When you think of the necessary skillset to operate and excel in the world of IT (and certainly in the world of IT Service Management), chances are your brain automatically defaults to what is known as "hard skills." Easily quantifiable, specific expertise on tools and languages. But of course, that doesn't paint the full picture of what is needed to become a well-rounded IT professional able to effectively communicate with teammates and stakeholders.

Recently, we discussed how change management became change enablement with a new version of ITIL, and what that meant for its application. But did you know that ITIL itself also went through a bit of a change? It's a little more subtle, and if you look at its current usage you might not even realize that a change even happened, but it represents a conceptual shift that might mean big things for its guidelines moving forward.

We all know the story. The "knowledge hero," the one Subject Matter Expert on the team, whose expertise everyone relies on. This sounds good in theory but of course reliance on one single point of authority creates problems. What happens if that person is sick or on annual leave? What you really want is for all team members to share their knowledge and expertise. Enter the knowledge management practice.

Change is the only constant, particularly in a rapidly evolving industry like IT. Software gets constant updates, new hardware gets launched, and frameworks evolve with trends. Staying up-to-date on these changes can help you stay ahead of the competition. But it's not always easy to get people used to these new changes. It’s no surprise that change management has been a key aspect of ITIL.

Have you been searching high and low to find the best tools for business consultants? Look no further. We have taken the time to pull together a comprehensive list of must-have tools for your consulting business. If you’re serious about taking your consulting business to the next level, you should consider investing in the best applications and solutions to drive growth.

Do you have a consulting sales process to effectively close consulting clients? When you have clear and consistent sales processes, this inevitably leads to closing more sales. While it is important to experiment and test new strategies, you must develop a repeatable sales process that is scalable. If you’re interested in learning new closing techniques, keep reading.

When something works for a specific part of your company, it makes sense to look for ways to apply it to other sectors. Enterprise Service Management (ESM) is your go-to strategy when attempting to optimize, streamline, and generally improve service throughout your organization.

Virtual change management (VCM) exercises are a great way to simulate real-life situations and test out new strategies before they become reality. They also provide a safe environment where employees can share their ideas without fear of reprisal. Change management is the process of managing changes within an organization. The goal is to ensure that the change is successful and that everyone involved benefits from the change.

The role of the IT service desk manager is not an easy job. It takes a lot of knowledge and experience to manage an IT service desk efficiently. With rapidly evolving technology and accelerated product launches, service managers have to be constantly on their feet and with their eyes trained on the horizon to ensure seamless IT delivery to their clients. Modern service desk solutions and frameworks have helped considerably. Many tasks can be automated and delegated more efficiently.