Welcome to ITSM.tools

Learn about ITSM tools, read service management best practices, and get research-backed ITSM insights.

We’re an independent IT service management website – home of best practice, high-quality, and freely-available ITSM content written by ITSM practitioners, ITSM consultants, ITSM trainers, ITSM tools vendors, and IT industry analysts. All were created to make your ITSM and business outcomes better. Get reading about the latest ITSM, ITIL, and ITSM tools trends!

Get Reading
ITSM.tools Homepage
Illustrated IT workers carrying heavy fragmented loads through a server corridor representing increased ITSM work levels after AI adoption

AI is Helping ITSM Teams. So Why Does the Work Still Feel Heavier?

SolarWinds surveyed 844 IT professionals for its 2026 State of ITSM report, and the results cut two ways. Eighty-four percent said AI met or exceeded ROI expectations, saving close to nine hours a week on detection, support, and triage. Yet 52% said overall workload increased, driven by new work maintaining integrations, validating outputs, and training staff. Outcome-based measurement separates the two groups.
Illustrated desk scene with a stained official document representing a service failure caused by an erroneous death report

When the System Works and the Service Still Fails

Mark Patnaude’s wife learned she was dead – not metaphorically. An erroneous Social Security record triggered a five-week ordeal that exposed a truth every technology leader should sit with: systems can perform exactly as designed while the service they deliver still fails the customer entirely.
Colourful illustrated workflow diagram with connected nodes representing a custom Slack ticketing workflow

How to Build a Custom Ticketing Workflow Inside a Slack Channel

Most Slack-based support isn’t a service desk; it’s a search bar and good intentions, and every untracked request is a governance issue waiting to surface. Taylor Halliday walks through building a real ticketing workflow with two channels, Slack’s Workflow Builder, and an emoji status board, then lays out exactly which pains mean you’ve outgrown the hack and need a dedicated tool.
Social Media
Facebook-f Linkedin-in
Newsletter
This form collects your information so that we can send you our monthly newsletter. Check out our privacy policy for the full story on how we protect and manage your submitted data. You can opt out at any time. If you'd also like to receive additional communications from us, please select the box below.
Explore These Topics

Want ITSM best practice and ITSM tools advice delivered directly to your inbox? Why not sign up for our ITSM and ITSM tools newsletter? This way you won't miss any of the latest ITSM tips and tricks.

Sign Up Now!
nl subscribe strip imgage

Service Desk Articles

Get the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms for Free

Technology as a Blocker: What ITSM Can Learn from Healthcare

Agentic AI in ITSM: 5 Ways Agentic AI Is Transforming the IT Service Desk

5 Innovative ITSM Best Practices That Transform Your IT Help Desk

How IT Support Can Deliver Better Employee Experiences

Important IT Support Skills: How to Recover a Deleted Partition on a USB Drive

More Service Desk Articles

ITSM Articles

Agentic AI Governance: How Do We Govern What We Didn’t Design?

Before You Trust an AI Agent, Trust Your Data Layer

Want Better ESM Adoption? Stop Suggesting ESM

The 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms: What Changed Between 2022 and 2026

Service Management Has Outgrown the IT Department

Hiring for Potential: Why I Gave a Senior Engineering Role to an Intern Instead

More ITSM Articles