This article presents some key findings from the SolarWinds 2025 State of ITSM Report: Ask any IT team what their goals are for the coming year, and you’ll likely hear familiar themes: faster ticket resolution, fewer service level agreement (SLA) violations, better self-service adoption, and improved end-user satisfaction. But behind these goals lies a deeper question: What’s actually working and what’s just noise?
This is the question we set out to answer in the latest State of ITSM Report from SolarWinds. With data from more than 2,000 IT service management (ITSM) systems and over 60,000 anonymized incident records, this year’s report takes a close look at how service teams are adapting to new tools, especially generative AI (GenAI), and what measurable results they’re seeing. It’s not about hype. It’s about what’s helping IT teams do more with what they have, without burning out.
What the 2025 State of ITSM Report Reveals About AI and Efficiency
Over the past year, service teams have faced a familiar dilemma: how to improve incident resolution times without expanding headcount. This pressure has only increased with hybrid work demands, growing ticket volumes, and limited budgets.
The data confirms something many of us already suspected: Teams using GenAI-enabled features resolved tickets 17.8% faster on average.
That’s 4.87 hours saved per incident within the same organizations, comparing their resolution times before and after enabling GenAI in their ITSM tool, primarily by streamlining repetitive tasks like incident categorization, ticket summaries, and knowledge base searches.
GenAI Is Closing the Resolution Gap – Fast
But this isn’t just about isolated improvements. The 2025 State of ITSM Report reveals a widening efficiency gap between organizations using GenAI and those that aren’t:
- GenAI users: 22.55 hours average resolution time
- Non-GenAI users: 32.46 hours.
That’s nearly a 10-hour difference per incident, a 30.5% improvement.
And when we zoom in further, the top GenAI-capability adopters showed even more dramatic results. In the top 10 GenAI-using organizations, average resolution time dropped from 51 hours to just 23 hours, a 54.3% reduction.
These aren’t pilot programs or small experiments. These are real-world IT support teams using GenAI every day to triage, diagnose, and resolve end-user requests more efficiently, and they are seeing results.
The Strategy Behind the Success: How Leading IT Teams Use AI Intelligently
The 2025 State of ITSM Report shows that success with AI doesn’t come from flipping a switch. The most effective teams treated GenAI as part of a broader service improvement strategy. Here’s what set them apart:
They embraced change, not just tools
The top performers didn’t treat GenAI as a shiny object or side project. They built it into their workflows, updated processes, and aligned their teams around consistent usage.
They paired GenAI with other modern ITSM capabilities
GenAI works best when supported by a well-structured knowledge base and clear processes. While we can’t confirm every feature in use, many of the most efficient teams were likely also leveraging Premier-tier capabilities like automation workflows, runbooks, visual configuration management databases (CMDBs), and chat integrations.
They focused on freeing up people, not replacing them
AI helped reduce manual effort on routine tasks, allowing staff to spend more time on complex issues, continual improvement, and strategic work. The type of stuff humans are better at than AI. While the AI did the “busy work.”
In short, GenAI acted as a force multiplier, not a magic solution.
The 2025 State of ITSM Report Bottom Line: Hours Saved, Costs Reduced, and Teams Empowered
Beyond resolution time, the 2025 State of ITSM Report also looked at the cumulative impact of GenAI enablement across all incidents. From August 2024 to July 2025, SolarWinds customers with GenAI enabled collectively saved over 323,000 hours.
That kind of time recovery isn’t just about clearing queues – it has real financial impact.
Let’s say your team handles 5,000 incidents annually. If you experience the average savings of 4.87 hours per ticket, that’s 24,350 hours back in a year.
Apply an average fully-loaded help desk rate of $28/hour, and you’ll recover over $680,000 in efficiency value.
These savings don’t necessarily translate into cost cuts, but they do open up space for what matters: knowledge development, process refinement, better end-user support, and proactive problem-solving.
There’s even a simple model in the 2025 State of ITSM Report to help you estimate your team’s potential efficiency value using your own numbers.
Why Intentional AI Adoption Is Now a Leadership Imperative
The data’s message is clear: AI and automation aren’t future-states – they’re current-states. They’re already driving measurable improvements in efficiency, but only when implemented with intention.
And the gap between teams that embrace AI and those that don’t? It’s getting wider.
This isn’t about shiny tools or technology for technology’s sake. It’s about building a more resilient, efficient, and human service experience. One that gives time back to the people behind the tickets.
At SolarWinds, we’ve seen firsthand that the most successful IT teams aren’t using AI to replace human effort; they’re using it to enhance it. They’re using automation to clear the clutter, so their staff can focus on deeper issues, better service, and long-term improvements.
That’s the real opportunity. AI is the enabler, but strategy is still the driver. Without the right processes, knowledge, and change management, even the best tools fall short.
The question isn’t “Should we be using AI?” anymore. It’s: “Are we using AI in a way that actually improves how we work?”
The 2025 State of ITSM Report makes a compelling case for investing in GenAI and modern ITSM capabilities. It highlights how leading teams are evolving their operations, without burning out staff or breaking the budget.
Join the Conversation: Learn How Top Performers Integrate GenAI into ITSM
We’ll be unpacking all of this and more in our upcoming webcast:
The 54% Improvement Playbook: How Top Performers Integrate GenAI into ITSM
November 06 | 10am CST
Join us for a practical, data-led conversation about where ITSM is headed and how teams are closing the resolution gap, without increasing headcount.
Reserve your spot
Get the full 2025 State of ITSM Report
If you’re an IT leader looking to make smarter decisions in 2025, this report gives you the data to back it up. Whether you’re already experimenting with GenAI or just trying to streamline the chaos, you’ll find valuable benchmarks and guidance throughout.
Download the full 2025 State of ITSM Report
Further Reading
Lauren Okruch
Lauren is a passionate Product Marketing Manager at SolarWinds, specializing in IT Service Management (ITSM). With a deep appreciation for the balance between structure and simplicity, Lauren focuses on creating solutions that reduce friction and improve efficiency. As an American living abroad, she brings a global perspective to her work and enjoys exploring the intersection of technology and human-centered resolutions.
