ITSM Consultant

Q&A with an ALTA Contractor*

What is ITSM?

According to Servicenow.com ITSM stands for IT service management. It is a strategy for delivering IT services and support to an organization, its employees, customers, and business partners. ITSM focuses on understanding end users’ expectations and improving the quality of both IT services and their delivery.

ALTA IT: What drew you to this career?

Contractor: The numerous opportunities to increase client performance and value stream.

ALTA IT: How did you find your way to where you are today?

Contractor: Initially as an IT support engineer, which led to a Project Manager position, which evolved into an ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) specialist and consultant, and then an ITSM consultant.

ALTA IT: What are some challenges you face in your industry?

Contractor:  People. IT technologies have long since solved the issues of code, software, tools, and technology incompatibility. The remaining issue is improving the ability of people to work as a holistic group, instead of disparate groups that often do not work effectively with each other. ITIL and ITSM are all about modifying the way people work together for the greater good.

ALTA IT: What do you love about your career?

Contractor: The people! The friends I have made, all over the world, in every type of business and a wide diversity of cultures.

ALTA IT: What additional education or certification is required/recommended?

Contractor: A PMP certification, learning data analysis, an Expert or higher ITIL certification, and finally as much ITSM focus and training as possible.

ALTA IT: Any advice for people looking to get into this field?

Contractor: Expect pushback from your clients. They will come around to your value if you can show them the data to back up your proposals. And ITIL/ITSM can only be successful with solid support from the C suite. This can never succeed as a bottom-up initiative, as you are fundamentally reorganizing work streams, data collection, reporting, and performance throughout the enterprise.

 Job Outlook

The Global ITSM Consulting, Implementation and Managed Services market is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate during the forecast period, between 2022 and 2028. In 2021, the market is growing at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon. (marketwatch.com)

The ITSM Market is expected to increase by $11.51 billion from 2020 to 2025, with an accelerated CAGR of 19.08% according to the recent market study by Technavio.

Pay Outlook

Salary for ITSM consultants varies based on variables such as education and experience. For those with an associate degree and no experience, for example, the median ITSM consultant salary is $57,000, versus $108,305 for those with a bachelor’s degree and a few years of experience (glassdoor.com).  At the higher levels, ITSM consultants can make $140-160k plus.