The State of Service Management in 2026

In last year’s report, we noted that service management organizations were seeking to capitalize on the many changes affecting their industry. While change can be a force for good, rapid growth of this degree rarely comes without growing pains.

Right now, those pains are most evident in the brittle labor force propping up IT service management operations.

Respondents tell us they are understaffed, overworked, and struggling to attract quality candidates with the necessary mix of ITSM experience, customer service skills, and technical fluency. Hiring managers have seen a spike in candidates desiring higher pay and more flexible work policies than what organizations can provide, and some suspect that AI may be deterring would-be candidates from entering a career that could be partly or fully automated in the near future. Download now to continue reading!