Pulse Report on the State of IT Service Management Reveals that Enterprises are Prioritizing Artificial Intelligence for ITSM in 2019

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PINK 2019 – Espressive, the pioneer in AI for enterprise service management, today released the findings of a new Pulse Report focusing on the top IT service management (ITSM) strategies and initiatives for 2019. The report revealed that AI-based consumer-like apps will be critical to further digital transformation for key ITSM initiatives such as reducing help desk call volume and mean time to repair (MTTR). History has proven employees are not willing to sift through knowledge base articles and submit help desk tickets through portals when they have Alexa-like ease of use and immediacy for answers at home. They are looking for a simpler approach to getting help at work with accessibility from any device. The report, conducted by Gatepoint Research, surveyed senior IT decision makers across a wide variety of industries.

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"Technology decision makers are realizing that AI will be imperative for digital transformation strategies in 2019," said Pat Calhoun, CEO and founder at Espressive. "We're experiencing a significant increase in the number of enterprise CIOs actively reaching out to us for near-term AI initiatives for ITSM. Enterprises have an opportunity to augment ITSM with AI solutions that eliminate complexity and make getting immediate answers to questions and resolution to issues a frictionless process for employees."

When it Comes to the Future of ITSM, AI is the Priority
According to Gartner's 2019 CIO Survey: CIOs Have Awoken to the Importance of AI, "the number of enterprises implementing AI grew 270 percent in the past four years."¹ In line with this trend, the Pulse Report revealed that enterprises using ITSM tools are also looking to adopt AI to solve challenges including low employee adoption and high call volume. In fact, 62 percent of respondents are at the consideration point or above in terms of implementing AI in the form of chatbots for ITSM, and 46 percent indicated they are actively researching AI solutions to meet their needs.

"By using AI for ITSM, enterprises can automate the resolution of issues and requests. However, employees don't want to engage with an AI engine, therefore, high adoption can only be achieved if delivered through a consumer-like app," said Calhoun. "Only then can enterprises provide employees an exceptional experience with immediate, personalized answers to workplace questions and immersive resolution to issues. Employees can get time back in their days for higher-value tasks and CIOs can invest in strategic initiatives versus answering routine questions."

Traditional ITSM Tools Are Falling Short in Employee Adoption and ROI
When asked about the top pain points experienced with traditional ITSM solutions, 56 percent of respondents who were surveyed in the Pulse Report said that the number one complaint employees have is that it is easier to call or email the help desk than it is to use their existing ITSM solution. In addition, 46 percent of respondents said that choosing the right form on an employee portal for help is confusing, and 35 percent said knowledge base articles can be too technical and often out of date. As a result, employee adoption of traditional tools is low and help desk call volume and average ticket costs are high. In fact, 53 percent of respondents indicated that less than 10 percent of incidents are solved without human involvement and 45 percent of respondents are not sure of their cost per ticket, but believe it is too expensive.

Regarding capabilities that would better support the respondents' initiatives, 49 percent indicated that they need automated ticket routing and team assignment based on context, and 48 percent want the ability for the AI solution to learn from prior tickets to automate resolution of common issues. The majority of respondents (71 percent) are using ServiceNow, and of that group, 49 percent listed optimizing ROI and lowering the cost of ServiceNow as a top initiative for 2019. 

"While this survey did not ask about areas of the enterprise outside of IT—like HR, Payroll, and Facilities—that is the next thing for CIOs to consider," added Calhoun. "Our customers have found that once deployed, even if advertised as an IT-only tool, employees immediately ask non-IT questions. Any solution that is limited to IT will provide a poor employee experience, which will discourage adoption, as employees want one place to go for answers to questions and resolution to issues."

The Pulse Report Methodology
Gatepoint Research fielded this survey between November 2018 and January 2019. 76 percent of survey respondents were from Fortune 1000 companies and 78 percent were director level and above. The complete Pulse Report on The State of ITSM – IT Service Management Tools Strategies is available for download. Sign up to receive the full report here.

¹Gartner, "2019 CIO Survey: CIOs Have Awoken to the Importance of AI," Chris Howard, Andy Rowsell-Jones. January 3, 2019.

About Espressive
Espressive is the pioneer in AI for enterprise service management (ESM), redefining how employees get help by delivering exceptional employee experiences. Barista, the company's virtual support agent (VSA), brings the ease of consumer virtual assistants, such as Alexa and Google Home, into the workplace. Barista delivers a personalized user experience that results in employee adoption of 50 to 60 percent and reduced help desk call volume of 30 to 50 percent. Espressive is backed by General Catalyst Partners and Wing Venture Capital, and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Visit www.espressive.com for more information.

Media Contact
Jocelynn Stidham
Bhava Communications for Espressive
703-863-1277
[email protected]

SOURCE Espressive

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