-Automation (28%)
-Enterprise service management (28%)
-Service integration and management (27%)
The main changes in ITSM trends for 2025
A comparison of the ITSM trends for 2025 and the 2024 ITSM trends lists shows that:
Governance is a new entry at #1 (with a rocket, as DJs might say). This was the first year governance was included as an option. It’s likely that the phrase “AI governance” played a big part in its lofty position.
The ITSM world has gone “all-in” on generative AI (GenAI), with this another new option. Although the “traditional AI” option was still in ninth place at 21%.
ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities jumped to third place from last year’s joint sixth place and 24%. What these are is unknown.
Value demonstration dropped from second to fourth place. It’s still a “tough nut” that organizations struggle to crack.
People rose from last year’s joint eighth place and 23%. But I still think we’re “almost genetically” unable to manage people better in IT. But I bet this isn’t just an IT issue.
Enterprise service management is still nudging the top five in joint sixth place (26%), along with employee experience management.
Automation dropped from 28% to 16% and seventeenth place, while SIAM landed in eleventh place in 2025 (19%).
This diagram shows a wider year-on-year change timeframe for ITSM trends.
ITSM trends 2020-2025
While the 2025 results in isolation felt like a big change from previous years, this diagram shows that 2025 is still similar to 2024 and 2023 in terms of its overall makeup.
Pre-2025 ITSM trends content
While the ITSM trends for 2025 poll aimed to identify the ITSM content readers need for 2025, the results also allow us to resurface some existing ITSM content (from 2023 and 2024) that might help:
1 – Governance (including AI governance)
Nothing has been written about governance in the last two years. In fact, the last piece of governance content is from 2021: The 5 Simple Rules of Effective IT Governance.
2 – GenAI
The State of AI in ITSM 2025
GenAI IT Service Management Use Case Examples
The Biggest Challenges to Generative AI Adoption Success
LLMs: 5 Uses of Large Language Models in ITSM Tools
AI Adoption in ESM – Some Key Points
Artificial Intelligence Use – It’s Now an ITSM Necessity
AI Adoption in ITSM – Some Key Points
Generative AI for Knowledge Management in IT
3 – ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities.
There’s a lot of content depending on your definition of ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities. Here are a few examples:
CMDB vs. Asset Management – What’s the Difference?
Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) for IT Services
Security Patch Management: Trends and Predictions
Application Security: What ITSM Pros Need to Know
IT Security and ITSM: Effective Collaboration in the Face of Attacks
What ITSM Pros Need to Know About Network Security
How ITIL Supplier Management Delivers Better Services
However, there’s so much more we could add.
4 – Value demonstration
IT Service Desk Benchmarks – Where’s the Value?
Digital Services: Value
Co-Creation in Organizations with ITIL 4™
The Importance of IT Support to Business Perceptions of IT’s Value
Value and ITSM – The Boardroom View
-Automation (28%)
-Enterprise service management (28%)
-Service integration and management (27%)
The main changes in ITSM trends for 2025
A comparison of the ITSM trends for 2025 and the 2024 ITSM trends lists shows that:
Governance is a new entry at #1 (with a rocket, as DJs might say). This was the first year governance was included as an option. It’s likely that the phrase “AI governance” played a big part in its lofty position.
The ITSM world has gone “all-in” on generative AI (GenAI), with this another new option. Although the “traditional AI” option was still in ninth place at 21%.
ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities jumped to third place from last year’s joint sixth place and 24%. What these are is unknown.
Value demonstration dropped from second to fourth place. It’s still a “tough nut” that organizations struggle to crack.
People rose from last year’s joint eighth place and 23%. But I still think we’re “almost genetically” unable to manage people better in IT. But I bet this isn’t just an IT issue.
Enterprise service management is still nudging the top five in joint sixth place (26%), along with employee experience management.
Automation dropped from 28% to 16% and seventeenth place, while SIAM landed in eleventh place in 2025 (19%).
This diagram shows a wider year-on-year change timeframe for ITSM trends.
ITSM trends 2020-2025
While the 2025 results in isolation felt like a big change from previous years, this diagram shows that 2025 is still similar to 2024 and 2023 in terms of its overall makeup.
