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In the age of digitization, ITIL tools and practices are getting increasingly relevant across all major industries. After heading towards recovery in the post-pandemic 2021, 2022 is anticipated to be the year of growth. The catastrophic COVID-19 crisis led to the development of several tools, technologies, and software platforms that changed our approach towards the functioning of an organization. These new inventions, coupled with the existing technologies gaining prevalence, have given rise to important ITIL trends that would help you venture into 2022 with hope and confidence.

Here are the major ITIL trends to watch out for in 2022:

1. The Use Of AI And Machine Learning In Employee Service Desks
   
   The pandemic has made businesses around the world realize the importance of the support provided to remote employees. Managers face various challenges while providing adequate support to employees working remotely. The traditional employee service desks are no longer relevant due to their fragmented support and lack of personalization.
   
   This has led to the emergence of modern service desks equipped with technologies like AI and machine learning. Unlike the traditional service desks, these platforms are designed to provide quick and personalized support to the employees. The use of AI and machine learning in service desks allows organizations to understand the context of the issues raised by employees and provide solutions and suggestions that are unique to the concerned employees.
   
   Moreover, the AI-driven service desks grow as they interact with your employees, thereby improving the support provided over time. This ITIL trend is likely to continue and get more prevalent in 2022.
   
   
2. Integration Of Service Desks With Collaborative Platforms
   
   Collaborative platforms have emerged as saviours since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Collaborative platforms like MS Teams, Slack and Zoom have helped organizations across the globe function remotely and allowed professionals to communicate without working on-premise. In order to make employee support, more effective integrate Modern service desks right within collaborative platforms (seamless support on a single unified platform). This allows users to obtain instant support without switching to a different platform.
   
   Moreover, integrating service desks with collaborative platforms helps your managers reach out to your employees and keep track of their processes after providing them with adequate support. Overall, this ITIL trend helps you organize the support provided to your employees to obtain the best results.
   
   Read More: MS Teams and Service Desks: Things you need to know
   
   
3. Reducing Manual Efforts Via Robotic Process Automation
   
   Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is no longer considered a niche technology that large-scale organizations can only implement. Over time, RPA has found applications in organizations operating at all scales and industries.
   
   RPA is commonly used by businesses to reduce the time and effort required to conduct specific processes. Based on your requirements, the technology can be used for automating processes like interpreting applications, handling big data, processing transactions, replying to emails, and performing a range of other activities.
   
   However, it is important to note that the purpose of RPA is not to replace humans with software platforms. Instead, its purpose is to enhance the work done by employees and relieve them of spending time and effort on undertaking tasks that can be completed within a few seconds.
   
   
4. The Rise Of Edge Computing
   
   Gone are the days when cloud computing was considered as cutting-edge technology. Today, organizations around the world have adapted to cloud-based platforms and have been using them to perform a range of IT processes. However, cloud computing is not entirely devoid of issues.
   
   Emerging as a fairly new ITIL trend, edge computing is set to help organizations resolve the issues encountered while using cloud-based platforms. Edge computing allows organizations to tackle cloud-computing issues by bypassing the latency and helping users get data to a data center for processing. This makes edge computing an essential technology to process time-sensitive data stored in remote locations with little to no connectivity to a centralized location. Here, edge computing allows users to form mini data centers to get their work done effectively.
   
   In the years to come, edge computing is likely to increase the internet of things (IoT) and devices using the technology. The potential of edge computing is bound to create new job opportunities and improve data management within organizations.
   
   
5. Increasing Prominence Of Quantum Computing
   
   Another important ITIL trend to watch out for in 2022 is the increasing relevance and prominence of quantum computing. This technology allows users to take advantage of quantum phenomena such as quantum entanglement and superposition. Quantum computing has already been used successfully to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and develop potential vaccines for the same.
   
   The ability to query, monitor, analyze, and act on data irrespective of the source gives quantum computing an edge over most computing technologies. In the days to follow, the technology is likely to be used in the banking and finance sectors to manage credit risks, high-frequency monitor trading, and seamless fraud detection.
   
   
6. Blockchain Getting Mainstream
   
   Blockchain is not a technology that is unheard of. It is commonly known about the use of cryptocurrency. However, its scope is much wider than that. In simple words, you can describe blockchain as a technology that provides you with data that you can only add to, not take anything away from or change. This leads to the formation of chains of data, hence the name. The feature of not letting users make changes to the data makes blockchain a secure technology to implement.
   
   Multiple industries worldwide are building responsive and secure applications using blockchain technology. Over time, the relevance of blockchain is likely to increase as it keeps getting more and more mainstream. IT aspirants have already started taking courses to build careers in blockchain development. This would make the technology more relevant in 2022, letting more and more people know about its features and uses. 
   
   

The Final Word

These were some of the most critical ITIL trends to watch for in 2022. We have already come pretty far in the age of digitization and reached a stage where there is no option but to digitize our business processes. If you still haven’t made the switch to an automated and digitized platform, it is advisable to do so before it is too late.