Automation, AI, and the Rise of ServiceOps

| @ema_research
Sponsored by
Automation, AI, and the
Rise of ServiceOps
Valerie O’Connell
Research Director, Digital Service Execution
Enterprise Management Associates (EMA)
VOconnell@enterprisemanagement.com
Sponsored by

| @ema_research 2
Watch the On-Demand Webinar
• Automation, AI, and the Rise of ServiceOps On-Demand Webinar:
https://info.enterprisemanagement.com/automation-ai-the-rise-of-
serviceops-webinar-ss
• Check out upcoming webinars from EMA here:
https://www.enterprisemanagement.com/freeResearch
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc.

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
EMA Featured Speaker
Valerie O’Connell leads the Digital Service Execution
practice at Enterprise Management Associates (EMA).
Her practice encompasses intersections and innovations
across AIOps, asset management, end-user experience,
ITSM/ESM, and business context as they interact to
deliver excellence in digital service. Valerie works with
her clients to drive business. She excels at making the
value proposition of complex products clear in crowded
markets and at equipping sales forces to strike with
precision.
Valerie came to EMA with decades of senior-level
experience in the effective marketing of technology. Her
experience ranges from VP of product marketing at
what was then CA to a successful run as an independent
practitioner, serving industry giants such as Microsoft and
EMC, as well as cutting-edge startups.
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 3
Valerie O’Connell
EMA Research Director
Digital Service Execution
Enterprise Management Associates

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Sponsors

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
A working definition
It’s not a:
Marketing concept
Product
Technology
Methodology
Management philosophy
ServiceOps is a technology-enabled approach to unifying IT service and IT operations
management for excellence in delivery of digital business services.
It is:
IT service-forward
A results-driven approach
People-centric
Technology enabled
Management supported
It’s also:
Common sense and practical
Best of both worlds:
grassroots and C-level endorsed
Successful at improving IT service
and cutting costs
Rapidly growing in adoption

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
The research
400+ IT leaders North America, EMEA, APAC; organizations with 1,000-20,000+ employees; cross-industries
“AI service automation:
ITSM and ITOps convergence”
ServiceOps will soon become the prevailing IT
operational model. It is the logical product of
business sense and technology combined
because AIOps, automation, and AI/ML enable,
and can shape, a converged model of IT service
delivery and support.
“Automation, AI, and the rise of ServiceOps”
ServiceOps (by any name) – a technology-enabled
approach to frictionless collaboration between IT
service and operations – is at work across industries
and organizations of all sizes globally. It is relatively
early but gaining momentum, as 78% of the
respondents identify this collaboration as either an
active effort or a formal initiative.
2022 2023

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Why ServiceOps matters
It’s happening now – either formally or
informally
The competition is moving forward
Organizational support and funding can
amplify its benefits
Recognizing the trends and opportunities
makes it possible to harness the
momentum and maximize results
It brings a chance to make a difference
without disruption or tons of additional
investment

| @ema_research
IT context/background

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Budget and buying
For 92% of the respondents,
2023 IT budgets have remained
constant or increased:
18% Significant increase (20% or more)
60% Increase (5%-19%)
14% Stayed the same
Only 17% experienced a cut as of February 2023.

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
IT is trending up, but not quite an equal partner to the business
Digital transformation
• 52% of organizations are more than halfway to
planned roadmap objectives
• Intensifies the need for the frictionless collaboration
Cloud
• Cloud migration is “more important than ever” for
46% of respondents
• 34% state that cloud usage and spend control are
now the top priorities when it comes to cloud
considerations
• Cloud is both an enabler of innovation and a top
obstacle to high-quality IT service when separate
operations limit its visibility
• ServiceOps highlights the need for cloud
operations to participate in end-end efforts

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
AI and automation are foundational to IT and to ServiceOps

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
AI and automation at work: AIOps
Which statement best describes IT outages in your organization?
Increasing, but we think we can lower it with AIOps
and automation
27%
21%
19%
18%
15%
It has been fairly consistent year over year
It has been decreasing because of proactive AIOps
systems we’ve put in place
It has been increasing and is likely to continue
Increased reliance on IT guarantees continued increase
AIOps makes a difference and has a strong presence in
mature ServiceOps initiatives

