IT Service Continuity Management

This mantra can take on different meanings depending on how it’s used, but we find it fits particularly well when applied to IT Service Continuity Management (ITSCM), which focuses on employing proactive measures to ensure technical continuity in the event of any disruptions. Businesses certainly won’t want to find themselves playing defense when each additional second of downtime results in more lost revenue and dissatisfaction from customers.

While it’s simply not possible to avoid technical incidents altogether, well-executed ITSCM can prevent many disruptions from occurring, while mitigating the effects on business functions when they do happen.

Today, we’ll take an in-depth look at what ITSCM involves, why it’s critical for companies, and how to optimize your procedures to maximize its benefits.

What is IT service continuity management?

ITSCM is a crucial component of IT Service Management (ITSM) that focuses on ensuring the availability of services when technical disruptions occur. Its primary goal is to minimize the impact of incidents on business operations to maintain essential functionalities for users.

At its core, ITSCM involves analyzing potential threats such as cyberattacks, equipment failures, or human error, while developing strategies to alleviate these risks. Strategies often encompass a combination of preventive measures, such as redundancy and backup systems, as well as reactive measures for rapid response.

Why is IT service continuity management important?

ITSCM is important for any organization, but the more expansive a company’s operations are, the more vital it is. Why? Because time is literally money when digital systems are disrupted; every moment of downtime causes more revenue to be lost. Lost income due to technical failures can add up much quicker for businesses handling high volumes of transactions.

Protect the organization from service or system failures

Firstly, ITSCM involves comprehensive risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities within IT systems. Recovery teams should analyze infrastructure weaknesses, potential points of failure, and external threats like cyberattacks or natural disasters.

In the event of a disaster or when a system failure occurs, ITSCM establishes robust recovery plans to effectively manage incidents. These plans clearly outline procedures for identifying, escalating, and resolving service failures in a timely manner. By having well-defined protocols in place, businesses can minimize the impact of disruptions and quickly restore services, mitigating any potential loss of revenue or productivity. 

The industry standard is 99.99% system uptime, while 99.99% is considered excellent. If your ITSCM plan isn’t meeting these expectations, it may be wise to reexamine your approach and adjust strategies. 

Enhance the quality of IT service to customers

ITSCM can also improve experience for end-users by implementing preventive measures to address potential incidents within IT systems. Identifying potential threats before they escalate into service disruptions helps maintain consistent service availability, ensuring a seamless user experience (UX).

Moreover, ITSCM promotes both effective internal and external communication during disruptions. By establishing clear incident management processes, ITSCM ensures that customers are kept informed about the status of their services during disruptions. This transparency helps manage user expectations while strengthening trust in the organization's ability to address issues promptly. 

Optimize resource allocation

Well-employed ITSCM allows companies to make more informed decisions about resource allocation by quantifying the potential costs of service disruptions. These systems can conduct business impact analysis, assessing the financial consequences of IT service failures. Armed with this information, organizations can prioritize resources to areas that mitigate these risks most effectively.

41% of managers report that they struggle with visibility into their available resources. Thus, it's crucial for organizations to provide their team with full transparency to make the most informed decisions when the time comes.

By implementing strategies to prevent service disruptions before they occur, ITSCM also helps reduce the need for reactive resource allotment. This preemptive approach not only reduces the likelihood of incidents but also allows businesses to disseminate resources more strategically, focusing on initiatives that drive growth rather than merely responding to emergencies.

ITSCM and ITIL

ITSCM and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) are both components of the broader ITSM, though ITIL differs in scope by providing a set of best practices and guidelines for managing IT services and aligning them with the needs of a business.

While ITIL provides comprehensive guidelines for enhancing IT services across their lifecycle, ITSCM specifically focuses on ensuring the availability of technical systems when incidents occur. In essence, ITSCM is one of the key processes outlined within the ITIL framework.

Within ITIL, ITSCM is primarily addressed in the service design phase, where an emphasis is placed on designing IT systems to remain operational for end-users with as little downtime as possible. By embedding ITSCM practices within the broader ITIL framework, organizations can ensure that service continuity considerations are integrated into the overarching service management processes.

IT service continuity management process

A sound ITSCM plan consists of several key contributors and components. When teams master all of these individual elements and each collaborator sufficiently executes their responsibilities, the likelihood of mitigating or avoiding an IT failure altogether is significantly improved.

Plan

ITSCM teams should begin by conducting a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential deficiencies in their IT services. This assists in prioritizing their response efforts and allocating resources accordingly.

Once risks are identified, teams will need to develop a detailed IT service continuity plan outlining specific steps to be taken in the event of a disruption. This disaster recovery plan should include clear procedures for initiating responses, activating emergency communication channels, and mobilizing resources. Don’t forget to specify the protocol for escalating incidents to higher levels of management or involving external resources within your business continuity plan if necessary.

Distribute responsibilities

To start, it's critical to establish a designated ITSCM team responsible for overseeing continuity procedures in the event of an incident. This team should include representatives from various departments, including IT, operations, and security, to ensure a well-rounded approach to continuity management.