Pre-2025 ITSM trends content
While the ITSM trends for 2025 poll aimed to identify the ITSM content readers need for 2025, the results also allow us to resurface some existing ITSM content (from 2023 and 2024) that might help:
1 – Governance (including AI governance)
Nothing has been written about governance in the last two years. In fact, the last piece of governance content is from 2021: The 5 Simple Rules of Effective IT Governance.
2 – GenAI
The State of AI in ITSM 2025
GenAI IT Service Management Use Case Examples
The Biggest Challenges to Generative AI Adoption Success
LLMs: 5 Uses of Large Language Models in ITSM Tools
AI Adoption in ESM – Some Key Points
Artificial Intelligence Use – It’s Now an ITSM Necessity
AI Adoption in ITSM – Some Key Points
Generative AI for Knowledge Management in IT
3 – ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities.
There’s a lot of content depending on your definition of ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities. Here are a few examples:
CMDB vs. Asset Management – What’s the Difference?
Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) for IT Services
Security Patch Management: Trends and Predictions
Application Security: What ITSM Pros Need to Know
IT Security and ITSM: Effective Collaboration in the Face of Attacks
What ITSM Pros Need to Know About Network Security
How ITIL Supplier Management Delivers Better Services
However, there’s so much more we could add.
4 – Value demonstration
IT Service Desk Benchmarks – Where’s the Value?
Digital Services: Value
Co-Creation in Organizations with ITIL 4™
The Importance of IT Support to Business Perceptions of IT’s Value
Value and ITSM – The Boardroom View
-Automation (28%)
-Enterprise service management (28%)
-Service integration and management (27%)
The main changes in ITSM trends for 2025
A comparison of the ITSM trends for 2025 and the 2024 ITSM trends lists shows that:
Governance is a new entry at #1 (with a rocket, as DJs might say). This was the first year governance was included as an option. It’s likely that the phrase “AI governance” played a big part in its lofty position.
The ITSM world has gone “all-in” on generative AI (GenAI), with this another new option. Although the “traditional AI” option was still in ninth place at 21%.
ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities jumped to third place from last year’s joint sixth place and 24%. What these are is unknown.
Value demonstration dropped from second to fourth place. It’s still a “tough nut” that organizations struggle to crack.
People rose from last year’s joint eighth place and 23%. But I still think we’re “almost genetically” unable to manage people better in IT. But I bet this isn’t just an IT issue.
Enterprise service management is still nudging the top five in joint sixth place (26%), along with employee experience management.
Automation dropped from 28% to 16% and seventeenth place, while SIAM landed in eleventh place in 2025 (19%).
This diagram shows a wider year-on-year change timeframe for ITSM trends.
ITSM trends 2020-2025
While the 2025 results in isolation felt like a big change from previous years, this diagram shows that 2025 is still similar to 2024 and 2023 in terms of its overall makeup.
Pre-2025 ITSM trends content
While the ITSM trends for 2025 poll aimed to identify the ITSM content readers need for 2025, the results also allow us to resurface some existing ITSM content (from 2023 and 2024) that might help:
1 – Governance (including AI governance)
Nothing has been written about governance in the last two years. In fact, the last piece of governance content is from 2021: The 5 Simple Rules of Effective IT Governance.
2 – GenAI
The State of AI in ITSM 2025
GenAI IT Service Management Use Case Examples
The Biggest Challenges to Generative AI Adoption Success
LLMs: 5 Uses of Large Language Models in ITSM Tools
AI Adoption in ESM – Some Key Points
Artificial Intelligence Use – It’s Now an ITSM Necessity
AI Adoption in ITSM – Some Key Points
Generative AI for Knowledge Management in IT
3 – ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities.
There’s a lot of content depending on your definition of ITIL/ITSM “advanced” capabilities. Here are a few examples:
CMDB vs. Asset Management – What’s the Difference?
Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) for IT Services
Security Patch Management: Trends and Predictions
Application Security: What ITSM Pros Need to Know
IT Security and ITSM: Effective Collaboration in the Face of Attacks
What ITSM Pros Need to Know About Network Security
How ITIL Supplier Management Delivers Better Services
However, there’s so much more we could add.
4 – Value demonstration
IT Service Desk Benchmarks – Where’s the Value?
Digital Services: Value
Co-Creation in Organizations with ITIL 4™
The Importance of IT Support to Business Perceptions of IT’s Value
Value and ITSM – The Boardroom View