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ServiceOps runs on platforms
For the purposes of this survey, "platform" means a group of technologies (usually software, frequently vendor
supplied) that together form a base on which other applications, processes, and technologies can act or interact.
In terms of cost, what value has your platform investment returned?
Too early to tell
25%
59%
12%
2%
2%
High value – the savings and benefits are at least double
the cost (35% of ServiceOps teams report high value)
Disappointing – benefits do not offset the costs
Good value – it more than paid for itself, probably
returning in excess of 20% over cost
Breakeven – it paid for itself and then some
Movement toward platform/ServiceOps
• Big increase in platform/ServiceOps this year, 42% vs. 24%

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
The term “ServiceOps”
Very high name recognition
with ServiceOps teams and
close to 100% with CxO
Although the name doesn’t
matter, the term “ServiceOps”
will become well-recognized
and accepted
Name recognition is up
substantially from last year

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ServiceOps in practice
Formal ServiceOps teams tend to be more
mature and C-level supported than the active
effort group, which tends to be grassroots
Both are more advanced in digital
transformation, automation, and use of
predictive/proactive actions
The “completely separate” group is more likely
to see IT as purely operational vs. strategic

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ServiceOps is a natural progression of workflow automation

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ServiceOps is relatively early
ServiceOps maturity correlates with IT
service quality
31% of those with 2+ years have outstanding IT
quality of service vs. 21% in the 1-2 year group
and 16% in the early group
Benefits realized increase with maturity

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Ideal level of IT service and operations unification
The ideal level will differ by organization – and may change over time.
CxOs tend to see merged as ideal
Mature ServiceOps teams choose
coordinated

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ServiceOps practical outcomes

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Top-priority goals directly map to ServiceOps outcomes

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Faster time to find/fix problems: ServiceOps increases ITSM contribution
Select the top three teams most responsible for identifying/fixing any degradation in service quality.
Top ServiceOps outcomes
1. Faster time to find/fix problems
2. Higher productivity/less wasted time
1
2

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ITSM is growing in importance
ServiceOps organizations
see ITSM substantially rising
in importance 55%

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Faster time to find/fix problems = higher productivity, less wasted time
Does unplanned work from
incidents and outages impact
strategic initiatives in your
organization?
73% Yes – immediate demands slow
down strategic projects
25% No – outages and incidents do
not impact strategic projects
2% Unsure
Reminder: top ServiceOps outcomes
1. Faster time to find/fix problems
2. Higher productivity/less wasted time

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Top obstacles to ServiceOps are not primarily technical

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Top ServiceOps enabling factors and technologies

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ServiceOps positively impacts IT’s top challenges and priorities

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Who benefits from ServiceOps?

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Parallels between ServiceOps and DevOps
Parallels with DevOps
1. Both are cross-functional
2. Each one arose in response to the problems
caused by siloed organizations
3. The functions have a high reliance on
technology enablement
4. Although they can work on an informal
basis, they flourish when formalized
5. They benefit from organizational support
and shared objectives
6. They experience rapid adoption because
they make sense and deliver high value
7. Benefits increase with maturity
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
ServiceOps at a glance
The name doesn’t matter, but “ServiceOps” is simple, to the point, easily understood, likely to be adopted
ServiceOps is on the rise because it directly addresses top IT priorities, using
mainstream technologies (AI, automation, and cross-functional workflows)
to deliver high benefits while cutting costs, and…
…it makes sense to the people who are doing the work.
ServiceOps
Facilitates the interaction of IT service and operations
Recognizes and respects the differences each team has in
charter, scope, and necessary skillsets
Delivers benefits that extend across the enterprise
ServiceOps directly addresses many of the high-priority
IT objectives and challenges, especially:
Reduction in outage frequency and duration
IT employee productivity
User experience
Improved service
Cost cutting
There is
no
downside

| @ema_research
Extra or optional
slides

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Top challenges to high-quality IT service
IT organizational
principle:
44% cross-functional
43% technology lines
11% business unit
2% varies
Cross-functional is
up 25%

| @ema_research
| @ema_research
Now Available! Automation, AI, and the Rise of ServiceOps Report
http://bit.ly/3zEMlWi

Automation, AI, and the Rise of ServiceOps

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Automation, AI, and the Rise of ServiceOps

More from Enterprise Management Associates

Recently uploaded

Automation, AI, and the Rise of ServiceOps