translation: a lot of time and effort. Now, however, that Shanghai office can access the payroll application in the cloud in a matter of minutes.
For service management, the cloud vastly simplifies and streamlines IT. But that does not mean the cloud makes IT irrelevant. Far from it. The cloud empowers IT by enabling it to focus on what it does best, which is working on value-added strategic initiatives, not just on the mundane jobs like standing up local servers and databases. The cloud frees IT to become a true strategic partner in the business.
The cloud will also usher in a new era of self-service in 2016, making it easy and cost-effective for organizations to create a self-service portal experience for every employee. In fact, with the cloud, service delivery is quicker than ever. Employees and customers no longer must pick up the phone and talk to the help desk and wait for support. With a cloud-enabled self-service portal, users can solve their own issues anytime, anywhere, from any device.
In 2016, IT service management will be as easy and consumer-friendly as ordering a pair of shoes on Zappos.
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About the Author
Kevin Smith is responsible for the Service Management Business Unit, including all strategy, go-to-market and customer success activities for the growing portfolio of HEAT Software Service Management applications. Smith has a deep understanding of the Service Management market, having previously been responsible for product management, product marketing and corporate marketing for all HEAT Software product lines. Smith brings over 25 years of technical, management, and executive leadership experience in technology and software businesses. Prior to HEAT Software, Smith has held positions as Vice President of Solutions Management at Manugistics Inc., Vice President of Operations at Avyx Inc., as well as Flight Design Manager with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Houston.
