Rescuing a Failing ITSM Function

Client Overview

A multinational financial services organisation, operating across multiple regions and supporting a high volume of internal users, customer transactions, and time-sensitive digital services.

The organisation depended heavily on IT to support trading, operations, and customer platforms, where delays, outages, or instability had a direct impact on revenue, regulatory exposure, and client trust.

Despite significant investment in tooling and resource, the ITSM function was not delivering at the level required for a business operating at this scale.

Why Ordinis Linea

With service performance deteriorating and confidence in IT at a low point, the organisation needed a partner capable of stepping in quickly and taking decisive action to stabilise the situation.

Ordinis Linea was selected for our ability to operate in underperforming environments and deliver immediate, visible improvement without prolonged assessment phases or theoretical recommendations. Our approach focused on rapid intervention, restoring control, and driving accountability from day one.

Key factors in the decision included:

• The ability to move quickly from diagnosis to action, addressing critical issues immediately

• Proven experience turning around failing ITSM functions in high-pressure, enterprise environments

• A hands-on delivery model focused on execution, not advisory-only engagement

• A clear focus on restoring control, discipline, and accountability across service delivery

• The capability to rebuild trust with business stakeholders through consistent, measurable improvement

• This gave the organisation confidence that the ITSM function could be stabilised rapidly, with clear leadership and a structured approach to restoring reliable service delivery.

The Challenge

The ITSM function was underperforming despite having the right tools and resources in place.

Processes existed on paper but were not being followed consistently. Ownership was unclear, governance was weak, and service performance had become unpredictable. Incidents were frequently delayed, changes introduced risk, and there was no structured approach to resolving underlying issues.

Internal confidence in IT had deteriorated, with business units escalating issues outside of formal processes to get resolution.

Key issues included:

• Inconsistent incident management and lack of end-to-end ownership

• High volume of escalations and unresolved tickets

• Change processes introducing instability rather than reducing risk

• No effective Problem Management, leading to recurring incidents

• Poor service visibility and lack of meaningful reporting

• Low confidence from business stakeholders in IT delivery

• Over-reliance on individuals rather than defined processes

Our Approach

Ordinis Linea was engaged to take full ownership of stabilising and resetting the ITSM function, focusing on restoring control, accountability, and service consistency.

We began by conducting a rapid diagnostic across processes, tooling, and team structures to identify the root causes of failure, not just the symptoms.

A structured recovery plan was then implemented, prioritising stabilisation first, followed by standardisation and longer-term improvement.

Our work included:

• Re-establishing core ITSM processes across Incident, Change, Problem, and Service Request Management

• Defining clear ownership and accountability for each process

• Introducing strict incident management controls, including prioritisation and escalation frameworks

• Stabilising Change Management to reduce failed and high-risk changes

• Implementing Problem Management to address root causes of recurring issues

• Establishing real-time reporting, KPIs, and service performance dashboards

• Resetting governance structures, including regular service reviews and leadership reporting

• Driving cultural change to ensure adherence to process and accountability

• Coaching internal teams to operate within a structured, service-focused model

This was delivered as a controlled turnaround, ensuring immediate improvement in service stability while embedding long-term capability.

The Outcome – Before vs After

Before

• Reactive, inconsistent IT service delivery

• High volumes of unresolved and ageing tickets

• Frequent escalations bypassing formal processes

• Change activity introducing instability

• No visibility of service performance

• Low confidence from business stakeholders

After

• Structured, consistent ITSM processes in daily operation

• Clear ownership and accountability across all service areas

• Significant reduction in escalations and ageing tickets

• Controlled and predictable change delivery

• Real-time visibility through KPIs and reporting

• Restored confidence from business stakeholders

Key Results

• Significant reduction in incident backlog and ageing tickets

• Improved resolution times and service responsiveness

• Reduction in failed and high-risk changes

• Introduction of Problem Management reducing recurring incidents

• Increased transparency through structured reporting and dashboards

• Measurable improvement in stakeholder satisfaction

Commercial and Operational Impact

This engagement restored operational stability and re-established trust in IT services.

The organisation was able to:

• Improve business productivity through reliable IT services

• Reduce disruption caused by recurring incidents and failed changes

• Enable more predictable delivery of technology initiatives

• Strengthen relationships between IT and business stakeholders

• Create a scalable ITSM capability aligned to enterprise demand

Summary

The ITSM function moved from a fragmented, underperforming state to a controlled, accountable, and reliable service operation.

Ordinis Linea did not simply improve processes.

We stabilised a failing function, restored confidence, and re-established control over service delivery at enterprise scale.