Running a small business means juggling countless responsibilities, and IT often feels like one more thing competing for your limited time and budget. You're not alone in wondering whether you need professional IT support, what services actually matter, or how to protect your business without breaking the bank.

IT service management shouldn't feel like a game of whack-a-mole. Reactive firefighting is often the result of preventable problems. There's a difference between teams that are always in crisis mode and those who feel like they're on top of things. The difference comes down to best practices.

Whether you're just getting started with IT service management (ITSM) or you've been around for a while, there's always more to learn. For a quick refresher on the fundamentals of effective IT service delivery, check out this list of ITSM best practices.

We cover the most important ITSM best practices that every IT infrastructure and operations manager should know. Each ITSM best practice addresses a common problem IT organizations face and provides a practical way to solve it. If you want to improve your ITSM processes or ITSM tool implementation, read this list.