IT service management (ITSM) refers to the entirety of activities – directed by policies, organized and structured in processes and supporting procedures – that are performed by an organization or part of an organization to plan, deliver, operate and control IT services offered to customers. It is thus concerned with the implementation of quality IT services that meet the needs of customers, and is performed by the IT service provider through an appropriate mix of people, process and information technology.
Differing from more technology-oriented IT management approaches like network management and IT systems management, IT service management is characterized by
As a discipline, ITSM has ties and common interests with other IT and general management approaches, e.g., quality management, information security management and software engineering. Consequently, IT service management frameworks have been influenced by other standards and adopted concepts from them, e.g. CMMI, ISO 9000 or ISO/IEC 27000.