Digitalization Boosts Demand for Unified ESM Platforms

Expanding scope of ESM software helps companies streamline complex processes, manage digital assets across multiple functions, ISG Provider Lens report says

Enterprises around the world are increasingly adopting enterprise service management (ESM) software to accelerate digital transformation, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The global 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Enterprise Service Management — Software report finds that ESM software vendors are quickly modernizing platforms to improve more enterprise functions and meet rising expectations of digitalization and automation. Most workflow platforms are now cloud-native, scalable, agile and customizable by non-programmers.

“The proliferation of data and demand for new employee and customer experiences are making comprehensive ESM platforms essential for many companies,” said Andy Miears, director, adaptive organization, with ISG. “Software providers are constantly enhancing their capabilities.”

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“Effective asset management is more important than ever to avert business disruptions”

Modern ESM platforms offer integration across processes in many enterprise functions, including HR, marketing, sales and legal affairs, so companies can manage requests across teams to streamline operations, ISG says. Self-service portals and integrated service management features enable employees to carry out, track and respond to all types of organizational changes.

Modern process design features are making ESM software more customizable, opening up the possibility of adding capabilities such as intelligent document processing, conversational AI and process discovery, the report says. Low-code/no-code development tools, which allow organizations to automate the repetitive manual tasks in their processes, are expected to drive more adoption of ESM platforms at all organizational levels.

With growing digitalization, recording, tracking and monitoring digital assets is also becoming a significant effort for many organizations, ISG says. Orchestration, visualization, predictive intelligence and data analytics are increasingly important features of ESM platforms.

“Effective asset management is more important than ever to avert business disruptions,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “ESM software providers are helping to strengthen this function.”

It is becoming more common for companies to measure the effectiveness of ESM software in terms of experience level agreements (XLAs) and user experience quotient (UXQ), which captures the user experience at every interaction point, ISG says. As added features raise software licensing costs, providers are building novel, attractive licensing models.

The report also examines other trends in ESM software, including its role in monitoring and tracking enterprises’ risk, governance and carbon emissions.

For more insights into the ESM challenges enterprises face, along with advice for how to get the most value from ESM software, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.

The global 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Enterprise Service Management — Software report evaluates the capabilities of 20 providers in one quadrant: ESM Platform Vendors — Global.

The report names Atlassian, BMC, Freshworks, Ivanti, ServiceNow and SymphonyAI Summit as Leaders in the quadrant.

In addition, ManageEngine is named as a Rising Star — a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in the quadrant.

A customized version of the report is available from SymphonyAI Summit.

The global 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Enterprise Service Management — Software report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

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