MSPs
BEYOND THE HELPDESK: ITSM GETS A MAKEOVER
As IT environments grow more complex and customer expectations shift, the role of IT Service Management (ITSM) is evolving fast. In conversation with PCR, Barb Huelskamp, Global VP Channel and Alliances at SolarWinds unpacks how MSPs and channel partners can adapt their service strategies, moving beyond ticketing systems to deliver smarter, more proactive support.
How are customer expectations reshaping ITSM? Customer expectations have never been higher, and the margin for error has never been smaller. Our research shows that the biggest casualty of IT disruptions is customer experience, with more than seven in ten IT leaders surveyed saying it’s their biggest pain point caused by critical issues and outages. Te reality is that even the smallest slowdown – sometimes just half a second – can push customers to abandon a service. For the channel, that moment of abandonment means a lost user, but it also risks lost sales, weaker partner confidence and long-term reputational damage. Especially in today’s market, where customers can switch to a competitor with a single click. Tis means IT service management can no
longer be measured by uptime alone. It has to move beyond a reactive, ticket-based model
54 | September/October 2025
and become a proactive discipline. Successful organisations use ITSM to spot issues before customers notice, act fast to keep services running and turn resilience into a driver of loyalty, trust and revenue.
What specific areas are clients most urgently seeking partner guidance on? Our annual IT Trends Report highlights key challenges and initiatives for transitioning from fragile, legacy systems to agile, adaptive business operations. Te clearest message from this year’s findings is that workflows are the biggest gap in providing operational resilience during periods of disruption. More than half of IT leaders told us that their processes are the primary barrier to resilience. Many organisations assume that buying another tool or hiring more people will make the difference, but without rethinking how work actually flows, those same problems persist.
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