What is Enterprise Service Management (ESM)?

Enterprise Service Management (ESM) applies the principles of IT Service Management (ITSM) to departments beyond IT. But to understand what that actually means, it helps to look at the concept behind it: organizing internal operations around services.

In many organizations, teams provide ongoing support or deliverables to others: HR processes onboarding, facilities handle equipment requests, and legal reviews contracts. Instead of treating each of these as isolated tasks, Enterprise Service Management encourages teams to define the work they regularly deliver as services. Each service has a clear purpose, a standard way to request it, a process to fulfill it, and often, a timeframe for completion.

This structure makes it easier to track what’s being asked, how it’s handled, and how well the team is performing over time. ITSM introduced this model for IT teams, and it became a common way to bring order and visibility to complex, request-heavy environments.

ESM takes the ITSM model and applies it across the business. Every department can use it to standardize how they deliver support, organize, and manage workloads, replacing scattered inboxes and ad hoc processes with something far more predictable.

Why is ESM important?

ESM is gaining traction because it solves a common problem: inconsistent internal service delivery. When departments rely on emails, ad hoc chats, or disconnected spreadsheets to handle requests, it’s difficult to track performance or hold anyone accountable. Delays become common, workloads pile up without visibility, and employees waste time figuring out how to get help.

A structured approach changes that. ESM brings repeatable processes, shared tools, and clear service definitions across the organization. That clarity is one of the main reasons ESM adoption continues to grow. According to a survey by AXELOS and ITSM.tools, 68% of organizations already have Enterprise Service Management initiatives underway. More than half consider their implementation well advanced. Only 11% reported no plans to adopt it.

ESM supports both day-to-day work and broader operational goals. Team leads gain visibility into request volumes, trends, and bottlenecks. Staff spend less time navigating unclear processes and more time focusing on their responsibilities. And executives benefit from a consistent view of how internal services perform across different business units.

4 benefits of Enterprise Service Management
 

1. Increased operational efficiency: ESM automates routine tasks and introduces structured workflows. That reduces the need for manual follow-ups and helps teams manage higher volumes without adding headcount.
2. Consistent employee experience: Employees interact with a unified portal to request services from multiple departments. They no longer need to guess who to contact or track requests across multiple email threads.
3. Centralized reporting and insights: A shared platform offers cross-department metrics. Organizations can track performance, spot delays, and prioritize improvements using actual data instead of anecdotal feedback.
4. Scalability for internal support: As an organization grows, informal service models break down. ESM provides a structured foundation that can support larger teams, more complex requests, and higher service expectations.

How ESM unlocks digital transformation

Enterprise Service Management creates the structure needed for consistent, scalable operations across departments. It replaces informal processes with defined workflows, central portals, and shared systems for tracking and reporting. These building blocks are necessary for organizations aiming to digitize their operations.

Without this kind of foundation, efforts to automate or modernize services tend to stay siloed or fall back on manual steps. ESM helps avoid that by giving every team a common way to standardize tasks, manage requests, and deliver services through a shared platform. It also provides visibility across departments, which supports broader improvements and more effective use of technology.

How to get started with Enterprise Service Management?

Rolling out ESM doesn’t require every department to change at once. Most organizations start with one team, often one that already has a high request volume or is dealing with inefficient manual processes. Here’s how the process typically unfolds:

1. Identify high-impact services
   Look for areas where requests are frequent, response times are inconsistent, or staff rely heavily on email and spreadsheets.
    
2. Define and document services
   Clearly describe what each service is, how people should request it, and what the expected steps are to fulfill it.
    
3. Choose a platform or tool
   Select a Service Management platform that supports non-IT teams. Some ITSM tools already offer ESM capabilities that can be expanded, just make sure it doesn't come with excessive technical overhead that would burden your team.
    
4. Build out request forms and workflows
   Configure forms, routing rules, approvals, and notifications based on how each service actually works.
    
5. Train staff and gather feedback
   Help users and service teams understand the new process, then adjust based on feedback to improve adoption.
    
6. Expand to other teams gradually
   Once the first implementation is running well, apply the same approach to other departments, adjusting for their specific needs.

ESM challenges

Rolling out ESM often reveals gaps that were easy to overlook when processes were informal. Standardizing service delivery means asking teams to document how they work, define ownership, and follow more structured paths — steps that often meet resistance if the benefits aren't clear.

A few common challenges include:

1. Deep-rooted habits:
   Teams may not see a need to change how they manage requests, especially if their current methods "seem to work." However, these habits can become barriers when trying to introduce service definitions, routing rules, and accountability measures. Organizational change management techniques like early involvement, training, and clear communication can help reduce pushback and build support across departments.
    