Specific roles should be clearly defined to ensure the effective execution of continuity plans. Key responsibilities may involve conducting risk assessments, performing business impact analyses, coordinating risk reduction response efforts, and conducting regular testing to verify the effectiveness of the plans. Assigned roles often include service continuity managers, service continuity team members, and technical specialists.

Furthermore, at least one team member – typically the service continuity manager – will be responsible for collaborating with stakeholders to ensure alignment with organizational priorities. By involving stakeholders from different departments, ITSCM teams can gain a better understanding of company dependencies, which are critical for developing effective game plans that address a business's specific needs.

Service continuity manager

Service continuity managers play a crucial role in coordinating response efforts during incidents. Their duties typically include activating the response plan, mobilizing resources, and leading the ITSCM team in restoring technical services. The continuity manager serves as the focal point for all communication among collaborators, including the ITSCM team, senior management, and external partners. By providing clear direction and strong leadership, the service continuity manager helps ensure a swift response to service disruptions.

Continuity managers are also responsible for conducting regular testing to validate the effectiveness of continuity procedures. This usually involves simulating various scenarios to assess the organization's readiness to respond to different types of incidents. Based on the results of these exercises, ITSCM teams can identify areas for improvement and update their blueprint accordingly. 

Service continuity team members 

Service continuity team members actively participate in the development of ITSCM plans tailored to the organization's unique requirement. They’ll collaborate with stakeholders to understand the company’s objectives, ensuring that continuity plans align with operational priorities. Keeping these overarching goals in mind, team members will help create detailed response procedures to outline the steps for restoring IT services when disruptions occur.

Additionally, continuity team members contribute to a culture of preparedness within the organization. They’ll often raise awareness among staff about the importance of ITSCM and provide training on IT best practices. By fostering a proactive approach to service continuity, team members empower staff to respond effectively to incidents and contribute to the organization's overall resilience. 

Establish communication strategies

It's essential to establish clear communication channels that enable efficient interaction between all parties involved in ITSCM processes. This involves selecting appropriate communication platforms such as instant messaging, collaboration apps, or dedicated incident management systems. By leveraging a reliable platform and ensuring that all stakeholders are prepared to properly utilize it, ITSCM teams can ensure that crucial information promptly reaches the right individuals.

Continuity managers should conduct regular exercises to test their communication procedures and identify areas for improvement. Simulated scenarios allow IT teams to assess the effectiveness of collaboration strategies, practice coordination procedures, and identify any weaknesses in their business processes. Based on the outcomes of these drills, adjustments can be made accordingly, such as updating contact lists, refining escalation procedures, or implementing additional communication tools. 

72% of business leaders believe that effective communication significantly increases their team’s productivity. When every passing moment is as important as it is in ITSCM, this enhanced efficiency can provide immediate return on investment (ROI) for organizations.

Test and adjust processes

During testing, ITSCM teams should involve stakeholders from across the organization to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of response procedures. By involving interdepartmental collaborators in testing exercises, teams can gain valuable insights into potential impacts on business operations that may not be apparent from a technical standpoint alone.

Following these exercises, IT teams will need to analyze the outcomes and adjust any areas that require improvement. This involves reviewing test results, identifying any gaps in continuity plans, and developing action plans to address them. Lessons learned from these drills should be documented and incorporated into future iterations of continuity plans to ensure continuous improvement.

How does IT service continuity management differ from incident management?

ITSCM and incident management are two distinct processes within ITSM, each serving different purposes and focusing on distinct aspects of managing technical services. 

Incident management focuses on the timely resolution of service disruptions to reduce their impact on business operations. It’s primarily concerned with restoring normal service operations and overall business continuity as quickly as possible following an incident. It typically involves processes such as incident detection, prioritization, investigation, and resolution. The primary objective of incident management is to ensure that outages are managed efficiently, with minimal downtime.

While both ITSCM and incident management are essential components of ITSM, they differ in their focus and objectives. ITSCM is proactive in nature, focusing on continuity planning and risk management to prevent or minimize the impact of incidents on organizational operations. Conversely, incident management is more reactive, focusing on the rapid resolution of incidents to restore normal service operations. Both processes work together synergistically to ensure the reliability of IT services.

How Freshservice can meet your ITSCM needs

Freshworks’ Freshservice is a full-feature, cloud-based IT Help Desk service provider that assists organizations in overseeing all technical operations, including ITSCM efforts.

Features such as Alert Management, which unifies all notifications in a single location while employing Freddy AI to proactively identify potential issues, and Major Incident Management, which assists in automating escalation, optimizing collaboration, and updating stakeholders, can act as indispensable tools for ITSCM teams. Furthermore, Freshservice’s Service Health Monitoring provides real-time visualization of all digital operations to help assess system functionality and identify interdependencies, providing a comprehensive overview of your company’s IT infrastructure for security management.

One of our many satisfied clients in the healthcare sector extols Freshservice’s ease-of-use and self-service capacity, saying, “It's intuitive, user-friendly, and offers a seamless experience for both IT teams and employees. Navigating through the portal is a breeze, making it incredibly easy for employees to submit their IT requests and incidents. The self-service options are particularly impressive; employees can find solutions to common issues without having to rely on IT support, saving both time and resources.”