As employees began working beyond the corporate perimeter, the data and tools local to their network became out of reach. Therefore, a majority (78%) of IT professionals overcame this hurdle by transitioning to cloud services, according to The State of ITSM in the COVID-19 Pandemic, a survey by ManageEngine.

Further, global IT teams have adopted new tools and applications to accommodate a dispersed workforce. This led to an increased requirement to update knowledge articles and user documentation to address the new technologies.

Worryingly, in these times with unprecedented service desk pressure, a considerable minority of organizations do not have self-service (28%) and virtual agent (24%) technologies to offset the workload. It is worth investing in them, as the survey evidenced high correlation of remote ITSM success among organizations that are leveraging such tools.

Other key findings show security concerns loom large, and greater recognition of IT's efforts are anticipated.

Impact of employee remote working

72% of IT professionals affirm ITSM's continued effectiveness even in remote work scenarios. However, only one in two organizations have a bring your own device (BYOD) policy to support continued productivity in new remote work environments.

Financial and asset management implications

4 out of 5 respondents believe IT will have greater appreciation in terms of budgets, salaries and recognition of efforts, post crisis. Only 15% of organizations were under-equipped with the necessary applications and tools to enable remote working, well into the crisis.

Security and governance issues

Only 40% of organizations confidently agreed that they are equipped to tackle the increase in security and privacy concerns related to employees working outside the office.

Third-party services and technology assistance

Among the organizations that outsourced ITSM, over 70% were satisfied with their MSP's performance. Interestingly, IT self-service was non-existent in 28% of the respondent's organization.

Business continuity success levels

Most organizations had a business continuity plan (BCP), leaving only 20% without one. A reliable BCP was an important factor for successful remote IT support.

"The pandemic has brought IT organizations to the front line from the back office overnight," said Rajesh Ganesan, VP at ManageEngine. "How well a business has performed in the last few months has a lot to do with how well its IT organization has been able to enable remote work, and this trend will only intensify. As businesses strive to survive, compete and eventually lead in these tough times, closing the technology gaps highlighted in the survey will be a priority."