2. Technology misalignment:
   Tools designed for IT might not translate well to other departments. If workflows can’t be customized or request types aren’t flexible enough, teams are forced to adjust their work to fit the tool, instead of the tool supporting how they actually operate. This disconnect can stall the rollout and reduce engagement.
    
3. Lack of process ownership:
   Some teams may not have a clear sense of who should define or maintain their service catalog. Without someone taking ownership of how requests are handled, automation and tracking fall apart quickly. It helps to identify service owners early and support them with templates, guidance, and examples.
    
4. Metrics that don’t fit the context:
   Reporting models often come from IT, which can lead to irrelevant KPIs when applied elsewhere. For instance, resolution time might be less useful to a procurement team than visibility into approval delays. It's essential to adapt metrics to the realities of each function.

“ESM, for me, needs to go beyond the buzzword. I hear ESM weekly, if not almost daily. And it starts as a buzzword where we think that’s where we need to be, but how do we get there? And, of course, the short answer is we start where we are. We need to bust down silos.

We need to connect our workflows straight back to the customer. So it goes back to that employee experience, identifying the pathway and the impact you have on the customer. It needs to be comprehensive from beginning to end from the customer’s perspective, not our own."

Jason Wischer, Advisor and consultant at KANINI
Episode 12 of Ticket Volume

The impact of AI in ESM

AI can help service teams move away from reactive work by automating routine tasks and making information easier to access. In ESM environments, where multiple departments offer internal services, this can reduce wait times, improve accuracy, and give teams more time to focus on work that requires judgment or collaboration.

Here are some practical applications for AI in ESM:

• Virtual agents or AI-powered chat interfaces can guide users through submitting a request, suggest self-service options, or even complete basic actions like status updates or password resets. That reduces the manual load on service agents and shortens the time users spend looking for help.
   
• AI can improve how information is retrieved. In organizations with large knowledge bases, natural language search can help employees find relevant articles without needing to know the exact keywords. On the backend, AI can assist in identifying duplicate or outdated articles and flagging knowledge gaps based on usage patterns.
   
• AI can also support trend analysis by flagging anomalies in request volumes or service performance. For example, if ticket volumes spike in a particular department or request type, AI tools can detect the shift and prompt a closer look, helping teams catch process issues before they become widespread.

Still, remember that automating a broken workflow won’t make it more effective. ESM will benefit from AI a lot more when complementing well-defined processes, so make sure you introduce AI after services are designed, request types are standardized, and teams understand how work should flow.

Using InvGate as your Enterprise Service Management software

To effectively implement this approach, organizations need robust Enterprise Service Management software, which will be the centralized hub for receiving, processing, and resolving service requests and incidents. It forms the foundation for managing and delivering services across various business functions.

InvGate Service Management is designed to help organizations apply ESM without having to build everything from scratch, and it gives departments the ability to define and manage their own services within a shared environment. 

The platform is user-friendly even for nontechnical users. It includes a powerful no-code workflows builder, so teams don’t need to depend on IT to automate common tasks, set up approval steps, or create custom notifications. 

InvGate also includes:

• Role-based access control, so each team controls its data while leadership maintains visibility.
• Dashboards and reporting tools that help managers track request volumes, SLA performance, and resolution times.
• A self-service portal that lets users submit requests and track their progress without relying on emails or follow-ups.

Plus, it integrates with identity providers, HR systems, and other tools — so Service Management doesn’t happen in a silo. These integrations help reduce manual work and improve coordination between teams.

And as adoption grows, the platform scales with it. New departments can be added with their own services and workflows, without disrupting existing teams or creating overhead for IT.

ESM training

For teams interested in learning more or improving their ESM practice, here are a few useful resources:

• Introduction to Enterprise Service Management (Udemy course by InvGate) – An introductory course that explains how to identify internal services, build workflows, and launch an ESM program across departments.
• Enterprise Service Management eBook (InvGate) – A detailed guide with real examples of ESM in action, practical steps to get started, and insights into tool selection and configuration.
• ITIL 4 Foundation Training – While not exclusively focused on ESM, ITIL 4 Foundation provides a strong grounding in service management principles, including the Service Value System (SVS), which underpins many ESM practices.
• Purple Griffon’s Enterprise Service Management (ESM) Practitioner Course – It provides theoretical and practical guidance, including assessments and a certification exam. It covers Service Management concepts, transformation programs, value streams, ESM principles, and process adoption.